Relationship of gender differences in preferences to economic development and gender equality

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Abstract

Preferences concerning time, risk, and social interactions systematically shape human behavior and contribute to differential economic and social outcomes between women and men. We present a global investigation of gender differences in six fundamental preferences. Our data consist of measures of willingness to take risks, patience, altruism, positive and negative reciprocity, and trust for 80,000 individuals in 76 representative country samples. Gender differences in preferences were positively related to economic development and gender equality. This finding suggests that greater availability of and gender-equal access to material and social resources favor the manifestation of gender-differentiated preferences across countries.

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Sex differences in value priorities: cross-cultural and multimethod studies.

Shalom Schwartz, Tammy Rubel (2005)

The authors assess sex differences in the importance of 10 basic values as guiding principles. Findings from 127 samples in 70 countries (N = 77,528) reveal that men attribute consistently more importance than women do to power, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, and self-direction values; the reverse is true for benevolence and universalism values and less consistently for security values. The sexes do not differ on tradition and conformity values. Sex differences are small (median d = .15; maximum d = .32 [power]) and typically explain less variance than age and much less than culture. Culture moderates all sex differences and sample type and measurement instrument have minor influences. The authors discuss compatibility of findings with evolutionary psychology and sex role theory and propose an agenda for future research. Copyright 2006 APA, all rights reserved.