Gender and Job Performance: Evidence from Wall Street

This study concerns the relationship between gender and job performance among brokerage firm equity analysts. Women’s representation in analyst positions dropped from 16 percent in 1995 to 14 percent in 2005. The study found significant gender-based differences in performance on various dimensions. For example, women cover roughly 9 stocks, on average, as compared with 10 for men, and women’s earnings estimates tend to be less accurate than men’s estimates. But the study also found that women are significantly more likely than men to be designated as All-Stars, which indicates that they outperform men in other aspects of job performance.