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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: anna.dreber@sifr.org
e-mail: emma.vonessen@ne.su.se
e-mail: eva.ranehill@hhs.se
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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

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