The family origins of the gender gap in competitiveness

Abstract

The gender gap in competitiveness predicts disparities in life outcomes, yet its origins remain unclear. We investigate whether the gap originates within the family by exploiting quasi-experimental variation in sibling presence and sibling sex composition. We combine this variation with an incentivized measure of competitiveness in two culturally distinct populations to identify their causal effects on the gender gap. In a representative U.S. sample (N = 2,471), first-born women with younger brothers are far less likely to compete than those with younger sisters—who compete as often as men—driving the gender gap. In China (N = 421), the gap appears only among cohorts born before the One-Child Policy, who grew up with siblings. In both samples, the gap is concentrated in households with traditional gender norms. Our findings point to gendered upbringing within the family as one origin of the gender gap in competitiveness.