Women compete more against women
Gender disparities in competitive environments are well-documented, with women consistently demonstrating lower propensities to enter competitions than men. Our research suggests that women do not necessarily have weaker competitive preferences overall, but rather tend to shy away from competing against men. Through a series of laboratory experiments, we show that when given the option to select their competitor’s gender or when placed in female-only experimental environments, women’s competition entry rates match those typically observed in men.