Let’s get risky
Are men really better risk-takers than women? It’s a difficult question and one with way too much
explanations for those of us who don’t take psychology. It only takes you to search
‘men...risk...women’ in Google and you’ll have a variety of articles from Harvard Business Review to
livescience.com. Considering the historical battle of the genders, it’s not a surprise that once again,
it’s the battle of the sexes. The men were the providers and fathers while women were the
housekeepers and mothers. “Women’s greater perceived likelihood of negative outcomes and lesser
expectation of enjoyment partially mediated their lower propensity toward risky choices in gambling,
recreation, and health domains” according to a risk assessment on gender differences, so how is that
affected by being in an all girls’ school?
It’s good news for us SMB girls, as according to the Economic Journal, ‘if you want your daughter to
be a high-flying businesswoman or a banker, send her to a single-sex school.’ Thanks to the still
male-inclined world we live in, it seems us girls are unconsciously being affected by the culturally
driven norms surrounded us and it’s this that stops us being as adventurous and audacious as our
pesky brothers. Yet, here at St Margaret’s, we are the lucky ones! Being surrounded by girls all day,
everyday, however ​frustrating​ it might be at points, teaches us to take risks. By participating in
football in your PE lesson, playing the game that is universally recognised by names such as Messi,
Ronaldo and Neymar who are shockingly all men; or by trying and killing the Maths Challenge, we
are being taught to think like the other sex - something that isn’t so strong at mixed schools. It doesn’t
take away from typically more feminine subjects such as languages and arts, it only encourages us to
not be confined by the societal expectations exerted on us in order for us to more likely fulfil our full
potential. As we don’t have such fixed impressions of what opportunities we will seek out, or that we
can accept, we are more prepared to take ambitious leaps, just like our male counterparts. We are
being taught that we can be anything that we want and there’s nothing riskier than picking a future
that you’re going to tirelessly work towards. If you want to be an engineer - you can; an artist - why
not?; a journalist - of course! It just shows that although girls have the reputation of taking the safe
route and have a greater fear, or possibly realisation, of the consequences our actions may amount to,
being in an environment where you are encouraged to reach for the stars truly helps us take life’s big
jumps.
If we never take risks or chances, we will never known the outcomes. We will never learn the lesson
from not succeeding at the first attempt.We will never understand that sometimes risks pay off. So
take that jump! What’s the worst that can happen? You either succeed or learn a lesson that will only
make you more determined and knowledgeable for your next attempt. Prove those statistics wrong we’ve got guts, have you?
By Megan