The Origins and Real Effects of the Gender Gap: Evidence from CEO’s Formative Years

Speaker
Denis Sosyura, Arizona State University

Research interests: Corporate finance, financial institutions, financial media

Abstract
CEOs allocate more investment capital to male than female division managers. Using data from individual Census records, we find that this gender gap is driven by CEOs who grew up in male-dominated families—those where the father was the only income earner and had more education than the mother. The gender gap also increases for CEOs who attended all-male high schools and grew up in neighborhoods with greater gender inequality. The effect of gender on capital budgeting introduces frictions and erodes investment efficiency. Overall, the gender gap originates in CEO preferences developed during formative years and produces significant real effects.