Why girls are losing the battle of the sexes at the tender age of four

GIRLS as young as four shy away from competition, while boys are eager to take up a challenge, with the gender gap continuing throughout adolescence, according to new research.

In two separate experiments, children were given the choice of a small cash prize for performing tasks individually or receiving a bigger financial reward for undertaking the same task in a tournament.

Girls consistently held back from competing, even when capable of winning.

Professor Matthias Sutter and Daniela Rtzler from the University of Innsbruck, who are to present their findings at the Royal Economic Society's 2011 annual conference today, warned this key result could help explain why men consistently earn more than women in the workplace.

The experiments involved more than 1,000 children aged three to 18. The younger ones, aged three to eight years old, were asked to take part in a 30-metre sprint. The prize was 50p for running alone or 2 for running in a two-person competition.

Despite similar performance of both genders, girls were approximately 15 per cent less likely to compete. The older children aged nine to 18 were given an easy maths test. Participants were offered a piece-rate payment of 50p per correct answer if performing individually or 2 for correct answers if in a four-person tournament. Losers left empty-handed.

Although girls performed equally well in the maths test they expected to do much worse. Moreover, while around 40 per cent of boys chose the tournament, only half as many girls (20 per cent) wanted to compete.

The authors of Gender Differences in Competition Emerge Early in Life, said: "To be successful in getting more attractive and better paid jobs in the modern economy, it is important to face up to the challenge of competition instead of shying away from it.

"Gender differences in competitiveness, therefore, have the potential to explain unequal labour market outcomes, such as unequal salaries and glass ceilings."

However, Dr Mary Brown, lecturer in psychology at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, said it was naive to assume girls would do better in the workplace if they were more competitive.

She explained: "What's happening here is the 'halo' effect where aggressive men who have got to the top assume only other aggressive people can do the job. In fact, research shows people who have a collaborative style do better.

"This research also gives organisations an excuse to carry on doing what they've been doing for years - appointing people who use The Apprentice as their role model.

"It is also important to point out that many men don't compete for jobs and get their promotions through the Old Boy Network or jobs which are never advertised."