Overview

For the past several decades, income inequality in the United States has steadily increased. The extent of this inequality is exacerbated when making comparisons between the very rich and poor or men and women. Professor Exley’s research is driven by a desire to better understand this inequality and how to counter it.

Her first research strand on prosocial behavior investigates how to direct help to those in need via the encouragement of charitable giving and volunteering. In this work, she shows how to bolster giving by increasing the observability of actions, influencing what is viewed as appropriate, and by shaping the formation of equity preferences. She also shows how individuals are keen to exploit excuses not to be prosocial.

Her second research strand on gender examines how to counter gender gaps in economic outcomes. In doing so, her research specifically highlights faulty assumptions about the drivers of gender gaps. For instance, she finds that leaning-in may backfire as women are frequently adept at knowing when to ask; beliefs about performance can play a role even when gender discrimination appears to be driven by animus or other non-performance considerations; and, that women self-promote less than men but not because of a gender differences in confidence.