Publications
Publications
- 2022
- HBS Working Paper Series
Gender Inequality and the Direction of Ideas: Evidence from the Weinstein Scandal and #MeToo
By: Hong Luo and Laurina Zhang
Abstract
How do the Harvey Weinstein scandal and #MeToo affect women’s likelihood of working
in male-dominated domains and the types of ideas developed in Hollywood? To discern these
events’ impact, we exploit the variation in whether a producer previously collaborated with Weinstein.
We find that compared to their non-associated counterparts, Weinstein-associated teams
with female talent are more likely to work on male-oriented stories after the shock, and their depiction
of female protagonists is less traditionally feminine. Finally, we find no change in the share
of female-oriented stories by Weinstein-associated producers, even though they now work substantially
more with female talent. Our findings suggest that these events have helped counteract
gender stereotypes for women, but they do not mitigate the shortage of female-oriented ideas.
Keywords
Gender Inequality; Gender Segregation; Social Movement; Direction Of Innovation; Creative Industries; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Social Issues; Creativity; Film Entertainment
Citation
Luo, Hong, and Laurina Zhang. "Gender Inequality and the Direction of Ideas: Evidence from the Weinstein Scandal and #MeToo." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-107, March 2021. (Revised December 2022.)