Abstract
Understanding human societies requires knowing how they develop gender hierarchies, which are ubiquitous. We test whether a simple agent-based dynamic process could create gender inequality. Relying on evidence of gendered status concerns, self-construals, and cognitive habits, our model included a gender difference in how responsive male-like and female-like agents are to others’ opinions about the level of esteem for someone. We simulate a population who interact in pairs of randomly selected agents to influence each other about their esteem judgments of self and others. Half the agents are more influenced by their relative status rank during the interaction than the others. Without prejudice, stereotypes, segregation, or categorization, our model produces inter-group inequality of self-esteem and status that is stable, consensual, and exhibits characteristics of glass ceiling effects. Outcomes are not affected by relative group size. We discuss implications for group orientation to dominance and individuals’ motivations to exchange.
Highlights
Most large human societies are structured as group-based dominance hierarchies that include gender inequality, such that men have more status and power than women; these hierarchies sometimes include another form of inequality such as those based on ethnicity, citizenship status, race, religion or sect, social class, economic role [1]
These baseline plots are a summary of the model analysis presented in [72]. The fact that both the average reputation and average self-esteem are negative is due to the model settings about the gossip dynamics in the interactions [86]
This paper presents an extremely parsimonious but rich experiment to test one simple hypothesis of the genesis and development of gender inequality
Summary
Most large human societies are structured as group-based dominance hierarchies that include gender inequality, such that men have more status and power than women; these hierarchies sometimes include another form of inequality such as those based on ethnicity, citizenship status, race, religion or sect, social class, economic role [1]. Cultural materialism theory argues that when an ecology makes it easier for men than for women and children to produce food, men will gain more status than women, compared to ecologies in which there is no gender advantage in food procurement [3]. Whenever men can monopolize access to material resources, claims another materialist theory, men garner higher status than women [4, 5].
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