Publications
- Boring, A., & Philippe, A. (2021). Reducing Discrimination in the Field Evidence from an Awareness Raising Intervention Targeting Gender Biases in Student Evaluations of Teaching. Journal of Public Economics, 193.
- Azmat, G., & Boring, A. (2020). Gender Diversity in Firms. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 36(4), 760-782.
- Boring, A., Desrieux, C., & Espinosa, R. (2018). Aspiring Top Civil Servants' Distrust in the Private Sector. Revue d’Economie Politique, 128(6), 1047-1087.
- Boring, A. (2017). Gender Biases in Student Evaluations of Teaching, Journal of Public Economics, 145, 27-41.
- Boring, A., Ottoboni, K., & Stark, P. (2016). Student Evaluations of Teaching (Mostly) Do Not Measure Teaching Effectiveness. ScienceOpen Research.
Working papers
Perceptions of Sexism in Male-Dominated Industries, Intentions to Quit, and Demand for Diversity Policies, with Josse Delfgaauw & Zara Sharif
Seminar slides (October 2022)
We conduct two surveys in male-dominated industries to measure workers' perceptions about the prevalence of sexism in the workplace. We relate these perceptions with workers' intentions to quit and their opinions about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Using data we collected in the French private equity industry, we find that women perceive more sexism than men and are more positive towards DEI policies. Employees who perceive high tolerance among colleagues for sexist behaviors are more likely to say that they intend to quit the industry. In a second survey among workers from five high-paying male-dominated industries in the US and in France, we include a list experiment to measure social desirability bias regarding sexism at the workplace. In both countries and, remarkably, among both men and women we find evidence of social desirability bias. We also find evidence of a generational divide in attitude towards sexism and DEI policies, with younger employees being much less tolerant of sexism and more positive towards DEI-policies than older workers. These attitudes also differ along racial/ethnic, managerial, and political lines. We discuss policy implications for organizations.
Turning Back the Clock: Beliefs About Gender Roles During Lockdown, with Gloria Moroni
Working paper (This version: March 2022)
We study the impact of lockdown measures on beliefs about gender roles. We collect data from a representative sample of 1,000 individuals in France during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. To measure beliefs about gender roles, we use questions from the 2018 wave of the European Values Study, and match respondents from the two surveys to compare beliefs before and during lockdown. We find evidence that the lockdown period was associated with a shift towards more traditional beliefs about gender roles. The effects are concentrated among men from the most time-constrained households and from households where bargaining with a partner over sharing responsibility for household production was likely to be an issue. Finally, we find evidence that beliefs about gender equality may be a luxury good: beliefs in equal gender roles increase with household income. Overall, our results suggest that men are more likely to hold egalitarian beliefs about gender roles when these beliefs are not costly for them.
Gender and Choices in Higher Education, with Jen Brown
Working Paper (June 2021)
Data on the labor market outcomes of university graduates show that gender pay gaps appear soon after graduation in nearly every field of study. We provide descriptive evidence of a plausible cause of the gender starting-salary gap: choices within an educational setting that differ between male and female students, even after accounting for academic specialization. We examine the choices of undergraduate students at a selective French university who are competing for seats at foreign universities to fulfill a mandatory exchange program requirement. Holding fixed students' field of study, we find that average- and high-ability female students request exchange universities that are worse-ranked than their male peers. A survey eliciting students’ preferences suggests that male students prioritize the academic characteristics of potential exchange universities more often, whereas similar female students consider both the academic and non-academic characteristics of exchange destinations. We explore the short-term consequences of these differing preferences using a simulation that assigns students to exchange seats solely on university ranking and students' academic performance. Female students' assignment improves almost uniformly; while top-performing male students face increased competition for seats, and male students with average grades face less competition as high-achieving female students shift towards better-ranked assignments.
Seminar slides (October 2022)
We conduct two surveys in male-dominated industries to measure workers' perceptions about the prevalence of sexism in the workplace. We relate these perceptions with workers' intentions to quit and their opinions about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Using data we collected in the French private equity industry, we find that women perceive more sexism than men and are more positive towards DEI policies. Employees who perceive high tolerance among colleagues for sexist behaviors are more likely to say that they intend to quit the industry. In a second survey among workers from five high-paying male-dominated industries in the US and in France, we include a list experiment to measure social desirability bias regarding sexism at the workplace. In both countries and, remarkably, among both men and women we find evidence of social desirability bias. We also find evidence of a generational divide in attitude towards sexism and DEI policies, with younger employees being much less tolerant of sexism and more positive towards DEI-policies than older workers. These attitudes also differ along racial/ethnic, managerial, and political lines. We discuss policy implications for organizations.
Turning Back the Clock: Beliefs About Gender Roles During Lockdown, with Gloria Moroni
Working paper (This version: March 2022)
We study the impact of lockdown measures on beliefs about gender roles. We collect data from a representative sample of 1,000 individuals in France during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. To measure beliefs about gender roles, we use questions from the 2018 wave of the European Values Study, and match respondents from the two surveys to compare beliefs before and during lockdown. We find evidence that the lockdown period was associated with a shift towards more traditional beliefs about gender roles. The effects are concentrated among men from the most time-constrained households and from households where bargaining with a partner over sharing responsibility for household production was likely to be an issue. Finally, we find evidence that beliefs about gender equality may be a luxury good: beliefs in equal gender roles increase with household income. Overall, our results suggest that men are more likely to hold egalitarian beliefs about gender roles when these beliefs are not costly for them.
Gender and Choices in Higher Education, with Jen Brown
Working Paper (June 2021)
Data on the labor market outcomes of university graduates show that gender pay gaps appear soon after graduation in nearly every field of study. We provide descriptive evidence of a plausible cause of the gender starting-salary gap: choices within an educational setting that differ between male and female students, even after accounting for academic specialization. We examine the choices of undergraduate students at a selective French university who are competing for seats at foreign universities to fulfill a mandatory exchange program requirement. Holding fixed students' field of study, we find that average- and high-ability female students request exchange universities that are worse-ranked than their male peers. A survey eliciting students’ preferences suggests that male students prioritize the academic characteristics of potential exchange universities more often, whereas similar female students consider both the academic and non-academic characteristics of exchange destinations. We explore the short-term consequences of these differing preferences using a simulation that assigns students to exchange seats solely on university ranking and students' academic performance. Female students' assignment improves almost uniformly; while top-performing male students face increased competition for seats, and male students with average grades face less competition as high-achieving female students shift towards better-ranked assignments.
Work in progress
Improving Student Evaluations of Teaching
Stereotypes, self-image concerns, and job search behavior, with Katherine B. Coffman & Dylan Glover
Gender segregation in higher education, with Louis-Alexandre Erb
Higher Educational Choices, with Ghazala Azmat, Roberto Galbiati & Arnaud Maurel
Stereotypes, self-image concerns, and job search behavior, with Katherine B. Coffman & Dylan Glover
Gender segregation in higher education, with Louis-Alexandre Erb
Higher Educational Choices, with Ghazala Azmat, Roberto Galbiati & Arnaud Maurel
