Working Papers
'Some Bonuses are Bigger than Others? Earnings Pressure and the Gender Pay Gap' Job Market Paper
Abstract: This paper examines the gendered effect of financial pressures on employee compensation, focusing on managers’ pressure to meet earnings expectations. Using UK subsidiary-level data from 2017–2021, I find that the gender bonus gap increases by 4.23 percentage points in firms just meeting analyst forecasts, compared to those missing or comfortably beating expectations, even after controlling for job roles. To strengthen causal inference, I exploit an exogenous decline in analyst coverage following the MiFID II reform and confirm my results in a triple-differences design. Drawing on Tilly’s (1998) theory, I submit that managers may disproportionally reduce bonuses for women to achieve earnings targets when institutional constraints are weak. Consistent with this view, the effect is only observed in firms with weaker reputational (poor ESG ratings), organizational (fewer than three female directors), and regulatory (no prior labor violations) constraints.
Presented at 2024 AFA Annual Meeting Poster Session, 2024 AAA Annual Meeting, and University of Manchester.
'Diversity, Interrupted? Diversity Hushing and Political Pressure' with Namisha Bhattarai and Tendai Masaya
Abstract: We document the phenomenon of diversity hushing, an underexplored form of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) communication. We use quarterly data from 2022 to 2024 to examine how U.S. public companies respond to the staggered timing of state-level anti-DEI lawsuits, interpreted as plausibly exogenous shocks to the broader political climate. We find that firms with a history of DEI disclosure reduce their DEI communication following these events, while their internal DEI efforts, measured through external assessment scores, workforce diversity, and job posting language, appear to be unchanged. We term this strategic decoupling diversity hushing. We further test market reactions to hushing during heightened nationwide attention to DEI in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action and find that investors respond negatively to hushing. Overall, our findings extend the static interpretation of diversity washing and highlight the role of political sentiment in shaping corporate DEI strategies.
Presented at 2025 Haskayne and Fox Accounting Conference and University of Warwick.
Works in Progress
'Manic Monday: School Closures and Female Employment' with Joshua Khavis, Thomas Steffen, and Brandon Szerwo.
' Another Suitcase in Another Hall?' with Sebastian Tideman-Frappart
''Expertise in a Cold Climate' with Philip Joos and Raffaele Manini
‘In the Air Tonight: Accounting-driven Increased Pollution and Respiratory Morbidity’ with Asanish Kalyanasundaram
'With a Little Help from Her Friends? Gendered Networks and ESG Governance' with Ainara González de San Román, Maud Pindard-Lejarraga, and Jose Lejarraga.
‘Paint it, Concrete: A New Method of Measuring Specificity’ with Chi Ian Tang