Effects of written self-promotion on gender bias and decision quality

Written self-promotion is crucial in numerous decision-making scenarios, including job applications, securing funds for start-ups, or academic grant proposals. In two experiments, we study the effects of written self-promotion on decision quality and gender bias. We show that, if anything, written self-promotion slightly improves decision quality. Concerning gender bias, we find that self-promotion does not induce a gender bias that harms women. While women in our sample face adverse effects of written self-promotion due to lower performance beliefs, they can compensate for this disadvantage by applying a more modest writing style and by providing more informative written self-promotion. Finally, we show that the provision of self-promotion can mitigate pre-existing gender biases.