Hello!

I am a Ph.D. student in the Department of Economics at Columbia University. I am on the job market during the 2022-2023 season. My research interests are at the intersection of Labor, Finance, and Law & Economics.

Prior to Columbia, I received a B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley and was a Research Fellow at Stanford Law School.

For more information, please contact me at bg2600@columbia.edu or visit my personal website

More than one-third of US-listed companies had all-male corporate boards in 2015. Quotas are discussed as policy levers to increase gender diversity, but there is much controversy whether they can increase female representation without harming organizational outcomes. Using the passage of a California law in 2018 that required the presence of at least one woman on corporate boards by the end of the following year, I estimate the effects of gender quotas on firm performance. I find the quota reduced the share of all-male boards by thirty percentage points within one year, with no reductions in operating performance, firm values, or shareholder returns within three years. These results question why all-male boards were prevalent prior to the legislation. I find that women directors are less likely to possess top-level experience and employment connections with corporate executives, which both appear as viable explanations. These findings provide insight on why women continue to lack representation in corporate leadership.

Fall 2018 – Economics of Race in the United States, Columbia University, TA for Professor Brendan O’Flaherty
Teaching Evaluations

Spring 2019 – Economics of New York City, Columbia University, TA for Professor Donald Davis
Teaching Evaluations