Gender differences in team work and team competition

We study whether the gender performance gap is affected by the gender composition of teams. A real-effort experiment is employed with wages based either on the team’s performance, or on the outcome of a competition between teams. We find that, relative to a single-sex environment, gender diversity increases the gender performance gap with team pay whereas it decreases the gap with team competition. The results show that there can be a tension between the objective to maximize overall performance and to minimize gender inequality.

► A real-effort experiment with wages based on different incentive schemes was performed. ► Wages were based on team’s performance or on outcome of a competition between teams. ► Gender diversity increases the gender performance gap with team pay. ► Gender diversity decreases the gap with team competition. ► A conflict can arise between maximizing performance and minimizing gender inequality.