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Descriptive Norms and Gender Diversity: Reactance from Men

Author

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  • Paryavi, Maliheh

    (Harvard Kennedy School)

  • Bohnet, Iris

    (Harvard Kennedy School)

  • van Geen, Alexandra

    (Harvard Kennedy School)

Abstract

Descriptive norms provide social information on others' typical behaviors and have been shown to lead to prescriptive outcomes by "nudging" individuals towards norm compliance in numerous settings. This paper examines whether descriptive norms lead to prescriptive outcomes in the gender domain. We examine whether such social information can influence the gender distribution of candidates selected by employers in a hiring context. We conduct a series of laboratory experiments where 'employers' decide how many male and female 'employees' they want to hire for male- and female-typed tasks and examine whether employers are more likely to hire more of one gender when informed that others have done so as well. In this set-up descriptive norms do not have prescriptive effects. In fact, descriptive norms do not affect female employers' hiring decisions at all and lead to norm reactance and backlash from male employers when informed that others have hired more women.

Suggested Citation

  • Paryavi, Maliheh & Bohnet, Iris & van Geen, Alexandra, 2019. "Descriptive Norms and Gender Diversity: Reactance from Men," Working Paper Series rwp19-007, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
  • Handle: RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp19-007
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Janys, Lena, 2020. "Evidence for a Two-Women Quota in University Departments across Disciplines," IZA Discussion Papers 13372, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Lena Janys, 2022. "Testing the Presence of Implicit Hiring Quotas with Application to German Universities," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 165, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    3. Lena Janys, 2021. "Testing the Presence of Implicit Hiring Quotas with Application to German Universities," Papers 2109.14343, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2021.
    4. José J. Domínguez, 2021. "The Effectiveness of Committee Quotas; The Role of Group Dynamics," ThE Papers 21/12, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    5. José J. Domínguez & Natalia Montinari, 2021. "Gender Quotas and Task Assignment in Organizations," ThE Papers 21/13, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..

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