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Gender Biased Resistance to Harsh Feedback

Author

Listed:
  • Perihan O. Saygin

    (Department of Applied Economics, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.)

  • Garrison Pollard

    (Department of Economics, University of Florida, US.)

  • Thomas Knight

    (Department of Economics, University of Florida, US.)

  • Mark Rush

    (Department of Economics, University of Florida, US.)

Abstract

Responses to performance feedback play a critical role in shaping future out comes in educational and professional contexts. This paper examines whether evaluator gender influences the likelihood that individuals contest feedback. Using an experiment conducted in large introductory economics courses, we exploit the random assignment of evaluators with randomly assigned male- or female-sounding names to identify a systematic gender bias: individuals are significantly more likely to contest feedback when it is delivered by an evaluator with a female-sounding name than when similar feedback comes from a male-sounding evaluator. This gender disparity is most pronounced when evaluations are harsh relative to a “fair” assessment, fall short of students’ performance expectations, and are more ambiguous. These findings suggest that women in evaluative positions face disproportionate resistance when delivering negative assessments and have implications for their authority, credibility, and career advancement in both educational and workplace settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Perihan O. Saygin & Garrison Pollard & Thomas Knight & Mark Rush, 2025. "Gender Biased Resistance to Harsh Feedback," Working Papers wpdea2510, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.
    • Handle: RePEc:uab:wprdea:wpdea2510
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