The average woman is less competitive than the average man: she is less likely to describe herself as competitive and less willing to enter a competition. In the workplace, this difference translates to performance; recent research by economists and political scientists indicates that competitive people do better socioeconomically. For example, among graduates of a top MBA program, the gender difference in competitiveness accounted for 10% of the gender gap in earnings 9 years after graduation; among female and male economists in France it accounted for 76% of the promotion gap.
Research: How Women and Men View Competition Differently
Understanding it can help break gender stereotypes.
November 06, 2019
Summary.
Women and men respond differently when offered the opportunity to compete in the workplace, and it has an impact on their career prospects and earning potential. The author and her colleagues found that beliefs about the effectiveness of competition differed among women and men and predicted whether they’d engage in competition. They suggest that being more aware of our own beliefs about competition can help break through those gender stereotypes.
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