Why people prefer negotiating with women, according to research
“We had two potential competing hypotheses,” she said. “Women in general tend to be rated more positively compared to men, people like them more, they find them more warm. But we also know there’s this predominant narrative of the masculine negotiator archetype, where we expect men to be better negotiators.”
To rule out stereotyping, the researchers turned to a dataset of anonymous online negotiations conducted entirely through text chat, with no names, photos, or voices exchanged. A separate group of participants tried to guess the gender of the negotiators from the transcripts alone and did no better than random chance. Yet even in that anonymous setting, women were rated as more trustworthy, fairer, and more likeable than men, with no difference in the financial outcomes of the deal either side walked away with.
The power of strategic acceptance
Digging into the transcripts, the team found one behavior that stood out above the rest, women were more likely to accept offers, and they weren’t settling early or taking worse deals to get there.
“It seems like once they’d reach a good deal, that’s when they’d accept,” Townsend said. “We’re calling it strategic acceptance. I definitely wouldn’t recommend just accepting an initial offer, but when you’ve reached a good offer, it’s very powerful to be the one to accept it.”
The effect held for men and women alike, meaning the behavior itself, not gender, is what built trust. Women simply did it more often. Townsend said she can’t yet explain why, though she pointed to related research as a possible clue.
