Andrés Marroquín

Stetson-Hatcher School of Business

Mercer University,

Macon, Georgia, USA

E-mail: marroquin_a@mercer.edu

ORCID 0000-0002-5215-4103

Economic beliefs and perceptions of mixed-gender teams

Antonio Saravia

Stetson-Hatcher School of Business

Mercer University,

Macon, Georgia, USA

E-mail: marroquin_a@mercer.edu

ORCID 0000-0001-5662-1146

Allison Whitehead

Stetson-Hatcher School of Business

Mercer University,

Macon, Georgia, USA

E-mail: Allison.Louise.Whitehead@live.mercer.edu

Abstract. Is there an association between economic beliefs and perceptions of the efficacy of mixed-gender teams? We approach this question for Latin America using the 2018 Latinobarometer survey. One of the questions in the survey asks respondents if they believe mixed-gender teams in the workplace produce better, worse, or equal results than teams formed exclusively by men. A different question in the same survey asks respondents about their attitudes towards international trade. We explore the relationship between the answers to these two questions. Because women and men bring different skills, points of view, and experiences to a team, pro-trade individuals may be inclined to identify these differences as comparative advantages, and regard mixed-gender teams as the spaces that make the profitable exchange of these advantages possible. Thus, pro-trade individuals may be more likely to perceive mixed-gender teams as more effective than teams formed exclusively by men. Our findings support this theory.

Received: February, 2022

1st Revision: December, 2022

Accepted: March, 2023

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2023/16-1/12

JEL Classification: D91, M5, J16

Keywords: beliefs, gender, Latin America, workplace