Gender Differences in Competitive Orientations: Empirical Evidence from Ultramarathon Running

Abstract

A large body of literature documents the existence of a considerable and persistent gender gap in competitiveness. Using longitudinal data from ultramarathon running covering the period 2005-2009, I first confirm the findings of most previous studies by demonstrating that on average the women’s races are indeed less competitive than the men’s contests. Closer inspection of the data, however, reveals that the gender gap has considerably narrowed over the years. Moreover, for men as well as for women, an increase in the number of contestants is not only associated with a better average performance but also with a lower performance dispersion. These findings are not compatible with the hypothesis that gender differences in competitiveness reflect evolved biological differences and/or psychological predispositions. It is, however, compatible with two other (complementary rather than substitute) hypotheses: Due to changing sociocultural conditions boys and girls are today socialized similarly in many parts of the world and due to the increasing returns to success (i.e., identical prize money levels and distributions) women are nowadays motivated to train as hard as comparably talented men.