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Gender Gap in Performance under Competitive Pressure

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  • Münich, Daniel
  • Jurajda, Å tÄ›pán

Abstract

Do women perform worse than equally able men in stressful competitive settings? We ask this question for competitions with a high payoff---admissions to tuition-free selective universities. With data on an entire cohort of Czech students graduating from secondary schools and applying to universities, we show that, compared to men of similar general skills and subject-of-study preferences, women do not shy away from applying to more competitive programs and perform similarly well when competition is less intense, but perform substantially worse (are less likely to be admitted) when applying to very selective universities.

Suggested Citation

  • Münich, Daniel & Jurajda, Å tÄ›pán, 2008. "Gender Gap in Performance under Competitive Pressure," CEPR Discussion Papers 7059, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:7059
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Josse Delfgaauw & Robert Dur & Joeri Sol & Willem Verbeke, 2013. "Tournament Incentives in the Field: Gender Differences in the Workplace," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(2), pages 305-326.
    2. Frick, Bernd, 2011. "Gender differences in competitiveness: Empirical evidence from professional distance running," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 389-398, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Admissions; Competition; Gender gap in performance; Test anxiety;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I29 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Other
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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