Gender Inequality and Social Capital in Academic Finance Networks

Abstract

Abstract Finance academia remains heavily male dominated, yet the mechanisms driving women’s underrepresentation are not fully understood. This study examines how co-authorship networks shape gendered access to and mobilisation of social capital by integrating Social Capital Theory with Social Network Analysis. Using a hand-collected global dataset of finance publications spanning 25 years, we examine gender differences in collaboration networks across distinct structural dimensions. We find that women occupy significantly weaker positions in both connectedness and brokerage within the broader network, despite comparable ties to highly central authors and journal editors. This combination reveals a systematic decoupling between access to influential actors and the capacity to occupy structurally advantageous positions through which social capital is effectively mobilised. We contribute to Social Capital Theory by identifying conditions under which access does not translate into advantage. The results show how network structures reproduce gender inequality in academic knowledge production, raising ethical concerns regarding equity, inclusion, and the legitimacy of ostensibly meritocratic systems.