How To Close the Gender Gap in Workplace Competition

Forbes

08-06-2025

Team of happy female soccer players celebrating their achievement on a playing field at sunset.
A new Wharton study shows that women are less likely to enter competitions than their male colleagues at work.
In my interview with Katy Milkman, the James G. Dinan Professor at the Wharton School, and Sophia Pink, a PhD student at the Wharton School, they shared their new research on this gender competition gap.
Their research found that there is a persistent gender gap in competitive environments which has significant consequences, not just for women, but the organizations that want to maximize the use of their talent.
"We were wondering, what if we told women when they're deciding between what jobs to apply for, that women, on average, are less likely to apply for jobs than equally qualified men, would that help?' Milkman explained.
This is known as "stereotype reactance." Stereotype reactance is the process of informing women about the existing gender gap in competition proactively. This can paradoxically increase their likelihood of applying for jobs. This is attributed to women's potential desire to resist conforming to negative stereotypes and a motivation to take action against the observed inequality.
Pink notes, "What we found is that women who saw this reactance inducing message where they learned about this gender competition gap applied to about 20% more jobs on the day they saw the banner, so it led to this big and meaningful boost in job applications."
Milkman and Pink recommends organizations use more 'just in time' interventions. This could be providing a prompt at moment of decision reminding women about the gender competition gap or equipping managers to encourage women on their teams to apply for positions to overcome this gap. These "just-in-time" interventions can create a more equitable playing field by mitigating the impact of confidence barriers and internalized norms.
Milkman and Pink advocate for a shift in promotion practices, suggesting that organizations should make promotions the default rather than requiring individuals to opt-in. This seemingly simple change can act as a powerful form of encouragement, particularly for women who may be hesitant to self-promote or may underestimate their qualifications. By making promotion consideration a standard process, companies can proactively level the playing field and mitigate the impact of the gender competition gap.
They found research from the University of Toronto supports this recommendation. Their findings indicate that when promotion processes are structured so that all eligible individuals are automatically considered, the gender gap in who receives promotions significantly diminishes. This suggests that the act of requiring individuals to nominate themselves or actively seek promotion may inadvertently disadvantage women, potentially due to societal factors influencing their confidence in self-promotion or their perception of their readiness.
Implementing default promotions can foster a more equitable and inclusive workplace culture. It sends a clear message that the organization values all its talent and is actively working to ensure fair opportunities for advancement. This approach can also help to identify high-potential individuals who might otherwise be overlooked due to their reluctance to self-nominate. By removing the barrier of self-nomination, organizations can tap into a wider pool of talent and create a more diverse and representative leadership pipeline.
Research highlights the crucial role of proactive positive feedback in fostering confidence and narrowing the gender competition gap. Managers, mentors, and other allies can actively support women by specifically identifying and acknowledging their strengths and accomplishments. This validation helps women recognize their capabilities and encourages them to put themselves forward for opportunities.
Allies can play a vital role in explicitly pointing out the reality that if qualified women choose not to apply for a promotion or new challenge, others will undoubtedly step forward, emphasizing that their absence leaves a void that will be filled. This direct and encouraging approach can counteract any hesitancy stemming from a lack of confidence and empower women to embrace competitive opportunities.
Milkman suggests, "Rather than trying to solve long-term, systemic gender socialization problems around gender and competition, these interventions can help remedy the gender competition gap now. The answer is that we have to raise awareness about these issues and develop science-based tools that help combat them."
For organizations that want to close the gender competition gap, consider identifying points where the gap might exist, make promotions default and give feedback boosts on confidence.