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Gender gaps in competition: new experimental evidence from UK

Author

Listed:
  • Sophie Clot

    (Department of Economics, University of Reading)

  • Marina Della Giusta

    (Department of Economics, University of Reading)

  • Giovanni Razzu

    (Department of Economics, University of Reading)

Abstract

We use a controlled experiment widely adopted in the literature to assess the extent of gender differences in attitudes towards competition in a sample of UK professionals working in two different companies. We find no gender differences in attitudes towards competition nor in performance under a competitive reward scheme. This results qualifies the findings of a large number of experimental studies that show that women are more likely than men to shy away from competition. We also find that, in our sample of professionals, women’s performance under competitive schemes does not decline. We conclude that it is important to avoid generalisations on the presence of gender gaps in attitudes towards competition. This being the first field study with professional workers in relatively competitive sectors, we think more needs to be carried out.

Suggested Citation

  • Sophie Clot & Marina Della Giusta & Giovanni Razzu, 2020. "Gender gaps in competition: new experimental evidence from UK," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2020-15, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    • Handle: RePEc:rdg:emxxdp:em-dp2020-15
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    File URL: http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/FILES/economics/emdp202015.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender; competition; field experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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