Luisa Gagliardi

Abstract

This study analyzes whether the value placed by employers on temporal flexibility explains the gender gap in career progression. We use data for firms acquired by multinational companies, match them with employees’ records from LinkedIn and distinguish between same- and different-time-zone acquisitions. Differences in time zone between acquirer and target firms increase the demand for and value of employees’ temporal flexibility, which puts women at a disadvantage. We find that women are 1.7% less likely than men to be promoted in cross time zone acquisitions. The career progression gap rises up to 7.3% for meaningful time zones.