People prefer to negotiate with women, even when outcomes are identical and gender is unknown

Abstract

While gender and economic outcomes in negotiation have been studied for decades, much less is known about gender differences in subjective outcomes, such as trust, rapport, and willingness to negotiate again, despite their importance for long-term success. In a series of studies with over 2,000 participants, we find that people consistently report better subjective outcomes when negotiating with women. This preference persists even in anonymous negotiations where gender is unknown and cannot be inferred from behavior, as well as in conditions where negotiation partner gender is randomly assigned. Importantly, we find no gender difference in economic outcomes. To understand why, we analyzed transcripts of real negotiations for any behavioral differences. These findings reveal an overlooked gender dynamic: While men and women achieve similar economic results, women foster stronger interpersonal relationships, which in turn lead to greater satisfaction and greater desire for future negotiations with women.