Are Gender Differences in Performance Innate or Socially Mediated?

To explain persistent gender gaps in market outcomes, a lab experimental literature explores whether women and men have innate differences in ability (or attitudes or preferences), and a separate field-based literature studies discrimination agains...

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Main Authors:	BenYishay, Ariel, Jones, Maria, Kondylis, Florence, Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2016
Subjects:	SKILLS EMPOWERMENT BIRTH COMMUNITIES BENEFIT AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH EQUIPMENT GENDER INEQUALITY VILLAGES PRODUCTION AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION PARTNER INFORMATION SERVICES DISCRIMINATION AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION HEALTH DEPRESSION GENDER-BASED DISCRIMINATION PROJECT WILL GENDER BIAS KNOWLEDGE NEW TECHNOLOGIES LABOR MARKET PLANTS DISEASES FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN TRAINING GENDER BIASES DWELLING INTERVENTION AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION MARKETS MALE LAND RESOURCES RESEARCH GENDER IDENTITIES LIVESTOCK EXTENSION FARMERS SEX DISCRIMINATION CROPS DESIGN ADULTHOOD DIET GENDER DIFFERENCES PESTS WOMAN FAMILY EXTENSION SERVICES PARTICIPATION GENDER OCCUPATIONS HOUSEHOLD STD AGRICULTURE AGENCIES PROPERTIES MARKET ECONOMICS WEEDS MANAGEMENT SEX ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES GENDER DIFFERENCE LAND CHILDREN GENDERS FEMALES EDUCATION VILLAGE LEVEL AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES HOUSEHOLDS EQUALITY PARTNERS RURAL AREAS FARMS FEED DWELLINGS HOUSES FUNDING TRAININGS INTERVENTIONS COMMUNITY MALES WOMEN AGRICULTURAL LABOR MARKETS TECHNOLOGIES FEMALE GENDER IDENTITY DISTRICTS BENEFITS SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION GENDER EQUALITY INEQUALITY
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/05/26420271/gender-differences-performance-innate-or-socially-mediated http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24524

id	okr-10986-24524
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-245242021-04-23T14:04:22Z Are Gender Differences in Performance Innate or Socially Mediated? BenYishay, Ariel Jones, Maria Kondylis, Florence Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq SKILLS EMPOWERMENT BIRTH COMMUNITIES BENEFIT AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH EQUIPMENT GENDER INEQUALITY VILLAGES PRODUCTION AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION PARTNER INFORMATION SERVICES DISCRIMINATION AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION HEALTH DEPRESSION GENDER-BASED DISCRIMINATION PROJECT WILL GENDER BIAS KNOWLEDGE NEW TECHNOLOGIES LABOR MARKET PLANTS DISEASES FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN TRAINING GENDER BIASES DWELLING INTERVENTION AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION MARKETS MALE LAND RESOURCES RESEARCH GENDER IDENTITIES LIVESTOCK EXTENSION FARMERS SEX DISCRIMINATION CROPS DESIGN ADULTHOOD DIET GENDER DIFFERENCES PESTS WOMAN FAMILY EXTENSION SERVICES PARTICIPATION GENDER OCCUPATIONS HOUSEHOLD STD AGRICULTURE AGENCIES PROPERTIES MARKET ECONOMICS WEEDS MANAGEMENT SEX ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES GENDER DIFFERENCE LAND CHILDREN GENDERS FEMALES EDUCATION VILLAGE LEVEL AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES HOUSEHOLDS EQUALITY PARTNERS RURAL AREAS FARMS FEED DWELLINGS HOUSES FUNDING TRAININGS INTERVENTIONS COMMUNITY MALES WOMEN AGRICULTURAL LABOR MARKETS TECHNOLOGIES FEMALE GENDER IDENTITY DISTRICTS BENEFITS SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION GENDER EQUALITY INEQUALITY To explain persistent gender gaps in market outcomes, a lab experimental literature explores whether women and men have innate differences in ability (or attitudes or preferences), and a separate field-based literature studies discrimination against women in market settings. This paper posits that even if women have comparable innate ability, their relative performance may suffer in the market if the task requires them to interact with others in society, and they are subject to discrimination in those interactions. The paper tests these ideas using a large-scale field experiment in 142 Malawian villages where men or women were randomly assigned the task of learning about a new agricultural technology, and then communicating it to others to convince them to adopt it. Although female communicators learn and retain the new information just as well, and those taught by women experience higher farm yields, the women are not as successful at teaching or convincing others to adopt the new technology. Micro-data on individual interactions from 4,000 farmers in these villages suggest that other farmers perceive female communicators to be less able, and are less receptive to the women's messages. Relatively small incentives for rewards undo the disparity in performance by encouraging added interactions, improving farmers' accuracy about female communicators' relative skill. 2016-06-14T19:47:35Z 2016-06-14T19:47:35Z 2016-05 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/05/26420271/gender-differences-performance-innate-or-socially-mediated http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24524 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7689 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Africa Malawi
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English en_US
topic	SKILLS EMPOWERMENT BIRTH COMMUNITIES BENEFIT AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH EQUIPMENT GENDER INEQUALITY VILLAGES PRODUCTION AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION PARTNER INFORMATION SERVICES DISCRIMINATION AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION HEALTH DEPRESSION GENDER-BASED DISCRIMINATION PROJECT WILL GENDER BIAS KNOWLEDGE NEW TECHNOLOGIES LABOR MARKET PLANTS DISEASES FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN TRAINING GENDER BIASES DWELLING INTERVENTION AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION MARKETS MALE LAND RESOURCES RESEARCH GENDER IDENTITIES LIVESTOCK EXTENSION FARMERS SEX DISCRIMINATION CROPS DESIGN ADULTHOOD DIET GENDER DIFFERENCES PESTS WOMAN FAMILY EXTENSION SERVICES PARTICIPATION GENDER OCCUPATIONS HOUSEHOLD STD AGRICULTURE AGENCIES PROPERTIES MARKET ECONOMICS WEEDS MANAGEMENT SEX ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES GENDER DIFFERENCE LAND CHILDREN GENDERS FEMALES EDUCATION VILLAGE LEVEL AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES HOUSEHOLDS EQUALITY PARTNERS RURAL AREAS FARMS FEED DWELLINGS HOUSES FUNDING TRAININGS INTERVENTIONS COMMUNITY MALES WOMEN AGRICULTURAL LABOR MARKETS TECHNOLOGIES FEMALE GENDER IDENTITY DISTRICTS BENEFITS SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION GENDER EQUALITY INEQUALITY
spellingShingle	SKILLS EMPOWERMENT BIRTH COMMUNITIES BENEFIT AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH EQUIPMENT GENDER INEQUALITY VILLAGES PRODUCTION AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION PARTNER INFORMATION SERVICES DISCRIMINATION AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION HEALTH DEPRESSION GENDER-BASED DISCRIMINATION PROJECT WILL GENDER BIAS KNOWLEDGE NEW TECHNOLOGIES LABOR MARKET PLANTS DISEASES FARMERS’ KNOWLEDGE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN TRAINING GENDER BIASES DWELLING INTERVENTION AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION MARKETS MALE LAND RESOURCES RESEARCH GENDER IDENTITIES LIVESTOCK EXTENSION FARMERS SEX DISCRIMINATION CROPS DESIGN ADULTHOOD DIET GENDER DIFFERENCES PESTS WOMAN FAMILY EXTENSION SERVICES PARTICIPATION GENDER OCCUPATIONS HOUSEHOLD STD AGRICULTURE AGENCIES PROPERTIES MARKET ECONOMICS WEEDS MANAGEMENT SEX ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICES GENDER DIFFERENCE LAND CHILDREN GENDERS FEMALES EDUCATION VILLAGE LEVEL AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES HOUSEHOLDS EQUALITY PARTNERS RURAL AREAS FARMS FEED DWELLINGS HOUSES FUNDING TRAININGS INTERVENTIONS COMMUNITY MALES WOMEN AGRICULTURAL LABOR MARKETS TECHNOLOGIES FEMALE GENDER IDENTITY DISTRICTS BENEFITS SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION GENDER EQUALITY INEQUALITY BenYishay, Ariel Jones, Maria Kondylis, Florence Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq Are Gender Differences in Performance Innate or Socially Mediated?
geographic_facet	Africa Malawi
relation	Policy Research Working Paper;No. 7689
description	To explain persistent gender gaps in market outcomes, a lab experimental literature explores whether women and men have innate differences in ability (or attitudes or preferences), and a separate field-based literature studies discrimination against women in market settings. This paper posits that even if women have comparable innate ability, their relative performance may suffer in the market if the task requires them to interact with others in society, and they are subject to discrimination in those interactions. The paper tests these ideas using a large-scale field experiment in 142 Malawian villages where men or women were randomly assigned the task of learning about a new agricultural technology, and then communicating it to others to convince them to adopt it. Although female communicators learn and retain the new information just as well, and those taught by women experience higher farm yields, the women are not as successful at teaching or convincing others to adopt the new technology. Micro-data on individual interactions from 4,000 farmers in these villages suggest that other farmers perceive female communicators to be less able, and are less receptive to the women's messages. Relatively small incentives for rewards undo the disparity in performance by encouraging added interactions, improving farmers' accuracy about female communicators' relative skill.
format	Working Paper
author	BenYishay, Ariel Jones, Maria Kondylis, Florence Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq
author_facet	BenYishay, Ariel Jones, Maria Kondylis, Florence Mobarak, Ahmed Mushfiq
author_sort	BenYishay, Ariel
title	Are Gender Differences in Performance Innate or Socially Mediated?
title_short	Are Gender Differences in Performance Innate or Socially Mediated?
title_full	Are Gender Differences in Performance Innate or Socially Mediated?
title_fullStr	Are Gender Differences in Performance Innate or Socially Mediated?
title_full_unstemmed	Are Gender Differences in Performance Innate or Socially Mediated?
title_sort	are gender differences in performance innate or socially mediated?
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2016
url	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2016/05/26420271/gender-differences-performance-innate-or-socially-mediated http://hdl.handle.net/10986/24524
_version_	1764456945374199808

Are Gender Differences in Performance Innate or Socially Mediated?

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