Advancing Gender Diversity in Leadership Positions
Faculty Member's Name: Berta Esteve-Volart
Faculty Member's Email Address: bertaev@yorku.ca
Department/School: Department of Economics
Project Title: Advancing Gender Diversity in Leadership Positions
Description of Research Project
This research project examines the relationship between gender diversity in leadership and economic, organizational, and institutional outcomes using quantitative empirical methods and large-scale secondary data. The project represents the third stage of a broader research agenda on gender diversity in leadership and complements earlier stages that synthesize existing findings through bibliometric analysis and meta-analysis. While informed by prior stages, this component proceeds independently and focuses on original empirical investigation.
The central objective of this stage is to analyze how changes in gender representation in leadership positions (across political, economic, or organizational contexts) relate to key performance and development outcomes. The project emphasizes empirical strategies that capture variation over time and across institutional settings, with particular attention to the role of policy environments, governance structures, and institutional reforms that may influence women’s access to leadership roles.
The empirical analysis draws on longitudinal data covering multiple years and jurisdictions, primarily from internationally recognized sources such as the World Bank and other publicly available datasets. These data include indicators of women’s participation in leadership positions (e.g., political leadership, senior management, or executive roles), alongside economic, social, and institutional variables such as economic growth, labor market outcomes, education, governance quality, and public policy characteristics. The longitudinal structure of the data allows the analysis to focus on within-unit changes over time rather than purely cross-sectional comparisons.
A key feature of this project is its focus on empirical designs that move beyond descriptive correlations. The research explores how institutional or policy changes such as regulatory reforms, governance initiatives, or other externally driven shifts affecting gender representation can be leveraged to strengthen causal inference. Depending on data availability and empirical feasibility, the analysis may take the form of a multi-country panel study or a more focused examination of a specific institutional setting or policy change within a single country. This flexible design allows the empirical strategy to adapt to the most informative and credible identification approach.
Methodologically, the project employs panel data techniques, including fixed-effects models and related approaches that control for unobserved, time-invariant characteristics. Where appropriate, the analysis may incorporate quasi-experimental methods that exploit policy timing or institutional variation to better isolate the effects of changes in leadership gender composition. These approaches address common challenges in this literature, including reverse causality and omitted variable bias.
The research has strong policy and societal relevance. By examining how changes in gender diversity in leadership relate to economic performance, governance outcomes, and broader measures of development, the project contributes evidence relevant to policymakers, international organizations, and stakeholders concerned with inclusive leadership, institutional design, and sustainable development.
Undergraduate Student Responsibilities
- Collecting, organizing, and documenting data from publicly available sources such as the World Bank and other international databases
- Cleaning and merging longitudinal datasets and assisting in the construction of key variables related to leadership, economic performance, and institutional characteristic
- Conducting preliminary descriptive analysis to explore trends and patterns in the data over time and across institutional settings
- Assisting with the implementation of panel data and related empirical methods under faculty guidance
- Preparing tables, figures, and summary statistics for internal research use and potential dissemination
- Maintaining clear documentation of data sources and analytical steps to ensure transparency and reproducibility
Qualifications Required
- Strong interest in research on gender, leadership, public policy, or economic and institutional analysis
- Basic familiarity with quantitative methods and statistical concepts (e.g., regression analysis, descriptive statistics)
- Experience working with data in Excel, Stata, R, Python, or similar statistical software is an asset
- Ability to work with large datasets and attention to detail in data cleaning and documentation
- Strong organizational skills and ability to follow research protocols
- Ability to work independently while taking direction and feedback from faculty supervisors
- Strong written communication skills and ability to clearly document research procedures
Interested in this project posting?
Submit your resumé and unique cover letter for this projects to the faculty supervisor. Deadline: February 6, 2026 by 4 p.m.