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Home > News & Events > Events Calendar > Under Pressure: Gender Differences in Output Quality and Quantity under Competition and Time Constraints
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emailThursday, December 6, 2012
Under Pressure: Gender Differences in Output Quality and Quantity under Competition and Time Constraints
Olga Shurchkov, Assistant Professor of Economics, Wellesley
College
One explanation for gender inequality stems from the effects of the
interaction between competition and two pressure sources, namely,
task stereotypes and time constraints. This study uses a laboratory
experiment to find that the gender gap in performance under
competition and preferences for competition can be partly explained
by the differential responses of men and women to these different
pressures. In particular, while women underperform the men in a
high-pressure math-based tournament, women greatly increase their
performance levels and their willingness to compete in a
low-pressure verbal environment, such that they actually surpass
the men. This effect appears largely due to the fact that extra
time in a verbal competition improves the quality of women's work,
reducing their mistake share. On the other hand, men use this extra
time to increase only the quantity of work, which results in a
greater relative number of mistakes. In this session we will
examine and discuss these findings and their potential implications
of the dynamics of the workplace.
Lunch will be provided.
An RSVP is not required as this is an open event.
- Location:
- Date:Thursday, December 6, 2012
-
Time:11:40 AM
