Leadership Selection : Can Changing the Default Break the Glass Ceiling?

Leadership selection often requires candidates to actively choose to express their interest. We compare such an Opt-in mechanism with an Opt-out mechanism where everyone qualified for the position is in the candidate pool by default, but individuals can choose to opt out of the selection process. Data from experiments reveal a gender gap in participation decisions under the Opt-in mechanism when selection is competitive. The gender gap exists even when individuals know they are the top performers. In contrast, under the Opt-out mechanism, women are more likely to participate, and this effectively reduces the gender gap in leadership selection