Does the Gender Composition of Scientific Committees Matter?

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2017
Volume: 107
Issue: 4
Pages: 1207-38

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We analyze how a larger presence of female evaluators affects committee decision-making using information on 100,000 applications to associate and full professorships in Italy and Spain. These applications were assessed by 8,000 randomly selected evaluators. A larger number of women in evaluation committees does not increase either the quantity or the quality of female candidates who qualify. Information from individual voting reports suggests that female evaluators are not significantly more favorable toward female candidates. At the same time, male evaluators become less favorable toward female candidates as soon as a female evaluator joins the committee.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:107:y:2017:i:4:p:1207-38
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24