This past September 10-11 the World Bank Group, LSE, and the Gates Foundation convened a global conference on Women’s Leadership: Accelerating Development Outcomes. The inaugural conference, the first in a series, focused on causal evidence on barriers, impacts and policies to advance women’s representation, voice and power. A total of 48 papers were presented across sessions, complemented by keynotes from Matthias Doepke, Rohini Pande, and Amanda Clayton.
Here we offer a swift round-up of both the keynotes and the papers at the conference. Papers covered a range of empirical approaches, which we have tagged below.
Let’s start with the keynotes. The three keynote speakers were not guided in their talks, and yet a common thread runs through them: representation and advancements in rights do not easily translate in shifts in power and authority, and progress can be vulnerable to backsliding.
Using cross-country data (190 countries, 1970–2020) and U.S. history, Doepke discussed how women’s rights advances have been mainly through economic channels, such as labor force participation and fertility, rather than cultural factors. Rights advanced when both women and men stand to gain, and they stall or turn into restrictions when men see women as competitors (for example, “protective” labor laws often reflected men’s concerns about competition from women workers). The implication is that durable progress occurs when both men and women benefit from women’s rights, something that in today’s world might be weakened by falling marriage rates. [see slides here]
Pande drew on a review of 56 gender-quota papers and evidence from India, Bangladesh, Brazil, Sweden, and China to argue that authority is a “gatekept good,” with incumbents rationing entry to protect their own control. Well-designed quotas can break these barriers, correct beliefs about women’s leadership, and improve representation, public services, workplace conditions, and organizational performance. Yet these gains remain vulnerable when incumbents shift control to other stages of selection or reverse reforms, underscoring the need for safeguards against circumvention and rollback. [see slides here]
Drawing on cross-country, legislative records, survey, and experimental evidence including 73 quota-adopting countries – with a focus on African countries – Clayton argued that women’s political inclusion (fueled by quotas) can shift policy priorities toward health, education, social rights, and addressing violence against women, while also increasing public trust and the perceived legitimacy of democratic institutions. However, representation alone does not guarantee influence: women’s effectiveness depends on institutional conditions such as electoral systems, party discipline, democratic strength, and support from women’s movements. [see slides here]
And now we move from keynotes to papers, with a round-up of the research presented in three broad areas.
Gender Quotas: Representation, Power and Outcomes
In rural India, women elected to reserved seats hold significantly less decision-making authority, as unequal household power dynamics shape who actually governs (Huidobro, Prillaman & Singhania). #Randomization
More women on corporate boards leads firms to invest more in gender-equal countries. Italy’s board gender quota shows that who governs firms can shape where capital flows. (Kavakli, D’Angelo & Minichilli). #DiD
Using 11 years of data from 571 Indian listed firms following the introduction of the country’s board quotas, more gender-mixed boards appear to soften the hit to profits from policy uncertainty, mainly by protecting R&D and staff pay from cuts (Shastri). #Quant
Gender quotas for rural Mexico’s communal governance raised female representation by 7 p.p., but mostly for less senior roles, and shifted land use from agriculture to reforestation without a decline in local economic activity (Aguilar-Gómez, Eustacchi & Aguirre-Duran). #DiD #EventStudy
India’s 2013 Companies Act, requiring at least one woman for listed firm boards, increased the number of women directors by 45% (and overall female board share by 7%), driven by firms with no prior women directors, and increased firm CSR spending and activities. (Chakraborty, Chakraborty & Sangwan). #DiD #RD
In China, moving from merit-based civil service recruitment to a one-to-one gender quota led to a decrease in female representation, candidate quality, worker productivity, and tax revenue (~US$4m per county annually) (Lyu). #DiD #EventStudy
Uruguay’s electoral gender quota led to strategic compliance by parties: more women were on party nomination lists but they were not any more likely to win elected office (Acquarone & Di Landro). #DiD
Token female candidates are a workaround to quotas in Brazil, but funding rules can offset his workaround (González-Fuentes & Paluskiewicz). #DiD
India’s 2013 law mandating women on the boards of listed companies increased women’s board representation and boosted firm income, sales, profits, and staff welfare (Cherian, Dhar & Jain). #IV
Lab experiments with students show substantial overestimation of the effects of gender quotas, driven by cognitive errors and ego-related attribution biases, resulting in distorted beliefs and increased gender bias (Kogelnik & Strack). #Randomization
In France, greater female board representation following the introduction of a gender quota increases women’s presence in top positions and reduces gender pay gaps, without hurting firm performance (Ladant & Paul-Delvaux). #DiD #EventStudy #IV
Barriers to Women’s Leadership
In Australia, female incumbents are less likely than similarly qualified men to be reelected, and voter bias is suggested as a barrier to progressing to political leadership (Do, Rai & Wang). #RDD
In Brazil, women’s electoral victories do not translate into greater campaign funding for female candidates in subsequent elections or narrow gender gaps in campaign finance (Acquarone & Civitarese). #RDD
In the West Bank, barriers compound across women’s careers, from labor market entry to advancement, leaving women less likely than men to reach senior and managerial positions (Hanoun). #Quant
Despite a growing IT sector in Kazakhstan, few women lead, as maternity leave and flexible work carry a career penalty and “always on” norms, caregiving, and weak mentorship matter more than formal flexibility policies (Seidumanova, Isupova, Egorova, & Islamova). #MixedMethods
In Italy, women academics with female peers are more likely to become full professors, but only when those peers aren’t competing for the same promotion (especially in high-quality departments) (Fenoll, Moscarola, & Zaccagni). #IV
Brazilian women physicians earn 22% less than comparable non-mothers years after childbirth, driven by a 15% drop in case volume and a shift to lower-priced, less complex procedures (Branco, Carrillo, Fontes, & Rachter). #DiD #EventStudy
Women in Nigeria with more digital access, especially mobile internet, are more likely to hold leadership roles in cooperatives and enterprises, particularly if they are educated, wealthier, and more digitally skilled (Daudu, Egbewole, & Yusuf). #IV
Will correcting men’s misperceptions about peers’ support for women in politics spur public action? Experiments in Liberia, Nepal, and Colombia test whether belief updates increase public petition signing (Koos & Lindsey). #Lab-in-the field #PAP
Electoral competition in Turkey pushes incumbent conservative parties toward gender balance. An opposition victory raised women’s candidacy by 25–30%, but not their placement in influential positions (Campa, Saygin & Tumen). #DiD
In Ethiopia’s Shark Tank, sector-specific bias shaped investment, while a female CEO role model and earnings information increased funding for women-led ventures (Buehren & Papineni). #Lab-in-the-field
In Nigeria, mentorship, dialogue, and values-based learning improved 5,247 boys’ acceptance of female authority and weakened gender-biased leadership norms (Ezeigbo). #Pre-Post
Evidence from Ecuador shows that the rules of the game of ballot design and the subsequent decisions political parties make can drive a gender gap in election outcomes (Arenas, Knight, Martınez & Tribin). #Quant
Beyond the tragic impacts on those directly affected, insecurity and conflict-related sexual violence in Nigeria generally constrain women’s participation in political and community spheres (Sanchez Bellosta). #Quant
Crises in Chile erodes gender parity in elected office, consistent with crisis-activated voter bias (Calo). #Pre-Post
Women’s Leadership Impacts on Development Outcomes
In Brazil, female mayors reduce emissions and deforestation without reducing local economic activity, while increasing environmental investment and enforcement (Berniell, Marchionni, Pedrazzi & Viollaz). #RDD
Across 127 developing countries, women’s political empowerment reduces the prevalence of informal settlements with economic development and governance as key channels (Nji Nchange & Mignamissi). #IV
In Australia, female members of Parliament increase support for gender issues and related legislation, shifts attitudes toward women’s rights, and reduces sexual assaults (Do, Mahmood, Mavisakalyan & Tyers). #RDD
Female mayors in Indonesia shift spending from infrastructure to personnel in low-clientelism areas, highlighting how political context shapes their impact (Merdikawati, Marshan & Nikijuluw). #DiD #EventStudy
Evidence from Tanzania, Ghana, and Zimbabwe links female leadership to stronger public budget execution and higher firm profits and productivity, especially where leaders have greater autonomy (Mahuyu). #DiD
More women with decision-making power in Indonesian banks helps banks interpret market signals differently leading to smoother deposit-rate pass-through (Widiyanti). #Quant
Women’s leadership development leads to meaningful impacts on health-systems (Saraswati, Bhan, Bruce, Lamb, Feenstra, Kisyombe, Dabla, & Okoli). #MixedMethods
Political inclusion – the number of women elected as mayors and parity rules – can result in improved education, especially at compulsory-school ages (Kaplan, Lamprea & Parker). #RDD
Presence does not equal power: women may be on staff but lack a pathway to leadership (Diop). #Litreview #Qual
