This project has received funding via the EUI ESR call 2025 and 2026, dedicated to Early Stage Researchers, with the contribution of the EUI Widening Europe Programme. The EUI Widening Europe Programme initiative, backed by contributions from the European Union and EUI Contracting States, is designed to strengthen internationalisation, competitiveness, and quality in research in Widening countries, and thus foster a more cohesive European Higher Education and Research area.
This project investigates the effect of tenure requirements on the supply of female candidates for academic positions in Economics. Economic research is known for having a “leaky pipeline:” Despite high early-stage academic achievements, only a few women reach tenured positions. We hypothesise that high publication requirements for tenure deter female economists from pursuing a career in academia.
During the first year of the project, within a hypothetical choice experiment, we quantified the willingness of PhD candidates in economics to give up salary, low teaching loads, or prestigious positions for jobs with less stringent tenure requirements. Our findings aim to inform policies to retain female talent in academia.
In the second phase of the project, we hypothesise that tenure requirements amplify the “leaky pipeline” between PhD completion and academic tenure by deterring female candidates from academic careers. This deterrent effect is expected to be particularly strong among women who wish to have children – a hypothesis we will test by examining heterogeneity in preferences by desired fertility. To evaluate these mechanisms, we will conduct a hypothetical choice experiment online among PhD students in their final year and Economics job market candidates in Europe. The experiment will quantify the extent to which men and women differ in their willingness to trade salary, teaching load, or departmental prestige for less stringent tenure requirements.
For more information about the EUI Widening Europe Programme, please visit the official webpage.