A study spearheaded by researchers at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia has found that reminding women about the gender competition gap increases their willingness to apply for leadership roles.
Five things to know:
1. In a study published online in March, researchers drew from work on “stereotype reactance” — the idea that informing people about stereotyped expectations can encourage defiance.
2. Researchers partnered with AboveBoard, an online job application platform, for a large-scale field experiment. They examined whether informing women of the gender competition gap increased their applications for director, vice president, C-suite executive or corporate board roles, compared with a control message highlighting an identity-irrelevant competition gap.
3. Researchers conducted the experiment from mid-February to the end of May 2023. A total of 4,245 AboveBoard users participated after meeting specific criteria.
4. During the experiment, participants were randomly assigned to view one of two banners, each of which remained on the site for seven days after the user’s initial encounter.
- One banner’s headline read: “Did you know the way you use AboveBoard can close a key usage gap?” It continued: “A Stanford economist has shown that people often underuse job resources. This gives heavy users the upper hand. To close the usage gap, apply for all jobs you find interesting.”
- The other banner’s headline read: “Did you know the way you use AboveBoard can close a key gender gap?” It added: “A Stanford economist has shown equally qualified women are less likely to enter competitions (like applying for jobs) than men. This gives men the upper hand. To close the gender gap, apply for all jobs you find interesting.”
5. Researchers found that informing women about the gender gap in willingness to compete for leadership roles increased the likelihood of applying by more than 20%. “This suggests that providing that little extra encouragement, specifically around combating stereotypical norms, can increase a woman’s willingness to compete for top roles,” they concluded.
Read more about the study here.
