The Daily Stat: Same-Sex Classes Appear to Diminish Women's Risk Aversion

 

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February 20, 2014 Same-Sex Classes Appear to Diminish Women's Risk Aversion Female economics and business students were 19% more likely to make risky choices in a financial experiment if they had spent the last eight weeks in single-sex, versus coed, classes, says a team led by Alison Booth of Australia National University. The experiment involved choosing between a safe option for receiving money and entering a lottery with an uncertain but potentially greater payout. The results suggest that a part of women's observed greater risk aversion (in comparison with men's) might reflect social learning rather than inherent gender traits, the researchers say. SOURCE: Gender differences in risk aversion: Do single-sex environments affect their development?

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