| Abstract: |
We aim to investigate if men receive preferential treatment in promotions
using the Italian system for the access to associate and full professor
positions that is organized in two stages: first, candidates participate in a
national wide competition to obtain the National Scientific Qualification
(NSQ), then successful candidates compete to obtain a position in University
Departments opening a vacancy. We investigate the probability of success in
the two stages in relation to the candidate’s gender, controlling for several
measures of productivity and a number of individual, field and university
characteristics. Whereas no gender differences emerge in the probability of
obtaining the NSQ, females have a lower probability of promotion at the
Department level. Gender gaps tend to be larger when the number of available
positions shrink, consistent with a sort of social norm establishing that men
are given priority over women when the number of positions is limited. |