Paper #1288

Title:

Let's (not) talk about sex: The effect of information provision on gender differences in performance under competition

Authors:

Nagore Iriberri and Pedro Rey-Biel

Date:

September 2011

Abstract:

We study how gender differences in performance under competition are affected by the provision of information regarding rival’s gender and/or differences in relative ability. In a laboratory experiment, we use two tasks that differ regarding perceptions about which gender outperforms the other. We observe women’s underperformance only under two conditions: 1) tasks are perceived as favoring men and 2) rivals’ gender is explicitly mentioned. This result can be explained by stereotype-threat being reinforced when explicitly mentioning gender in tasks in which women already consider they are inferior. Omitting information about gender is a safe alternative to avoid women’s underperformance in competition.

Keywords:

gender differences, competition, feedback information, gender perception, stereotype-threat

JEL codes:

C72; C91; D81

Area of Research:

Behavioral and Experimental Economics / Microeconomics

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