A Study of the Champagne Industry Shows That Women Have Stronger Networks, and Profit from Them

Previous research into discrimination has found that buyers often offer lower prices to women and minorities when they can, such as on eBay and at trade shows. But what about seller-side discrimination? To try to isolate seller-side effects, researchers turned to the Champagne industry, where women make up a small fraction of grape growers, grape quality is recorded officially and publicly, and a combination of booming demand and limited supply means prices are relatively inelastic. The researchers found that female grape growers in this market were actually able to command a narrow (1-2%) price premium compared to their male peers. While the men hesitated to network freely with their competitors, it seems the female grape growers socialized happily, and trusted each other more. Their stronger networks and more open sharing of information allowed them to get more accurate information on the prices they could charge for their grapes.