Network recruitment and the glass ceiling: Evidence from two firms
Does network recruitment contribute to the glass ceiling? We use administrative data from two companies to answer the question. In the presence of gender homophily, recruitment through employee referrals can disadvantage women when an old boys’ network is in place. We calculate the segregating effec...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Russell Sage Foundation
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/136435 |
| _version_ | 1811068858803421184 |
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| author | Fernandez, RM Rubineau, B |
| author2 | Sloan School of Management |
| author_facet | Sloan School of Management Fernandez, RM Rubineau, B |
| author_sort | Fernandez, RM |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Does network recruitment contribute to the glass ceiling? We use administrative data from two companies to answer the question. In the presence of gender homophily, recruitment through employee referrals can disadvantage women when an old boys’ network is in place. We calculate the segregating effects of network recruitment across multiple job levels in the two firms. If network recruitment is a factor, the segregating impact should disadvantage women more at higher levels. We find this pattern, but also find that network recruitment is a desegregating force overall. It promotes women’s representation strongly at all levels, but less so at higher levels. This article shows how administrative data can be used to tackle the complex problem of gender inequality in organizations to counter the glass ceiling. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:02:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/136435 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:02:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Russell Sage Foundation |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1364352023-02-22T21:34:58Z Network recruitment and the glass ceiling: Evidence from two firms Fernandez, RM Rubineau, B Sloan School of Management Does network recruitment contribute to the glass ceiling? We use administrative data from two companies to answer the question. In the presence of gender homophily, recruitment through employee referrals can disadvantage women when an old boys’ network is in place. We calculate the segregating effects of network recruitment across multiple job levels in the two firms. If network recruitment is a factor, the segregating impact should disadvantage women more at higher levels. We find this pattern, but also find that network recruitment is a desegregating force overall. It promotes women’s representation strongly at all levels, but less so at higher levels. This article shows how administrative data can be used to tackle the complex problem of gender inequality in organizations to counter the glass ceiling. 2021-10-27T20:35:22Z 2021-10-27T20:35:22Z 2019-01-01 2021-03-26T15:22:57Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/136435 en 10.7758/RSF.2019.5.3.05 RSF Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ application/pdf Russell Sage Foundation Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences |
| spellingShingle | Fernandez, RM Rubineau, B Network recruitment and the glass ceiling: Evidence from two firms |
| title | Network recruitment and the glass ceiling: Evidence from two firms |
| title_full | Network recruitment and the glass ceiling: Evidence from two firms |
| title_fullStr | Network recruitment and the glass ceiling: Evidence from two firms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Network recruitment and the glass ceiling: Evidence from two firms |
| title_short | Network recruitment and the glass ceiling: Evidence from two firms |
| title_sort | network recruitment and the glass ceiling evidence from two firms |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/136435 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT fernandezrm networkrecruitmentandtheglassceilingevidencefromtwofirms AT rubineaub networkrecruitmentandtheglassceilingevidencefromtwofirms |