Mentoring and Diversity

Susan Athey, Christopher Avery, Peter Zemsky

American Economic Review · 2000 · Volume 90 · Issue 4

Abstract

We study how diversity evolves at a firm with entry-level and upper-level employees who vary in ability and "type" (gender or ethnicity). The ability of entry-level employees is increased by mentoring. An employ receives more mentoring when more upper-level employees have the same type. Optimal promotions are biased by type, and this bias may favor either the minority or the majority. We characterize possible steady states, including a "glass ceiling," where the upper level remains less diverse than the entry level. A firm may have multiple steady states, whereby temporary affirmative-action policies have a long-run impact.

Keywords

Labor Discrimination, Economics of Minorities and Races, Non-labor Discrimination, Economics of Gender, Labor Contracts

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