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Gender and Willingness to Lead: Does the Gender Composition of Teams Matter?

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Listed:
  • Andreas Born

    (Spotify Technology S.A.)

  • Eva Ranehill

    (Gothenburg University)

  • Anna Sandberg

    (Stockholm University)

Abstract

We explore how team gender composition affects willingness to lead by randomly assigning participants in an experiment to male- or female-majority teams. Irrespective of team gender composition, men are substantially more willing than women to lead their team. The pooled sample, and women separately, are more willing to lead female- than male-majority teams. An analysis of mechanisms reveals that a large share of the negative effect of male-majority teams on women's leadership aspirations is accounted for by a negative effect on women's confidence, influence, and expected support from team members.

Suggested Citation

  • Andreas Born & Eva Ranehill & Anna Sandberg, 2022. "Gender and Willingness to Lead: Does the Gender Composition of Teams Matter?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 104(2), pages 259-275, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:restat:v:104:y:2022:i:2:p:259-275
    DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00955
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Mladen Adamovic & Andreas Leibbrandt, 2023. "A large‐scale field experiment on occupational gender segregation and hiring discrimination," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 34-59, January.
    3. José De Sousa & Guillaume Hollard, 2023. "From Micro to Macro Gender Differences: Evidence from Field Tournaments," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(6), pages 3358-3399, June.
    4. Weidmann, Ben & Vecci, Joseph & Said, Farah & Deming, David & Bhalotra, Sonia, 2024. "How Do You Find A Good Manager?," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 715, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    5. Emilia Brito & Jesse Bruhn & Thea How Choon & E. Anna Weber, 2024. "Gender Composition and Group Behavior: Evidence from US City Councils.," Working Papers 2024-002, Brown University, Department of Economics.
    6. David Hardt & Lea Mayer & Johannes Rincke, 2023. "Who Does the Talking Here? The Impact of Gender Composition on Team Interactions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10550, CESifo.
    7. Muehlheusser, Gerd & Promann, Timo & Roider, Andreas & Wallmeier, Niklas, 2024. "Honesty of Groups: Effects of Size and Gender Composition," IZA Discussion Papers 16954, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Schoonjans, Eline, 2024. "From diversity to sustainability: Environmental and social spillover effects of board gender quotas," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 314-331.
    9. Jain, Chandan & Nandwani, Bharti, 2024. "Female representation in school management and school quality," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 84-103.
    10. Halvarsson, Daniel & Lark, Olga & Tingvall, Patrik & Videnord, Josefin, 2022. "Bargaining for Trade: When Exporting Becomes Detrimental for Female Wages," Working Paper Series 1437, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    11. Halvarsson, Daniel & Lark, Olga & Tingvall, Patrik & Videnord, Josefin, 2022. "Bargaining for Trade: When Exporting Becomes Detrimental for Female Wages," Working Papers 2022:13, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    12. Paryavi, Maliheh, 2024. "Women lean back when representing others in competitions," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    13. Halvarsson, Daniel & Lark, Olga & Tingvall, Patrik & Videnord, Josefin, 2022. "Bargaining for Trade: When Exporting Becomes Detrimental for Female Wages," Ratio Working Papers 361, The Ratio Institute.
    14. Roy, Moumita & Houser, Daniel, 2024. "Identity, Leadership, and Cooperation: An experimental analysis," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).

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