Ray Fisman, Boston University

Information-Optional Policies and the Gender Concealment Gap

We analyze data from two universities that allowed students to conceal grades from their transcripts during the Covid-19 pandemic. Across both institutions, we observe a significant and substantial concealment gap: women are less likely than men to conceal grades that would harm their GPA. We explore the robustness, drivers, and consequences of the concealment gap via rich data on student traits and course-level characteristics as well as complementary data from an experiment with real employers and a survey of impacted students. The concealment gap proves robust and highlights how information-optional policies can create unexpected disparities.

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