The Role of Gender and Decision-Making Structure in Hiring Decisions

Last registered on February 07, 2023
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Role of Gender and Decision-Making Structure in Hiring Decisions
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010775
Initial registration date
January 30, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
February 07, 2023, 11:16 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Prachi Jain
Affiliation
Loyola Marymount University
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Michelle Miller
PI Affiliation
Loyola Marymount University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2022-03-14
End date
2026-06-30
Keywords
Behavior, Gender, Lab, Labor
Additional Keywords
Gender disparities, hiring decisions, laboratory experiment
JEL code(s)
J16, J71, C92, C91, M51
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
An abundance of statistics has shown the gender disparity in corporate organizations, political bodies, and university positions. These facts lead to a natural question: why aren’t women being hired or promoted in the workplace? This project examines the role decision-making bodies play in gender disparity in hiring using a laboratory experiment.

Our first research question asks: how does the gender composition of a hiring committee affect who gets hired? Additionally, the process by which hiring decisions are made likely plays an important role in affecting who gets hired. For example, are decisions made democratically with all members having an equal voice? Or are decisions made unilaterally by a leader? Therefore, our second research question asks: how does the decision-making structure of the hiring committee affect who gets hired?
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Jain, Prachi and Michelle Miller. 2023. "The Role of Gender and Decision-Making Structure in Hiring Decisions." AEA RCT Registry. February 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10775-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We will vary the gender composition of the three-person groups. Additionally, we will vary the decision-making structure of the group. Some groups will decide who to select to “hire” based on a majority vote. Some groups will decide who to select based on a unanimous vote. In some groups, a randomly selected leader from the group will select who to "hire”. In some groups, a volunteer leader from the group will select who to “hire”.
Intervention Start Date
2022-03-14
Intervention End Date
2023-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Whether female resume is selected
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Since we are interested in who is selected by the groups and discrimination against women, we examine whether the female candidate is selected.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
There are numerous secondary outcomes including but not limited to:
a) Whether the highest ranked performer is selected
b) Whether the youngest (or oldest) candidate is selected
c) Group dynamics as measured through the chat interface
d) The difference between individual and group decisions
e) Whether an individual volunteers to be a leader (among the leader treatments)
f) Responses to a series of questions about group decision making in the post-experimental questionnaire
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
Aligning with the outcomes listed above, there are numerous secondary topics including but not limited to:
a) At the group level: Does the gender composition and/or group decision-making structure impact whether a group selects the highest performing candidate?
At the individual level: What factors impact an individual’s decision to select the highest performing candidate? For example, does gender affect whether the highest ranked performer is selected by the individual?
b) At the group level: Does the gender composition and/or group decision-making structure impact whether a group selects the youngest (or oldest) candidate?
At the individual level: What factors impact an individual’s decision to select the youngest (or oldest) candidate? For example, does gender affect whether the youngest (or oldest) candidate is selected by the individual?
c) At the group level: Are there differences in the discussions on the chat interface based on gender composition and/or group decision-making structure? For example, does the gender composition of the group and/or the voting procedure change the content of the discussion, who speaks up, the length of the discussion, etc.?
At the individual level: What factors impact an individual’s contributions to the discussion on the chat interface such as the content of the discussion, whether to speak up, how much to speak, etc.?
d) Are there differences between individual and group decisions? Does an individual’s gender, the gender composition of the group, and/or the group decision making structure impact these differences? For example, does the gender composition of the group impact who changes their mind between the individual and group decisions?
e) Who volunteers to be a group leader (among the leader treatments)? Additionally, when (meaning, in what round) does a participant volunteer to be a group leader? For example, what individual factors affect who volunteers to be a leader? Does the gender composition of the group and/or the decision-making structure impact who volunteers to be a group leader and when?
f) Do the group composition and/or group decision-making structure affect how individual assess their group’s dynamics (assessed by a series of questions in the post-experiment questionnaire about the group’s decision-making process)?

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Subjects are given three resumes and must decide who to select to “hire”, both individually and in groups. Which resume is selected for “hire” determine the subjects’ payments; they receive higher payments if they select the resume corresponding to the higher ranked performer. Groups can interact using a chat interface to decide who to select. The three-person groups vary in gender composition and in how they make their decisions about who to select. Subjects participate in 6 or 8 rounds (with differing sets of resumes); groups vary between rounds.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
We randomize group composition using zTree. Groups (and group composition) will vary across rounds within a session. We randomize group decision-making rules at the session level using a session randomizer.
Randomization Unit
The unit of observation is the group and individual decisions. We collect data in sessions, with each session in a different decision-making treatment.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
160 groups
Sample size: planned number of observations
480 individuals, 160 groups
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
120 individuals per treatment arm
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Loyola Marymount University
IRB Approval Date
2019-05-13
IRB Approval Number
LMU IRB 2019 SP 72-R
Analysis Plan