Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP14513
Authors: Alma Cohen; Moshe Hazan; David Weiss
Abstract: This study investigates whether CEOs' political preferences are associated with the representation and compensation of women among non-CEO top executives at U.S. public companies. We find that CEOs who more strongly identify with the Republican party are associated with fewer women in the executive suite. To explore causality, we use an event study approach to show that replacing a Republican with a Democratic CEO increases female representation in the executive suite. Finally, gender gaps in the level and performance-sensitivity of compensation are larger under Republican CEOs. Our results are consistent with no such gaps existing in companies run by Democratic CEOs.
Keywords: gender diversity; CEO politics; executive suite
JEL Codes: J16; J30; J33; J71; K00; M12; M14; M51; M52; G30
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Republican CEO (K16) | Female representation among non-CEO executives (J16) |
| Democratic CEO (J79) | Female representation among non-CEO executives (J16) |
| Republican CEO (K16) | Gender compensation gap (J31) |
| Democratic CEO (J79) | No gender compensation gap (J79) |
| Political preferences of CEOs (D72) | Gender representation and compensation outcomes (J16) |