Whether one looks at revenue, investment or coverage, men’s sports do better than women’s. Many assume that absolute differences in quality of athletic performance are the driving force. However, the existence of stereotypes should alert us to another possibility: gender information might influence perceived quality. In an experiment in which 613 participants viewed and evaluated clips of elite female and male soccer players, Cornel Nesseler finds that when blurring obscures the gender, ratings for female and male athletes do not differ. 

Image courtesy of interviewee. November 10, 2023