Hostname: page-component-7b9c58cd5d-6tpvb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-16T22:55:00.423Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Outrunning the gender gap—boys and girls compete equally

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Anna Dreber ,
Emma von Essen  and
Eva Ranehill
Anna Dreber*
Affiliation:
Institute for Financial Research (SIFR), Drottninggatan 89, 11360 Stockholm, Sweden Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 John F. Kennedy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Emma von Essen*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Stockholm University, Universitetsvägen 10 A, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
Eva Ranehill*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, Sveavägen 65, 11383 Stockholm, Sweden
*
e-mail: [email protected]
e-mail: [email protected]
e-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Recent studies find that women are less competitive than men. This gender difference in competitiveness has been suggested as one possible explanation for why men occupy the majority of top positions in many sectors. In this study we explore competitiveness in children, with the premise that both context and gendered stereotypes regarding the task at hand may influence competitive behavior. A related field experiment on Israeli children shows that only boys react to competition by running faster when competing in a race. We here test if there is a gender gap in running among 7-10 year old Swedish children. We also introduce two female sports, skipping rope and dancing, to see if competitiveness is task dependent. We find no gender difference in reaction to competition in any task; boys and girls compete equally. Studies in different environments with different types of tasks are thus important in order to make generalizable claims about gender differences in competitiveness.

Keywords

CompetitivenessGender differencesField experimentC93D03J16
Type
Original Paper
Information
Experimental Economics , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , November 2011 , pp. 567 - 582
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 Economic Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Apicella, C. L., Dreber, A., Gray, P. B., Hoffman, M., Little, A. C., & Campbell, B. C. (2011). Androgens and competitiveness in men. Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology and Economics, 4, 54–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balafoutas, L., & Sutter, M. (2010). Gender, competition and the efficiency of policy intervention. Working Papers in Economics 450, Göteborg University, Department of Economics.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Booth, A., & Nolen, P. (2009). Choosing to compete: the role of single-sex education. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Buser, T. (2009). The impact of female sex hormones on competitiveness. Mimeo.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cárdenas, J. C., Dreber, A., von Essen, E., & Ranehill, E. (2010). Gender differences in competitiveness and risk taking: comparing children in Colombia and Sweden. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ceci, S., & Williams, W. (2006). Why aren't more women in science. Washington: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Chen, Y., Katuscak, P., & Ozdenoren, E. (2005). Why can't a woman bid more like a man? Mimeo.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cotton, C., McIntyre, F., & Price, J. (2009). Gender differences disappear with exposure to competition. Working Paper 2010-11, University of Miami, Department of Economics.Google Scholar
Datta Gupta, N., Poulsen, A., & Villeval, M.-C. (2005). Male and female competitive behavior—experimental evidence. IZA Discussion Paper, No. 1833.Google Scholar
Fernández, R., & Fogli, A. (2006). Fertility: the role of culture and family experience. Journal of the European Economic Association, 4, 552–561.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gneezy, U., & Rustichini, A. (2004a). Gender and competition at young age. American Economic Review Papers and Proceedings, 118, 1049–1074.Google Scholar
Gneezy, U., & Rustichini, A. (2004b). Executives versus teachers. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Gneezy, U., Leonard, K. L., & List, J. A. (2009). Gender differences in competition: evidence from a matrilineal and a patriarchal society. Econometrica, 77, 909–931.Google Scholar
Gneezy, U., Niederle, M., & Rustichini, A. (2003). Performance in competitive environments: gender differences. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118, 1049–1074.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grosse, N. D., & Reiner, G. (2010). Explaining gender differences in competiteveness: gender-task stereotypes. Jena Economic Research Paper.Google Scholar
Günther, C., Ekinici, N. A., Schwieren, C., & Strobel, M. (2009). Women can't jump?—An experiment on competitive attitudes and stereotype threat. Working Paper, University of Graz.Google Scholar
Henschel-Pellet, H. A. (2001). Physical activity gender role stereotyping: an analysis of Children's Literature. Research Quarterly, 72.Google Scholar
Inzlicht, M., & Ben-Zeev, T. (2003). Do high-achieving female students underperform in private? The implications of threatening environments on intellectual processing. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 796–805.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niederle, M., & Vesterlund, L. (2007). Do women shy away from competition? Do men compete too much? The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122, 1067–1101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niederle, M., Segal, C., & Vesterlund, L. (2009). How costly is diversity? Affirmative action in light of gender differences in competitiveness. Mimeo.Google Scholar
Niederle, M., & Yestrumskas, A. H. (2008). Gender differences in seeking challenges: the role of institutions. Mimeo.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Brien, L. T., & Crandall, C. S. (2003). Stereotype threat and arousal: effects on women's math performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 782–789.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearson, M., & Schipper, B. C. (2009). Menstrual cycle and competitive bidding. MPRA Paper.Google Scholar
Price, J. (2008). Gender difference in the response to competition. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 61,320-333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shih, M., Pittinsky, T. L., & Ambady, N. (1999). Stereotype susceptibility: shifts in quantitative performance from sociocultural identification. Psychological Science, 10, 81–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spencer, S., Steele, C., & Quinn, D. (1999). Stereotype threat and women's math performance. Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, 35, 4–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air. How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. The American Psychologist, 52, 613–629.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sutter, M., & Rützler, D. (2010). Gender differences in competition emerge early in life. IZA Discussion Paper 5015.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wozniak, D., Harbaugh, W., & Mayr, U. (2010). Choices about competition: differences by gender and hormonal fluctuations, and the role of relative performance feedback. MPRA Paper.Google Scholar
Zethraeus, N., Kocoska-Maras, L., Ellingsen, T., von Schoultz, B., Lindén Hirschberg, A., & Johannesson, M. (2009). A randomized trial of the effect of estrogen and testosterone on economic behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106, 6535–6538.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed