Mind the Absent Gap: Gender-Specific Competitive Behavior in Nonprofessional Sports

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-233
Author(s):  
Anna Katharina Pikos ◽  
Alexander Straub

There is wide evidence for gender differences in competitive behavior and performance under pressure from experimental economics and single-sex professional sports. We analyze these differences in a sport with direct gender competition. Our unique data consist of over 500,000 observations from around 11,000 German ninepin bowling games of which around 15% are from mixed-gender leagues. Men perform better against women on average, but this is fully explained by differences in ability. Our results are robust to instrumenting for opposite gender using the sex composition of the opponent team. Gender differences in tight situations do not seem to play a role.

Author(s):  
Inge Woudstra

Purpose – Organizations were originally designed for men. Women are different and organizations will need to adapt to maximize progress and performance of women as well as men. Line managers need to be aware of gender differences in their approach of a mixed-gender team. Design/methodology/approach – In a review of literature, key gender differences that could play a role at work were identified. Five top sports coaches were interviewed to find how they had to adapt to improve performance of female teams. Practical application of their strategies in organizations was tested in four workshops and 15 interviews with women and managers. Findings – Six key gender differences were identified. Top sports coaches confirmed that they had to adapt their style to a female team, and could relate those to some of the differences from literature. The workshops and interviews showed that teaching managers to adapt their style is a promising approach. Research limitations/implications – The research was set up to find if there is merit in being aware of gender differences in organizations. There is, but as it is exploratory research, it is now important to find further evidence. Originality/value – Gender diversity efforts tend to be focused on equality, flexible working, and upgrading women’s skills. This paper highlights that those initiatives are not enough, and organizations need to adapt to women’s needs to maximize performance and progress of women as well as men.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-91
Author(s):  
Ezri Skital ◽  
Laurentiu-Gabriel Tiru

For many years in several countries there has been gender inequality in mathematics achievement, and girls are less likely to study and specialize in precise sciences. A primary explanation for these gender differences is sociocultural. The attitudes and perceptions prevalent in a society’s culture regarding gen-der can affect students’ attitudes and performance in maths education and their choice to pursue pro-fessional careers in maths related areas. Studies have found that learning in single-sex classrooms can influence girls’ achievements and attitudes. The goal of the present study is to examine the attitudes of girls in mixed and single-sex classrooms towards mathematics and towards gender differences in mathematics. The study population included 281 students in the fifth to ninth grades, attending state-religious schools in Israel. The participants completed a multiple-choice questionnaire, which addressed their attitudes toward mathematics and possible differences between boys and girls. Most of the girls, in both types of classrooms, expressed positive attitudes towards learning mathematics and egalitarian views, although differences were found as girls learning in mixed-sex classes expressed views that were slightly more egalitarian. In addition, girls in single-sex classrooms expressed a moderately higher agreement in the “girls are better” category.


2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 349-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inge Woudstra

Purpose Leaders have learned to lead men. Women are different and organisations will need to adapt to maximise progress and performance of women as well as men. Line managers need to be aware of gender differences in their approach of a mixed gender team. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach In a review of literature, key gender differences that could play a role at work were identified. Five top sports coaches were interviewed to find how they had to adapt to improve performance of female teams. Practical application of their strategies in organisations was tested in four workshops and 15 interviews with women and managers. Findings Six key gender differences were identified. Top sports coaches confirmed that they had to adapt their style to a female team, and could relate those to some of the differences from literature. The workshops and interviews showed that teaching managers to adapt their style is a promising approach. Research limitations/implications The research was set up to find if there is merit in being aware of gender differences in organisations. There is, but as it is exploratory research it is now important to find further evidence. Originality/value Gender diversity efforts tend to be focused on equality, flexible working, and upgrading women’s skills. This paper highlights that those initiatives are not enough, and organisations need to adapt to women’s needs to maximise performance and progress of women as well as men.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarek Jaber-Lopez ◽  
Alexandra Baier ◽  
Brent J. Davis

AbstractWe examine gender differences when eliciting distributional preferences as conducted by the Equality Equivalence Test, which has the ability to classify subjects into preferences types. Preferences are elicited when individuals interact with an individual of the same gender and with an individual of the opposite gender. We find elicited preferences are robust across both in-group (same gender) and out-group (opposite gender) interactions. When analyzing the intensity of benevolence (or malevolence) we find that overall women exhibit more malevolence than men, but there is no gender difference for benevolence. Furthermore, women exhibit a higher level of in-group favoritism than men.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Aldin ◽  
D Chakraverty ◽  
A Baumeister ◽  
I Monsef ◽  
T Jakob ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The project “Gender-specific health literacy in individuals with a migrant background (GLIM)” (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research; 01GL1723) aims to provide a comprehensive overview of international research and evidence on aspects of gender and migration related to health literacy. It encompasses primary and secondary research using a mixed-methods approach. Methods In a first step, we systematically review the available quantitative and qualitative evidence: in the first quantitative review, we meta-analyse the evidence on gender differences in health literacy of migrants. The second quantitative review assesses the effectiveness of interventions for improving health literacy in female and male migrants. The third review summarises qualitative evidence to assess factors associated with gender and migration that may play a role in the design, delivery, and effectiveness of such interventions. In a second step, we conduct primary research by performing focus group discussions (FGDs) with health care providers who regularly work with different migrant groups in order to explore their perspectives on the challenges and needs of migrants in the German health care system. Results To date, we identified 163 relevant references after screening of 17,932 references, for all reviews combined. Various health literacy interventions and measurement tools exist and require critical evaluation. The FGDs yielded hints to factors that a) influence gender differences in the health literacy of migrants (e.g. masculinity norms preventing Mediterranean men from consulting psychotherapists) or b) limit systemic health literacy (e.g. lack of translators). Conclusions Results from the FGDs can provide insights into the processes underlying the results of the reviews. However, despite increasing research, summarising the available evidence is highly challenging, as there are no universal definitions of the key concepts health literacy and migrant background. Key messages This is an interdisciplinary project, combining quantitative and qualitative evidence to provide maximum value to health policy and decision-making for the health care and health literacy of migrants. Research on gender-, and migration-specific aspects of health literacy is of great importance for the development and delivery of effective interventions for improving migrants’ health literacy.


2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Musselman ◽  
Brenda Brouwer

This study examined gender differences in balance, gait, and muscle performance in seniors and identified gender-specific factors contributing to physical performance. Forty (20 men, 20 women) healthy, community-dwelling seniors (74.5 ± 5.3 years) participated. Limits of stability, gait speed, lower limb flexor and extensor isokinetic concentric peak torques, self-reported activity level, and balance confidence were measured. No gender differences were detected in gait speed, limits of stability when normalized to height, activity level, or balance confidence (p≥ .188). Women were weaker than men (p≤ .007), even after controlling for weight and body-mass index, suggesting that other gender-related factors contribute to strength. Gender accounted for 18–46% of the variance in strength and served as a modifier of the relationship between activity level and strength in some muscle groups. The primary factors relating to gender-specific strength was activity level in men and body weight in women.


Author(s):  
Kathrin J. Hanek

Drawing primarily on the literature in experimental economics and social psychology, this article reviews key findings on gender differences for two aspects of competitiveness and competition: entry preferences and performance. Although women, relative to men, have been shown to shy away from competition and underperform in competitive environments, this article also discusses boundary conditions for these effects, such as the nature of the task or gender composition of the group, and highlights manifestations of these effects in applied domains, including in negotiations, the labor market, educational settings, and sports. Adopting social psychological frameworks of prescriptive norms and stereotypes, particularly social role theory, this article examines ways in which gender-incongruencies may underpin gender gaps in competition and gender-congruencies may alleviate them. Finally, this article considers implications for individuals and institutions as well as future directions in the field to continue finding ways to close gaps.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-45
Author(s):  
Benjamin Leard ◽  
Joshua Linn ◽  
Yichen Christy Zhou

Abstract During historical periods in which US fuel economy standards were unchanging, automakers increased performance but not fuel economy, contrasting with recent periods of tightening standards and rising fuel economy. This paper evaluates the welfare consequences of automakers forgoing performance increases to raise fuel economy as standards have tightened since 2012. Using a unique data set and a novel approach to account for fuel economy and performance endogeneity, we find undervaluation of fuel cost savings and high valuation of performance. Welfare costs of forgone performance approximately equal expected fuel savings benefits, suggesting approximately zero net private consumer benefit from tightened standards.


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