Are Some Firms Better for Womens Careers?

This paper examines whether some firms are systematically better at advancing women's careers, focusing on India's corporate sector. Using an identification strategy based on firms' first-recruitment events at universities, we compare women who join top-ranked female-friendly firms to peers from prior cohorts. Drawing on LinkedIn career histories, we find that women who start at these firms are significantly more likely to remain at their initial employer, advance to management positions, and take on roles requiring abstract tasks. These effects persist eight years after graduation, suggesting that early placement at supportive firms can have lasting impacts on women's career trajectories.