17 April | 12:45 | Doyen 22

Prachi Jain

(Loyola Marymount University)

will give a presentation on 

The Importance of the Decision-Making Process in Hiring Decisions

Abstract

An abundance of statistics has shown the gender disparity in hiring decisions. This paper shows that a previously unexplored factor, the decision-making process utilized by a hiring committee, plays a crucial role. Using a laboratory experiment, we find that gender disparity is eliminated when hiring decisions are made unanimously by a group. By comparison, we find that gender disparity is exacerbated when decisions are made by a leader who volunteers. We do not find evidence of heterogeneity by gender as the results persist regardless of the number of women in the group or the leader’s gender.

(joint with Michelle M. Miller)