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Does Economics Make You Sexist?

Author

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  • Valentina A. Paredes
  • M. Daniele Paserman
  • Francisco Pino
Abstract
Recent research has highlighted unequal treatment for women in academic economics along several different dimensions, including promotion, hiring, credit for co-authorship, and standards for publication in professional journals. Can the source of these differences lie in biases against women that are pervasive in the discipline, even among students in the earliest stages of their training? In this paper, we provide evidence on the importance of explicit and implicit biases against women among students in economics relative to other fields. We conducted a large scale survey among undergraduate students in Chilean universities, among both entering first-year students and students in years 2 and above. On a wide battery of measures, economics students are more biased than students in other fields. Economics students are somewhat more biased already upon entry, before exposure to any economics classes. The gap is more pronounced among students in years 2 and above, in particular for male students. We also find an increase in bias in a sample of students that we follow longitudinally. Differences in political ideology explain essentially all the gap at entry, but none of the increase in the gap with exposure. Exposure to female students and faculty attenuates some of the bias.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentina A. Paredes & M. Daniele Paserman & Francisco Pino, 2020. "Does Economics Make You Sexist?," NBER Working Papers 27070, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27070
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    Cited by:

    1. Ductor, Lorenzo & Prummer, Anja, 2024. "Gender homophily, collaboration, and output," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 221(C), pages 477-492.
    2. Kristin F. Butcher & Patrick J. McEwan & Akila Weerapana, 2024. "Women’s Colleges and Economics Major Choice: Evidence from Wellesley College Applicants," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 123-161, April.
    3. Laura Hospido & Carlos Sanz, 2021. "Gender Gaps in the Evaluation of Research: Evidence from Submissions to Economics Conferences," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 83(3), pages 590-618, June.
    4. Farré, Lídia & Ortega, Francesc, 2021. "Family Ties, Geographic Mobility and the Gender Gap in Academic Aspirations," IZA Discussion Papers 14561, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Todd Pugatch & Elizabeth Schroeder, 2021. "Promoting Female Interest in Economics: Limits to Nudges," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 123-127, May.
    6. Espín, Antonio M. & Correa, Manuel & Ruiz-Villaverde, Alberto, 2022. "Economics students: Self-selected in preferences and indoctrinated in beliefs," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    7. Lorenzo Ductor & Sanjeev Goyal & Anja Prummer, 2023. "Gender and Collaboration," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(6), pages 1366-1378, November.
    8. Jansson, Joakim & Tyrefors, Björn, 2020. "The Genius is a Male: Stereotypes and Same-Sex Bias in Exam Grading in Economics at Stockholm University," Working Paper Series 1362, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    9. Jansson, Joakim & Tyrefors, Björn, 2022. "Grading bias and the leaky pipeline in economics: Evidence from Stockholm University," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    10. Jaque Herrera, Gabriela & Cárdenas-Retamal, Roberto & Barrales Henriquez, Daniel, 2022. "Tendencias en Publicaciones en Revistas Chilenas de Economía," Documentos de Trabajo 12, Estudios Nueva Economía.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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