Choice Architecture and Gender Differences in Propensity to Compete and Productivity: an Experimental Study

Abstract: Research on competitive behavior typically demonstrates that women are less likely to participate in competitions than men are. We show that this difference can be eliminated by changing the framing of a competitive task from a default where applicants must actively choose to compete to a default where applicants are automatically enrolled in competition but can choose to opt out. We provide experimental evidence that this choice architecture reduces gender disparities by affecting the perception of prevailing social norms about competition without negatively affecting performance or well-being, or decreasing the likelihood that a woman is selected for a job.