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Professors in Core Science Fields Are Not Always Biased against Women: Evidence from France

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  • Thomas Breda
  • Son Thierry Ly

Abstract

We investigate the link between how male-dominated a field is, and gender bias against women in this field. Taking the entrance exam of a French higher education institution as a natural experiment, we find that evaluation is actually biased in favor of females in more male-dominated subjects (e.g., math, philosophy) and in favor of males in more female-dominated subjects (e.g., literature, biology), inducing a rebalancing of gender ratios between students recruited for research careers in science and humanities majors. Evaluation bias is identified from systematic variations across subjects in the gap between students' nonanonymous oral and anonymous written test scores. (JEL I23, J16, J71)

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Breda & Son Thierry Ly, 2015. "Professors in Core Science Fields Are Not Always Biased against Women: Evidence from France," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(4), pages 53-75, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:7:y:2015:i:4:p:53-75
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.20140022
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • 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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