Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/223765 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 13323
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
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.
Subjects: 
gender
competition
field experiment
JEL: 
C93
J16
J71
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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