The Apology Gender Gap

The causes of the gender gap can be surprising. During 2018, it was speedy driving. Females driving more slowly than men was one reason for Uber’s gender pay gap. (As a result, men had more customers per hour.)

We know that maternity leave and negotiating skills also make a difference. Now we can add, “I’m sorry.”

The Apology Gap

According to research from two Stanford economists, the impact of saying I’m sorry ripples far beyond the actual apology. It affects labor market outcomes. Those outcomes relate to opinions of worker ability, promotion decisions, and warmth felt for the worker.

We can start with the fact that, more than men, women say, “I’m sorry.”

To check the impact, the researchers did employee and employer focused experiments that encouraged workers to send their “bosses” apology letters. In the worker part of the study, they wanted to monitor worker confidence and opinions of their ability. Then, for the employer focus, the goal was to see if the apology affected a promotion decision. In addition, researchers wondered if employers knew about the apology gap. If so, they could have accounted for it, and not penalized their employee.

In the end, the experiments had some conflicting results. Yes, when women apologize, their employers assume they have lower ability. But those same “bosses” have warmer feelings toward those women. Meanwhile though, the person apologizing gets utility from her behavior when the situation requires remorse.

With women doing the apologizing that can add to a gender pay gap, we wind up with more questions. We have to ask if women apologize because they think they have less ability. Or, as women, are they adhering to a cultural norm of niceness? Even in Congress, female lawmakers’ speeches have apologetic words far more than their male colleagues.

Our Bottom Line: Signaling

Studies have shown that women get less recognition for group work, perhaps because they are worse than men at self-promotion. Then, their apologetic words further feed the lower ability, less confident signals they might be sending.

In their study, economists assumed that apologies “are a signal for ability.” I wonder if women recognize what they signal when they use apologetic words.

My sources and more: Thanks to Marginal Revolution for alerting me to the apology study.