Gender, workplace preferences and firm performance: Looking through the glass door

Chen, Jie; Jing, Chenxing; Keasey, Kevin; Lim, Ivan; Xu, Bin

Abstract

Using Glassdoor data we show that women are less satisfied at work than men and that female employees care more about work-life balance. Further analysis shows that this gender difference in workplace preference vanishes at the manager level, suggesting that women who care less about work-life balance self-select into career paths that ultimately lead to management positions. Exploring the performance implications, we show that family-friendly workplaces with smaller gender gaps in work-life balance satisfaction are associated with better firm performance. Overall, our study implies that policies that aim to narrow the gender satisfaction gap can be socially and economically desirable.

Citation

Chen, J., Jing, C., Keasey, K., Lim, I., & Xu, B. (2024). Gender, workplace preferences and firm performance: Looking through the glass door. European Financial Management, 30(1), 403-439. https://doi.org/10.1111/eufm.12421

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Apr 1, 2023
• Publication Date: 2024-01
• Deposit Date: Aug 15, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 2, 2025
• Journal: European Financial Management
• Print ISSN: 1354-7798
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-036X
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 30
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 403-439
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/eufm.12421
• Keywords: General Economics, Econometrics and Finance; Accounting
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1717763