Gender Gap in Upward Mobility: What is the Role of Non-cognitive Traits?

Do non-cognitive traits contribute to the gender gap in supervisory status and promotion? We use a large employer-employee matched dataset collected from six former socialist countries to assess the link between non-cognitive traits and upward mobility. Controlling for workplace heterogeneity, we find that gender differences in locus of control, the preference for challenge versus affiliation, and adherence to work ethic together can explain about 7–18% of the gender gap in supervisory status and promotion. Overall, non-cognitive traits provide an important, though modest, explanation for the gender gap in upward mobility. The version of record is available at https://doi.org/10.1108/ijm-12-2015-0220. The full citation is as follows: Chu, Y.-W.L., and Linz, S. (2017). Gender gap in upward mobility: what is the role of non-cognitive traits? International Journal of Manpower 38, 835–853.