Gender differences in the propensity to initiate negotiations may be explained by differential treatment of men and women when they attempt to negotiate. In experiments 1 and 2, participants evaluated written accounts of candidates who did or did not initiate negotiations for higher compensation. In experiment 3, participants evaluated videotapes of candidates who accepted compensation offers or initiated negotiations. In experiment 4, participants adopted the candidate’s perspective and assessed whether to initiate negotiations in same scenario used in experiment 3. With male evaluators, women were less inclined than men to negotiate, and nervousness explained this effect. There was no gender difference when evaluator was female.