Helping a Boy or a Girl? The Effect of Recipient's Gender and Donor's Culture on Donation Decisions

Abstract

This paper shows the effect of recipients' gender on donors' preferences, depending on donors' culture. Among study participants from both Eastern and Western cultures, the choice of donating to a boy or a girl followed donors' cultural norms. In Western culture (e.g., the United States), donors chose to donate to a girl over a boy, whereas in Eastern culture (e.g., China), the choice was reversed. A choice set of different-gender recipients increased donations (compared to a choice set of the same gender), as gender stereotypes served to justify choosing one recipient over the other. However, when the choice was between an organization and a single child, the child's gender (either boy or girl) did not affect donation behavior. Thus, gender preferences are driven by cultural norms only in cases where the recipient's gender is salient and serves as a culturally justifiable reason for the donor's choice.