I study the impact of exposure to gender-biased teachers on student achievement and
self-confidence. The gender gap in math performance substantially increases when students
are quasi-randomly assigned to teachers with stronger stereotypes (as measured by
an implicit association test). The effect is driven by lower performance of female students,
while there is no impact on males. Teacher bias induces females to self-select into less
demanding high-schools, following the track recommendation of their teachers. Finally,
teacher bias has a substantial negative impact on females’ assessment of their own math
ability. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that ability-stigmatized groups
underperform and fail to achieve their potential.
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