American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Gender Differences in the Choice of Major: The Importance of Female Role Models
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 12,
no. 3, July 2020
(pp. 226–54)
Abstract
We conducted a field experiment aimed at increasing the percentage of women majoring in economics. We exposed students enrolled in introductory classes to successful and charismatic women who majored in economics at the same university. The intervention significantly impacted female students' enrollment in further economics classes, increasing their likelihood to major in economics by 8 percentage points. This is a large effect, given that only 9 percent of women were majoring in economics at baseline. Since the impacted women were previously planning to major in lower-earning fields, our low-cost intervention may have a positive effect on their future incomes.Citation
Porter, Catherine, and Danila Serra. 2020. "Gender Differences in the Choice of Major: The Importance of Female Role Models." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 12 (3): 226–54. DOI: 10.1257/app.20180426Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- A22 Economic Education and Teaching of Economics: Undergraduate
- C93 Field Experiments
- I23 Higher Education; Research Institutions
- I26 Returns to Education
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
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