Working Paper: NBER ID: w30765
Authors: Louis-Pierre Lepage; Xiaomeng Li; Basit Zafar
Abstract: We study a unique grading policy at a large US public university allowing students to mask their letter grades into a “Pass”, after having observed their original grade. Using administrative transcript records, we find that female students are substantially less likely to mask their grades than male students, even after accounting for differences in grades, GPA, and course/major taking. We present a framework showing how anticipated discrimination in the labor market can distort incentives to mask across gender. Consistent with the framework, a survey reveals that students anticipate that female students, particularly in STEM, Business, and Economics, will face labor market discrimination which makes them less likely to mask. Our survey allows us to distinguish between anticipated discrimination and other explanations which could contribute to the masking gap, such as preferences for risk or transparency. We find that anticipated discrimination can explain a sizable fraction of the gender gap in masking.
Keywords: Gender Discrimination; Grade Masking; Labor Market; Education Choices
JEL Codes: D81; I23; J16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Anticipated discrimination in the labor market (J79) | Masking behavior of female students (C92) |
| Anticipated discrimination in the labor market (J79) | Gender differences in masking behavior (J16) |
| Female students (I24) | Masking behavior of female students (C92) |
| Masking behavior of female students (C92) | Gender gap in masking (J16) |
| Anticipated discrimination (J71) | Underestimation of female productivity (J16) |
| Anticipated discrimination (J71) | Desire to signal productivity through GPA (D29) |
| Masked grades by female students (Y40) | Inference of worse grades than those masked by male students (I24) |
| Female applicants (J16) | Additional scrutiny of their grades (I24) |