Men ‘more interested in jobs where individual competition determines wages’

WASHINGTON - A study at the University of Chicago has shown that men are more likely than women to seek jobs in which competition with coworkers affects pay rates, a preference that might help explain persistent pay differences between men and women.

To test whether differences between men’s and women’s interest in competition actually affects their job choices, John List, professor of economics at UChicago and an author of the paper and a research team created two advertisements on Internet job boards. They posted jobs for administrative assistants, the most common job in the United States. One ad, which was gender-neutral, described the job responsibilities as preparing reports based on news stories and fulfilling typical office tasks. The second ad, for a sports news assistant, was similar, except that the job would entail writing reports about sports stories.

The advertisements were placed on job boards in 16 of the nation’s largest cities between January and April 2010. The team then presented respondents with additional information to describe different forms of compensation.

Some applicants were told the job paid 15 dollars an hour. Others were told the pay was based on individual competition, with a base salary of 13.50 dollars, and a 3 dollars bonus depending on how he or she did in comparison to other workers.

Another package offered a 12 dollars hourly base pay with a 6 dollars bonus if the employee outperformed other workers. Still others were told the job had a competition-based wage, but that comparisons would be based on the productivity of people working in teams.

Of the 6,779 people who responded to the ads, 2,702 applied once they knew the wage structure. Those included 1,566 women and 1,136 men. (About 20 of the applicants were actually hired.)

“When the salary potential was most dependent on competition, men were 94 percent more likely to apply than women,” List said.

The study found that although women were much less likely to pursue jobs where individual competition was a factor, the deterring effect on women could be overcome by having workers compete in teams, rather than individually.

The study has been published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. (ANI)