Gender Differences in Partnership Dissolution Mechanisms

Abstract

This paper analyzes the effect that gender has in the process of executing arbitration protocols in partnership dissolution. The ongoing discussion concerning the differences in decisions men and women make based on incentives and room composition benefitted from this research because analyzing these differences resulted in concrete evidence confirming this clash exists between genders. There were 309 people surveyed identifying as either a man, woman, or non-binary with a singular two-part question. The questions identified their gender and what they would bid in a situation where an asset would be divided between two partners if one valued it more than the other. The participants were asked for their reasoning as to why they chose that amount in addition to what their bid would be. Their reasoning was analyzed regarding the motivations behind each gender’s bid. Our results suggest that gender has an effect on the execution of arbitration protocols in partnership dissolution, specifically in the splitting of assets. The average bids were calculated between the genders. A t-test of means allows us to reject the null hypothesis of equality of means. The calculated p-value for the bids between men and women shows the differences are statistically significant at the 0.05 confidence level. The explanation regarding why a person chose to bid that amount was used in classifying the bidder’s intentions and thoughts throughout the process which allowed men and women to be compared based on the most common explanations. This resulted in a percentage breakdown of the men and women who did and did not exhibit these popular reasons, showing that the driving mechanisms between the observed gender differences in bidding behavior seems to be preferences for equality and competitiveness. Through the lens of gender inequality, this study documents a significant difference in the thought process of men and women in partnership dissolutions. This research contributes to the ongoing discussion regarding gender and how it affects a person’s response to problems or opportunities.