Economics and Finance Research Talk 11th October

Research Seminar presents the up-to-date research work in Economics and Finance topics. The presenters invited are internals or externals.

Presenter: Zahra Murad (University of Portsmouth) Title: Do co-leadership positions increase diversity in leadership? Experimental Evidence on Gender and Personality Abstract: This study examines the impact of co-leadership as an institutional solution to enhance gender diversity in top leadership roles. We propose that responsibility aversion may contribute to the gender gap in leadership positions and explore how co-leadership affects women's willingness to take on such roles. Our findings suggest that women are less inclined to be solo decision-makers but are more willing to engage in leadership when responsibilities are co-shared. In solo leadership setups, women experience heightened levels of responsibility, anxiety, blame, and guilt, which are significantly mitigated in co-leadership contexts. Additionally, co-leadership appears to attract individuals with lower scores in dark triad personality traits, suggesting a more empathetic and cooperative leadership style.

These results offer valuable insights for organizational decision-makers aiming to increase representative diversity in leadership, suggesting that co-leadership could be an effective strategy for achieving this goal.