Rivalry as a Contextual Factor of Gender Inequality in Network Returns

Abstract

Linking research on networks, rivalry, and gender, we develop a contextual approach to gender‐based differences in network returns. Our principal contribution is in articulating the role of rivalry – a personalized and relational form of competition – in influencing the cognitive activation and behavioural mobilization of social networks. Three experiments and two field studies provide consistent evidence for a negative impact of rivalry on women's network activation and mobilization. We attribute this effect to the misalignment between the cognitive‐relational schema associated with rivalry, promoting focus, agency, and confrontation, and gender‐based cognitive and behavioural expectations, portraying women as more comprehensive, communal, and cooperative than men. The negative consequences of this misalignment are due to the experience of negative affect, fear of social evaluations, and perception of threat. A key takeaway from our analysis is that efforts at improving women's network returns should better account for the role of contextual factors.