IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/tin/wpaper/20250032.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Gender and Performance in Collaboration: Evidence from Random Student Teams

Author

Listed:
  • Max Coveney

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute)

  • Pilar Garcia-Gomez

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute)

  • Teresa Marreiros Bago d'Uva

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam and Tinbergen Institute)

Abstract

Should gender composition be taken into account when forming teams? This paper examines how the output of teams completing tasks similar to those performed in many workplaces is influenced by their gender composition. Leveraging an economics bachelor course in which students are randomly paired together, we document large differences in performance grades by the gender make-up of the team. All-male teams are significantly outperformed by both mixed and all-female teams. These differences remain even when comprehensively controlling for the individual task aptitude of each of the group members, as well as other characteristics potentially relevant for teamwork that may vary by gender. Exploring mechanisms, we find suggestive evidence that women have greater preferences for cooperation, and - even when controlling for individual ability - exert higher effort levels in teams compared to men. This asymmetry appears to lead to members of mixed-gender teams reporting the worst team experiences.

Suggested Citation

  • Max Coveney & Pilar Garcia-Gomez & Teresa Marreiros Bago d'Uva, 2025. "Gender and Performance in Collaboration: Evidence from Random Student Teams," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 25-032/V, Tinbergen Institute.
  • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20250032
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/25032.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Manuel Bagues & Mauro Sylos-Labini & Natalia Zinovyeva, 2017. "Does the Gender Composition of Scientific Committees Matter?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(4), pages 1207-1238, April.
    2. De Paola, Maria & Lombardo, Rosetta & Pupo, Valeria & Scoppa, Vincenzo, 2021. "Do Women Shy Away from Public Speaking? A Field Experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    3. Heather Sarsons & Klarita Gërxhani & Ernesto Reuben & Arthur Schram, 2021. "Gender Differences in Recognition for Group Work," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(1), pages 101-147.
    4. Weidmann, Ben & Vecci, Joseph & Said, Farah & Bhalotra, Sonia & Adhvaryu, Achyuta & Nyshadham, Anant & Tamayo, Jorge & Deming, David, 2024. "How Do You Find A Good Manager?," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 715, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    5. Green, Colin P. & Homroy, Swarnodeep, 2018. "Female directors, board committees and firm performance," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 19-38.
    6. Edward P. Lazear & Kathryn L. Shaw, 2007. "Personnel Economics: The Economist's View of Human Resources," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(4), pages 91-114, Fall.
    7. Sander Hoogendoorn & Hessel Oosterbeek & Mirjam van Praag, 2013. "The Impact of Gender Diversity on the Performance of Business Teams: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(7), pages 1514-1528, July.
    8. Jan Feld & Nicolás Salamanca & Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2016. "Endophilia or Exophobia: Beyond Discrimination," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(594), pages 1503-1527, August.
    9. Furtner, Nadja C. & Kocher, Martin G. & Martinsson, Peter & Matzat, Dominik & Wollbrant, Conny, 2021. "Gender and cooperative preferences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 39-48.
    10. Claudia Goldin, 2014. "A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1091-1119, April.
    11. De Paola, Maria & Gioia, Francesca & Scoppa, Vincenzo, 2022. "Female leadership: Effectiveness and perception," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 134-162.
    12. Manuel F. Bagues & Berta Esteve-Volart, 2010. "Can Gender Parity Break the Glass Ceiling? Evidence from a Repeated Randomized Experiment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 77(4), pages 1301-1328.
    13. Michele Williams & Evan Polman, 2015. "Is It Me or Her? How Gender Composition Evokes Interpersonally Sensitive Behavior on Collaborative Cross-Boundary Projects," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(2), pages 334-355, April.
    14. Koen Jochmans, 2023. "Testing random assignment to peer groups," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 38(3), pages 321-333, April.
    15. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    16. Jeffery Carpenter & Samuel Bowles & Herbert Gintis, 2006. "Mutual Monitoring in Teams: Theory and Experimental Evidence on the Importance of Reciprocity," Middlebury College Working Paper Series 0608, Middlebury College, Department of Economics.
    17. Bruce Sacerdote, 2001. "Peer Effects with Random Assignment: Results for Dartmouth Roommates," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(2), pages 681-704.
    18. Ben Weidmann & David J. Deming, 2020. "Team Players: How Social Skills Improve Group Performance," NBER Working Papers 27071, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Bram Cadsby, C. & Maynes, Elizabeth, 1998. "Gender and free riding in a threshold public goods game: Experimental evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 603-620, March.
    20. Jose Apesteguia & Ghazala Azmat & Nagore Iriberri, 2012. "The Impact of Gender Composition on Team Performance and Decision Making: Evidence from the Field," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(1), pages 78-93, January.
    21. Steffen Keck & Wenjie Tang, 2018. "Gender Composition and Group Confidence Judgment: The Perils of All-Male Groups," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(12), pages 5877-5898, December.
    22. Lisa Hope Pelled, 1996. "Demographic Diversity, Conflict, and Work Group Outcomes: An Intervening Process Theory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 7(6), pages 615-631, December.
    23. Linda Babcock & Maria P. Recalde & Lise Vesterlund & Laurie Weingart, 2017. "Gender Differences in Accepting and Receiving Requests for Tasks with Low Promotability," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(3), pages 714-747, March.
    24. Rachel Croson & Uri Gneezy, 2009. "Gender Differences in Preferences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 448-474, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Timothy N. Cason & Lata Gangadharan, 2022. "Gender, Beliefs, and Coordination with Externalities Approach," Purdue University Economics Working Papers 1330, Purdue University, Department of Economics.
    2. Cason, Timothy N. & Gangadharan, Lata & Grossman, Philip J., 2022. "Gender, beliefs, and coordination with externalities," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    3. José J. Domínguez, 2021. "The Effectiveness of Committee Quotas; The Role of Group Dynamics," ThE Papers 21/12, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    4. Domínguez, José J., 2023. "Diversified committees in hiring processes: Lab evidence on group dynamics," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    5. Funk, Patricia & Iriberri, Nagore & Savio, Giulia, 2024. "Does scarcity of female instructors create demand for diversity among students? Evidence from an M-Turk experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    6. Muehlheusser, Gerd & Promann, Timo & Roider, Andreas & Wallmeier, Niklas, 2024. "Honesty of Groups: Effects of Size and Gender Composition," IZA Discussion Papers 16954, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. David Hardt & Lea Mayer & Johannes Rincke, 2023. "Who Does the Talking Here? The Impact of Gender Composition on Team Interactions," CESifo Working Paper Series 10550, CESifo.
    8. Mario Daniele Amore & Orsola Garofalo & Alessandro Minichilli, 2014. "Gender Interactions Within the Family Firm," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(5), pages 1083-1097, May.
    9. Sule Alan & Corekcioglu & Mustafa Kaba & Matthias Sutter, 2023. "Female Leadership and Workplace Climate," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2023_09, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    10. Cagatay Bircan & Guido Friebel & Tristan Stahl, 2025. "Gender Promotion Gaps in Knowledge Work: The Role of Task Assignment in Teams," RFBerlin Discussion Paper Series 2518, Rockwool Foundation Berlin (RF Berlin).
    11. Azmat, Ghazala & Petrongolo, Barbara, 2014. "Gender and the labor market: What have we learned from field and lab experiments?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 32-40.
    12. Lamiraud, Karine & Vranceanu , Radu, 2015. "Group Gender Composition and Economic Decision-Making," ESSEC Working Papers WP1515, ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School.
    13. Mohsni, Sana & Otchere, Isaac & Shahriar, Saquib, 2021. "Board gender diversity, firm performance and risk-taking in developing countries: The moderating effect of culture," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    14. Giulia Ferrari & Valeria Ferraro & Paola Profeta & Chiara Pronzato, 2022. "Do Board Gender Quotas Matter? Selection, Performance, and Stock Market Effects," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(8), pages 5618-5643, August.
    15. Chang, Han Il & Dariel, Aurelie & Reuben, Alicja & Zhang, Huanren, 2024. "Gender identity, salience of information, and tacit coordination: Gender differences in response to strategic uncertainty," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    16. Judit Vall-Castello & Lídia Farré, 2025. "Promoting Female Talent in Science: Evidence from an Affirmative Action Policy," Working Papers 1478, Barcelona School of Economics.
    17. Ghazala Azmat, 2019. "Gender diversity in teams," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 1-29, May.
    18. Azmat, Ghazala & Petrongolo, Barbara, 2014. "Gender and the labor market: What have we learned from field and lab experiments?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 32-40.
    19. Steffen Keck & Wenjie Tang, 2018. "Gender Composition and Group Confidence Judgment: The Perils of All-Male Groups," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(12), pages 5877-5898, December.
    20. David Newton & Mikhail Simutin, 2015. "Of Age, Sex, and Money: Insights from Corporate Officer Compensation on the Wage Inequality Between Genders," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(10), pages 2355-2375, October.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20250032. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Tinbergen Office +31 (0)10-4088900 (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/tinbenl.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.