Pricing Influence: Gender and Valuation in China’s Creator Economy

• In Event: Economic Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Roundtable 3: AI and Algorithms

Abstract

Whether the digital economy reproduces gender inequality observed in traditional industries has become a central concern for scholars. Existing research has primarily focused on gender differences in objective earnings, paying comparatively less attention to inequalities arising from subjective processes of valuation. This study examines how gender shapes the economic valuation (i.e., pricing) of content creators on Rednote (Xiaohongshu), a major Chinese social media platform. Drawing on a unique dataset of 122,871 creators, we analyze gender differences in advertising prices while controlling for performance metrics, productivity and competency, career positioning, and follower demographics. The findings show that, at first glance, female creators appear to command slightly higher prices for image-based advertisements, whereas no significant gender differences for video advertisements. However, once other factors are taken into account, female creators’ quoted prices are on average approximately 4 percent lower than those of comparable male creators for image advertisements and nearly 10 percent lower for video advertisements. These results suggest that even in highly quantified digital platform environments, gender inequality is reproduced through a valuation gap. By mobilizing valuation theory, this study uncovers subtle mechanisms of gendered devaluation in digital cultural production and contributes to scholarship on platform labor, the sociology of prices, and gender inequality.

Authors

• Zepeng Zhou, Emory University

• Timothy J. Dowd, Emory University