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Female jockeys - what are the odds?

Author

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  • Cashmore, Vanessa
  • Coster, Neil
  • Forrest, David
  • McHale, Ian
  • Buraimo, Babatunde

Abstract

Under-representation of women persists in many industries and represents an important area of concern for society. We use a revealed preference approach to test for bias against females in an underexplored environment. Whilst much use has been made of the financial industry to examine how market prices reveal implicit views on the relative productivity of men and women, our setting offers advantages through both volume of data and unambiguity of outcome. Over a 20-year period, the effect of jockey gender on fixed price betting odds was examined in National Hunt racing. Employing censored regression to account for non-finishers we find female jockeys to be underestimated by the UK betting market. Results indicate an increasing trend for underestimation in recent years, despite growing representation and rising performance levels of female jockeys. We conclude that mistake-based discrimination and confirmation bias may be impacting efficiency in the betting market. The market might recognise some improvement in female performance but may be failing to adapt at the speed with which female jockeys are professionalising.

Suggested Citation

  • Cashmore, Vanessa & Coster, Neil & Forrest, David & McHale, Ian & Buraimo, Babatunde, 2022. "Female jockeys - what are the odds?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 703-713.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:202:y:2022:i:c:p:703-713
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2022.08.012
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hegarty, Tadgh & Whelan, Karl, 2023. "Do Gamblers Understand Complex Bets? Evidence From Asian Handicap Betting on Soccer," MPRA Paper 117244, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender bias; Discrimination; Horseracing; Heckman; Female jockey;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Z22 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - Labor Issues

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