“ Women compete more against women"”

Abstract: Gender disparities in competitive environments are well-documented, with women consistently demonstrating lower propensities to enter competitions than men. Our research suggests that women do not necessarily have weaker competitive preferences overall, but rather tend to shy away from competing against men. Through a series of laboratory experiments, we show that when given the option to select their competitor’s gender or when placed in female-only experimental environments, women’s competition entry rates match those typically observed in men. These findings have important implications for labor markets with female underrepresentation. Well-intentioned interventions emphasizing women’s underrepresentation in job advertisements may inadvertently discourage female applicants. We propose incorporating references to recent female applicants and existing female employees as a more effective approach to enhance women’s participation.