Contests with gender bias: evidence from a culinary competition

Multi-round contest competition determines many important social and economic outcomes such as employment, promotion, political office, as well as singing, debate, and culinary championships. The competitors in such a contest often belong to different groups based on race, ethnicity, and gender. We...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied economics 2022-12, Vol.54 (60), p.6875-6886
Main Author: Watts, Alison
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ability
Bias
Competitors
Contest
Economic analysis
Economic theory
Employment
Ethnicity
favouritism
multi-round
Race
Sexism
Singing
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Summary:Multi-round contest competition determines many important social and economic outcomes such as employment, promotion, political office, as well as singing, debate, and culinary championships. The competitors in such a contest often belong to different groups based on race, ethnicity, and gender. We examine how favouritism in beliefs about ability affects both who wins the contest and the timing of being voted out. The results are tested using novel data from the culinary competition Chopped. We find that female contestants are more likely to be voted out early, but females who survive to the second half of the contest have a good chance to win. These results support an argument of gender bias by the judges.
ISSN:0003-6846
1466-4283
DOI:10.1080/00036846.2022.2084020