Mabel Abraham

Meritocracy is increasingly touted as the ideal. However, even evaluation processes intended to reward people solely based on their contributions or performance are imperfect. Sometimes people get less or more than they deserve (under or overrecognized). Across a series of field and lab experiments, this paper shows that these misrecognized people are much more likely to continue the same form of misrecognition when later evaluating others.

Women remain underrepresented in the highest positions in America, representing only 11% of Fortune 500 CEOs, 31% of board members, 25% of U.S. Senators, and 24% of Governors. This paper uses a mixed-methods approach to show how professional experience serves as one pathway for closing the gender gap in pursuing higher positions.

Evaluations govern the disbursal of critical resources and opportunities across professional contexts. However, these processes are often inequitable, fortifying entrenched social and economic disparities. This paper develops a unifying theoretical framework that uncovers the common categories of drivers that exacerbate (and mitigate) inequality.