Publications & Working Papers

Research

I work at the intersection of organizations, scientific institutions, and gender inequality. A complete list is also available on my Google Scholar profile.

Publications

Whether to Apply

Management Science, 70(7): 4649–4669, 2024
with Katherine Baldiga Coffman and Leena Kulkarni

Abstract. Labor market outcomes depend, in part, upon an individual's willingness to put herself forward for different opportunities. We use a series of experiments to explore gender differences in willingness to apply for higher return, more challenging work. We find that, in male-typed domains, qualified women are significantly less likely to apply than similarly well-qualified men. We provide evidence both in a controlled setting and in the field that reducing ambiguity surrounding required qualifications increases the rate at which qualified women apply. The effects are more mixed for men. Our results suggest a path for increasing the pool of qualified women applicants.

Final Version (PDF) Publication Replication Files

Stereotypes and Belief Updating

Journal of the European Economic Association, 22(3): 1011–1054, 2024
with Katherine Baldiga Coffman and Leena Kulkarni

Abstract. We explore how feedback shapes, and perpetuates, gender gaps in self-assessments. Participants in our experiments take tests of their ability across different domains. Absent feedback, beliefs of own ability are strongly influenced by gender stereotypes: holding own ability fixed, individuals are more confident in more gender-congruent domains. After feedback, stereotypes continue to shape posterior beliefs, even beyond what a Bayesian model would predict. This is primarily because both men and women update their beliefs more positively in response to good news when it arrives in a more gender-congruent domain.

Final Version (PDF) Publication
Working Papers

Sexual Misconduct and Scientific Production

Abstract. While sexual misconduct in the workplace has complex and lasting consequences for directly affected individuals, its broader organizational implications remain less well understood. Using a novel dataset of over 1,000 documented sexual misconduct cases across U.S. universities, I examine how these publicly reported incidents affect departmental scientific productivity. I record the year sexual misconduct occurs and the year it becomes public, and employ coarsened exact matching with a staggered difference-in-differences design. Sexual misconduct shows no discernible effect on departmental productivity when it occurs, but public reporting reduces publications by 0.1 per faculty member annually — equivalent to nine fewer publications over five years for a median department of 18 members. These findings reveal that organizational costs arise specifically from public disclosure rather than from the misconduct itself, suggesting that protecting victims and maintaining productivity may require differentiated policy approaches.

Paper Draft OSF Registry

Workplace Hostility Submitted

with Clémentine Van Effenterre

Abstract. We investigate how much individuals value workplaces free of hostility and how these preferences affect sorting in the labor market. We conduct a choice experiment with 2,048 alums and recent graduates of a large public university. Individuals are willing to forgo between 12 and 36 percent of their wage to avoid hostile work environments. Women exhibit a stronger aversion to exclusionary workplaces and environments with sexual harassment. Combining survey evidence, experimental variation in workplace environments, and real labor market outcomes, we show that disutility from workplace hostility and perceptions of risk are consequential for gender gaps in career choices. Using a model of compensating differentials and counterfactual exercises, we find that gender differences in workplace hostility risks significantly drive both the remote pay penalty and the rents of office workers.

Paper Draft AEA Registry

Institutional Determinants of Gender Diversity in Science: Evidence from the German Reunification

Abstract. Gender diversity is a key driver of the rate and direction of innovative activities, but we know little about how to achieve it. I look at the pipeline of potential female inventors and study women's decisions to complete graduate school and their propensity and intensity to publish under two different institutional and normative settings. To explore this, I turn to the German reunification in 1990 as my empirical setting. Using a newly assembled dataset of German Ph.D. graduates in STEM fields, I show that East Germany graduates significantly and persistently more women doctorates than West Germany. A difference-in-difference approach infers that the change in institutions, policies, and norms increases the gender gap in the intensity to publish. The case study offers insights into how to increase gender diversity in science.

Draft available upon request.

Productivity under Hostility

with Clémentine Van Effenterre

Abstract. Workplace culture is a well-established driver of long-term organizational success. Using a controlled experiment, we explore whether hostile work environments impact individual and group performance. Participants are randomly assigned to groups with varying gender composition, where they complete rounds of quizzes; in each round, group members decide whether to nominate their own performance to count toward the group's payoff. The work environment is manipulated to be friendly or unfriendly through pre-specified messages. Individuals who work in a hostile and majority-men team earn less. The result is not explained by changes in quiz performance, but by nomination decisions. An incentive-compatible choice experiment further shows that the experience of hostile interactions increases the willingness to pay for working conditions in which these interactions will be mitigated, particularly for male respondents.

AEA Registry

Draft available upon request.

Selected Work in Progress

How Does Exposure to Sexual Harassment Affect Junior Researchers' Training and Career Trajectories?

with Gauri Subramani and Andreea Gorbatai

Abstract. Sexual harassment in academic settings creates hostile environments that may have lasting consequences beyond the direct targets. While prior research has examined harassment's effects on scientific production at the team level, less is known about how exposure shapes the experiences and outcomes of junior researchers — research assistants and doctoral students — in critical stages of skill development and career formation. We examine how working in a team where harassment occurred affects juniors' training experiences and subsequent career choices, with implications for understanding the full costs of workplace misconduct and for designing interventions that protect the next generation of researchers.

Draft available soon.