Gender and risk: women, risk taking and risk aversion

Abstract

PurposeLabeling women as risk‐averse limits the positive benefits both women and organizations can gain from their risk taking. The purpose of this paper is to explore women's risk taking and reasons for stereotype persistence in order to inform human resource practice and women's career development.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws on literature about gender and organizations to identify reasons for the persisting stereotype of women's risk aversion. Utilizing literature and concepts about risk appetite and decision making, the paper evaluates results of the Simmons Gender and Risk Survey database of 661 female managers.FindingsThe paper finds evidence of gender neutrality in risk propensity and decision making in specific managerial contexts other than portfolio allocation.Research limitations/implicationsMore in‐depth research is needed to explore the gender‐neutral motivators of risk decision making and to explore risk taking in a more diverse sample population.Practical implicationsThe paper explores why women's risk taking remains invisible even as they take risks and offers suggestions on how women and organizations may benefit from their risk‐taking activities.Originality/valueThe paper synthesizes evidence on risk taking and gender, and the evidence of female risk taking is an important antidote to persisting stereotypes. The paper outlines reasons for this stereotype persistence and implications for human resource development.

Gender and Youth Entrepreneurial Potential: Evidence from the United Arab Emirates

“…Our findings on differences related to greater male predisposition to risk taking lend support to early research on gender and risk taking (see for example Harris et al, 2006). However, they do not support findings from the more recent research (see for example Maxfield et al, 2010).…”

“…Our findings strongly suggest that youth entrepreneurship is not gender-bias and that both men and women reported similar potentials. This lends support to a number of studies (Kourilskva, & Walstad, 1998;Veciano et al, 2005;Wilson et al, 2007;Maxfield et al, 2010), but does not support the findings of studies conducted in similar cultural contexts to ours (see for example El Harbi et al, 2009;Zaidatol & Afsaneh, 2009). …”

“…While some studies point at significant gender differences (Mueller, 2004;Asos et al, 2007;El Harbi, et al, 2009;Díaz-García & Jiménez-Moreno, 2010;Yordanova. & Tarrazon, 2010;Shinnar et al, 2012), other negate any gender-related differences (Kourilskva, & Walstadb, 1998;Veciano et al, 2005;Wilson et al, 2007;Maxfield et al, 2010). Nevertheless, the more recent studies focusing on female entrepreneurship in the Middle East reveal that a growing number of female graduates are showing increasing interest in entrepreneurial activities (see for example Madichie and Gallant, 2012).…”

Brand relationships and risk: influence of risk avoidance and gender on brand consumption

“…Women are more willing than men to adopt a fashion innovation earlier than other consumers-a risky consumer behavior (Workman & Cho, 2012) and are more likely than men to purchase products impulsively (Chen, 2001). Other research (that did not examine risk related to purchasing apparel) found that women (compared with men) are more open to uncertain and unstructured contexts (Maio & Esses, 2001;Washburn, Smith, & Taglialatela, 2005), are disinclined to take risks (e.g., Wagner, 2001) or that men and women did not differ in tendency for risk taking (e.g., Maxfield et al 2010). Research has found that women score higher than men on brand sensitivity (Beaudoin & Lachance, 2006;Warrington & Shim, 2000) and brand consciousness (Workman & Lee, 2013).…”

Are Tall People Less Risk Averse Than Others?

“…Role incongruence may penalize those women who, counter to gender-based expectations, engage in high-risk activities (Maxfield et al 2010). Well-educated parents are, on the whole, better able than others to determine the degree of risk in a given situation and explain it to their children, who consequently will be relatively risk tolerant.…”