Gender Bias in Assessments of Teacher Performance
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 111,
May 2021
(pp. 190-95)
Abstract
To measure whether principals exhibit gender bias when assessing teacher effectiveness, we compare principals' subjective evaluations against teachers' self-evaluations and objective effectiveness in Ghanaian primary schools. Female and male teachers rate themselves equivalently. Principals are 11 percentage points less likely to rate a female teacher as "more effective," but female teachers are objectively more effective based on student learning. Principals assess the least effective male teacher as more effective than the objectively most effective female teacher. We corroborate results with a survey experiment showing similar gender bias. This bias against female teachers has implications for promotion and student learning.Citation
Beg, Sabrin, Anne Fitzpatrick, and Adrienne M. Lucas. 2021. "Gender Bias in Assessments of Teacher Performance." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 111: 190-95. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20211126Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- I25 Education and Economic Development
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
- J45 Public Sector Labor Markets
- D63 Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
- J62 Job, Occupational, and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
- J71 Labor Discrimination