Research report 2019 - Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance

For women, stress and competition is a bad combination

Authors
Cahlíková, Jana; Cingl, Lubomír; Levely, Ian
Departments
Max-Planck-Institut für Steuerrecht und Öffentliche Finanzen, München
Summary
In general, both men and women perform better in competitive situations. However, when women are in a state of elevated stress, competition has the opposite effect and leads to worse performance. As a consequence, women under stress increasingly shy away from competition, according to a recently published study by economic researchers. Their results could help to explain why women are underrepresented in high-paid jobs and in leadership positions. The results also have implications for efficient management practices, including hiring and performance incentives.

For the full text, see the German version.

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