The Role Of Gender In Academic Finance Journals: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Since 2001, the proportion of women that have become assistant professors of finance initially increased from less than 20% to almost 30% in 2012 before falling slightly in 2013.  On the other hand, women continue to make up less than 20% of those advancing to associate professor and less than 10% being promoted to full professor.  Research productivity is a primary determinant for promotion, so it appears that many women are not publishing enough or of sufficient quality in order to be promoted.  We also find that despite the fact that in 2013 women account for 24% of associate professors and 10% of full professors, women still made up less than 8% of finance journal editors. This is an exploratory study that seeks to understand the role of gender in academic finance and examine some possible reasons, supply side or demand side, why women are under-represented on editorial boards.