Children in the United States and Peru Pay to Correct Gender-Based Inequality

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Gender pay inequality is a persistent societal issue with complex origins.
• Understanding the developmental trajectory of fairness and equality is crucial for addressing social disparities.
• Cross-cultural research is vital to discern universal patterns from culturally specific influences on social cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the developmental origins of intervention against gender-based pay inequality in young children.
• To examine children's responses to gender pay inequality across two distinct cultural contexts (United States and Peru).
• To determine if children's intervention tendencies are influenced by the direction of pay inequality and age.

Main Methods:

• Children aged 4-9 years from the United States (N=123) and Peru (N=115) participated in the study.
• Participants were presented with hypothetical scenarios depicting gender-based pay inequality.
• Children had the option to intervene, at a personal cost, to redistribute earnings, allowing for the assessment of their preference for equality versus biased intervention.

Main Results:

• Both boys and girls across both countries intervened to counteract gender pay inequality.
• Intervention against inequality occurred irrespective of whether men or women were disadvantaged.
• The propensity for children to intervene against gender pay inequality increased significantly with age.

Conclusions:

• Young children demonstrate a robust inclination to uphold equality, even when faced with societal norms reflecting gender pay disparities.
• The findings suggest an innate or early-developing preference for fairness that can override learned biases.
• Intervention against gender pay inequality is a developmental phenomenon that strengthens through childhood, indicating a growing capacity and willingness to promote equity.