We examine whether visibility shocks can raise awareness of gender inequality, by looking at the impact of women’s soccer team performances in Latin America. Our design exploits quasi-random exposure generated by the overlap between the dates of major international tournaments and the timing of Latinobarómetro survey interviews. We find that individuals interviewed in the days after a victory are about 10 percent more likely to recognize gender inequality, while those interviewed after a defeat are about 4 percent less likely to do so, particularly among men. Draws have no effect. The effects are strongest for high-stakes tournaments such as the FIFA Women’s World Cup and for matches with large winning margins. Complementary evidence from the 2023 European Social Survey supports our findings, showing similar increases in perceived labor market inequality after women’s team victories, especially in countries with high baseline support for gender equality. While victories raise awareness of inequality, we find limited changes in deeper normative beliefs about gender roles.

Can large-scale socio-political events influence organizational outcomes like hiring? This paper documents how firms' hiring rates shifted across racial groups following the 2020 George Floyd protests. These protests were not significantly correlated with pre-existing hiring trends, economic conditions, or most demographic characteristics. Using a difference-in-differences approach with continuous treatment and an event study design, I find that counties with higher protest intensity experienced a decline in Black hiring rates over the two years following the protests, with no significant change for Hispanic or Asian groups. White hiring rates declined in 2020 but rebounded in the following years. The negative effect on Black hiring is not explained by political orientation, urbanization, racial bias, or labor supply and demand. It is concentrated in large firms and in counties with small Black communities, with no effect where Black representation is higher. Finally, protest effects vary by industry, with declines in health care and social assistance and increases in arts and entertainment.

Using variation in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) schedule as an instrument for income, this paper examines how additional income affects the use of financial services among low-income households. I find that higher income increases the likelihood of being banked and fully banked, while reducing reliance on alternative financial services such as payday and pawnshop loans. These effects are driven by White households, while Black households experience no increase in banking despite a similar reduction in alternative service use. Further analysis shows that Black respondents are significantly less likely to believe that banks are interested in households like theirs, and this perception strongly predicts lower engagement with the banking system. The results suggest that while income support reduces financial exclusion, perceptions of discrimination and trust in financial institutions remain key barriers to full inclusion.