Designing Symbolic Awards to Motivate Knowledge Workers in Gender-Typed Fields

TL;DR

Giving symbolic awards in online communities, such as Wikipedia, can increase retention rates among newcomers and potentially address gender disparities in knowledge production.

Transcript

welcome to the women and public policy program seminar series podcast at the Harvard Kennedy School good afternoon everyone welcome to the women in public policy program seminar I'm Victoria budson the executive director here and our work focuses on closing gender gaps in the areas of Economic Opportunity political participation education and healt... Read More

Key Insights

• ☠️ Symbolic awards can effectively increase the retention rates of newcomers in online communities, such as Wikipedia.
• 🏆 Awards provide social recognition and reputation capital, which can motivate individuals to contribute more to a common knowledge resource.
• 🧑‍🏭 The impact of awards may be influenced by factors such as social identity, status and reputation concerns, and evaluation potential.
• 😒 Gender disparities in knowledge production, particularly under contribution by high-ability women, can be addressed through the use of awards as a motivational tool.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did the study on Wikipedia's retention rates measure the impact of symbolic awards?

The study randomly assigned 150 newcomers to receive an award, while the remaining newcomers served as the control group. The retention rates of both groups were then compared over several months to identify the effect of the award.

Q: What were the findings of the study on Wikipedia's retention rates?

The study found that newcomers who received a symbolic award had a significantly higher retention rate compared to the control group. The effect of the award persisted even after several months, indicating a sustainable impact.

Q: Did the study consider the potential negative effects of awards on retention rates?

The study did not find any evidence of negative effects on retention rates among award recipients. However, it is important to note that different individuals may have different responses to awards, and further research is needed to understand these variations.

Q: Did the study explore whether gender plays a role in retention rates among newcomers?

The study did not specifically analyze gender differences in retention rates. However, it acknowledged the broader issue of under contribution by high-ability women in male-dominated fields and suggested that symbolic awards could potentially encourage more women to contribute their ideas.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• This podcast episode discusses a broad study conducted on Wikipedia, which explored the impact of different types of symbolic awards on the retention rates of new editors.

• The study found that purely symbolic awards increased the retention rate of newcomers by 20%, suggesting that these awards can be used to motivate knowledge workers.

• The episode also introduces the challenge of under contribution by high-ability women in male-dominated fields, such as Wikipedia, and explores the potential use of awards to address this issue.