Women’s Justification of White-Collar Crime

Abstract

In an empirical study of white-collar criminals in Norway, only 8 % out of 255 convicted criminals in recent years were women. There are many potential explanations for the low female share of crime. This paper concentrates on women’s lack of rationalization and justification of the criminal act. Several arguments lead us to believe that the justification to commit financial crime is less prominent among women. Examples include female fear of being caught, where women perceive a greater subjective risk, and where the consequences of imprisonment are perceived worse by women than men.