Disentangling the Effects of Human Development and Gender Egalitarianism on the Gender/Sex Gap in the Five-Factor Model of Personality Traits across Countries

Abstract

The study aims to disentangle the effects of human development and gender egalitarianism on the differences between men and women in personality traits across various countries. It examined this phenomenon in four countries with differing levels of human development and gender egalitarianism: Burkina Faso (low human development/low gender egalitarianism), Moldova (low human development/high gender egalitarianism), Qatar (high human development/low gender egalitarianism), and Switzerland (high human development/high gender egalitarianism). The findings revealed that a high level of human development is necessary but not sufficient to affect the size of gender differences in personality traits. Only when a high level of human development is achieved does gender egalitarianism contribute further to the widening of the gender gap in personality traits.