Is there
anything that can be done about such discrimination? This was the question that
we (JungYun Han, Henrich R. Greve, and Andrew Shipilov)
wanted to address with data on Korean artists and their exhibitions abroad. We
found that female artists were less successful in exhibiting abroad, as expected,
but that difference was not our main interest. Instead, we wanted to know whether
we could identify anything in their careers that reduced or eliminated their
disadvantage. We could.
An
important step in the careers of many artists is a residency stay in which they
share workspace in studios provided by the residency and also get to meet other
junior and senior artists to gain inspiration and advice. Residency programs
help artists succeed, which is exactly their purpose, but unexpectedly this was
only true for female artists. Education in an elite art school provides top-notch
technical training and artistic appreciation. Elite education helps artists
succeed, which is exactly its purpose, but again there was a surprise: it
benefited female artists more.
What is going
on here? The best explanation for these two effects is not training, but social
networks. Art residency programs and elite schools connect artists with others
who can provide advice on how to approach galleries and even direct contacts to
them. The best explanation for the male and female difference is that female artists
have more to prove, so the benefit from a network tie is greater for them. In network
effects we often see such effects – those who are accepted purely by who they
are gain some benefit from a good social network, but not nearly as much as
those who are discriminated against and need a social network to be introduced
to the right people and become recognized for their achievements.
These
effects offer clear advice for how to help women succeed in art, and probably
also in other kinds of entrepreneurship and work. They also offer a warning to
society because such differences can only exist because of discrimination.
