This paper examines the relationship between gender diversity and the diversification of ideas in Academia and in the knowledge sector. Diversity in employee representation is often advocated for its potential to foster diversity in ideas, and thereby innovation. However, this process of ‘diversifying ideas’ critically depends on decisions of incumbents, such as hiring and funding. If interests and ideas differ between incumbents and minorities, it may be difficult for minorities to ‘break through’. We first present evidence from the Academic Economics junior job market, where numerous initiatives have been launched in recent years to boost the representation of women. We find that women fare as well as men on the market, but they fare substantially better if they specialize in a more male-dominated field. In an Online Experiment, we study the demand for ideas in a college-educated population. We find large gender differences in the topics men and women choose to engage with. We then show that incentives encouraging the selection of topics that are typically more female are more effective at increasing their representation than incentives encouraging the selection of women.

I analyze the causal effects of liberalizing access to emergency hormonal contraception (EHC), also known as the morning after pill, on young adults’ reproductive behavior in England. The liberalization, which changed the prescription status from on doctor’s prescription only to available without prescription in pharmacies, created easier and more timely access to EHC for all women aged 16 years or older. In a novel theoretical model of individual behavior I find that EHC, which can be seen as a means of insurance against pregnancies, acts both as a substitute for regular contraception, as well as a substitute for abortions. This creates the need for analyzing the issue empirically since overall effects on outcomes such as births and abortions are unclear. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I find that easier access to EHC increases births only among 20-24 year olds. I find no effects on abortions for any age group. These findings are in line with easier EHC access leading to more unplanned but not unwanted children.

Fathers in Austria favor sons over daughters. Yet, those with sons have poorer mental health than those with daughters. This paper unveils this previously undocumented phenomenon using administrative and time-use data. At first glance, this son penalty in mental health appears paradoxical. Fathers thrive when a core preference remains unmet. However, we demonstrate that fathers of sons substantially increase their parenting investments. This observation resonates with the notion that the birth of sons augments fathers’ workload, potentially elevating stress and elucidating the mental health downturn. Our paper underscores the importance of exploring the dynamics of parental investment and well-being.

In this project, we analyze the causal effect of sibling gender on attitudes and preferences. Comparing first-born individuals with a next-born sister to first-born individuals with a next-born brother allows us to estimate the causal effect of sibling gender. First, we find that sibling gender matters only for women: men are not at all affected by the gender of their sibling. For women, we find that a next-born sister leads first-born women to have less stereo-typically female preferences in education and in terms of importance of career. Furthermore, we find that women with a sister in comparison to women with a brother have higher life satisfaction and better mental health. We also explore how the gender of the next-born sibling influences family relationships, in order to say more about the mechanisms at work. Our findings highlight, that the relationship with the next-born sibling changes. In addition, we find that women with a sister become more similar to men with respect to their self described social skills. These results shed light on how sibling gender influences preferences and attitudes, specifically those for education choices that are gender role conforming.