Investor Intuition Promotes Gender Equality in Access to Reward-Based Crowdfunding

Abstract

Our study challenges the notion that intuition is used to explain away gender biases in access to finance, arguing instead that women's success in crowdfunding is rooted in the use of intuition. We measured investors' intuition using self-reports and fast investment decision-making related to crowdfunding campaigns in three randomized controlled experiments involving 2,911 subjects from Europe and the United States. Our Bayesian analysis provides evidence for a gender equality effect, suggesting that intuition cannot be cited as the reason for gender biases in investment decisions. Our research highlights the importance of reassessing the scientific reputation of intuition.