Ladies, We’re Being Lied To

If you've ever felt that negotiations weren't going your way just because you're a woman, a new study has scientific data to back you up. 

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Pennsylvania looked into how things go down when making deals. And the results show that women are mislead a LOT more often than men are and that both men and women are doing the misleading.

The study was kind of shocking to me. Not that people were more comfortable lying to women when trying to make a deal, but that women are just as okay with misleading women as men are. In fact, this study showed that 24 percent of men admitted to lying to a woman while only 3 percent said they lied to a man. While 11 percent of women would lie to a man and 17 percent would lie to a fellow female. Seems like ladies are a LOT more comfortable with lying altogether!

So why do people find it okay to mislead the ladies in negotiations?

According to Time magazine, participants in this study said that women were perceived as being less knowledgeable, but more kind than their male counterparts. In fact the more friendly the woman was, the more she was expected to be fooled and the more participants lied to her!

The stereotype is not terribly surprising, but the cold, hard facts that back it up are a bit discouraging.

I think if this study tells us anything, it's that women really need to do their research before they buy anything. That way you'll know when you're being mislead and can call the liar out!