Masculine versus feminine job descriptions continues to be a prominent discussion these days.
Last week I shared TheTop 10 Masculine Biased Terms Found in Job Descriptions. If you’re aiming to gender-neutralize your job advertisements, removing those top 10 masculine-biased terms is an excellent initial step.
So, do many feminine-biased terms exist in job advertisements?
Some of you then inquired:
“What about feminine terms — which terms in job listings are biased towards drawing in women?”
I employed Ongig’s Text Analyzer software (the instrument for gender bias in job descriptions) to investigate.
I had Text Analyzer evaluate 48,246 random job descriptions from U.S.-based firms of various sizes.
Note: Text Analyzer features a proprietary vocabulary database sourced from social science and artificial intelligence studies that identifies masculine and feminine terms as demonstrated below.
Here’s an illustration of a job description examined by Text Analyzer.
Below is the compilation of the top 10 feminine terms that Text Analyzer discovered in job descriptions:
Top 10 Feminine Terms Utilized in Job Descriptions (2019)
- support
- share
- responsible
- understand (or understanding)
- together
- committed
- interpersonal
- feel
- collaborate (or collaboration)
- connect
If you intend to attract more women, incorporating terms like those mentioned above in your job postings is an effective starting point. You might consider pairing that approach with removing most or all of the masculine terms I discussed in TheTop 10 Masculine Biased Terms Found in Job Descriptions.
For additional advice on crafting job descriptions, explore our How to WriteaJobDescription— Best Practices & Examples.
Top 10 Feminine-Coded Terms Utilized in Job Postings [2024 Update]
Language evolves, which includes the words we utilize. Therefore, we decided to perform another assessment (this time with over 1 million job postings) to identify the 10 most frequently used terms with male bias in the past year. We also included some gender-neutral alternatives that you might discover effective in your job postings. Here’s the selection:
- responsible (accountable)
- support (help)
- understanding (knowledge, expertise)
- collaborate(s) (combine(s), join(s), unite(s), partner(s))
- collaboration (partnership)
- interpersonal (mutual, reciprocal, relational, social, face-to-face)
- understand (know, know about, reason)
- supports (helps)
- supporting (helping)
- collaborative (collective, combined, common)
You’ll observe that some of the same “feminine terminology” appeared on the list once again. Additionally, there are a few new female-coded term selections in the lineup.
We selected gender-coded terms (specifically female-coded for this blog) based on The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology which published a research study entitled Evidence That Gendered Wording in Job Advertisements Exists and Sustains Gender Inequality by Danielle Gaucher, Justin Friesen, and Aaron C. Kay — a Duke University and University of Waterloo study. Kat Matfield also utilized this study to develop a free instrument, Gender Decoder, for terms aligned with specific genders (also referred to as gender-biased language).
In late 2022, Ongig collaborated with a global employment platform to conduct new research concerning gendered language (and other biased terms)…and the impact they have on application rates. The study revealed that Ongig’s scoring is predictive of elevated application rates across various industries. Overall application starts increased by 13% and application begins from female applicants surged by 21%. This study demonstrated that the application of gender-aware language can enhance applications.
And, in a trial of Ongig’s Text Analyzer, one company aimed to address gender disparity in traditionally male-centric fields such as engineering and finance. After revising the use of gender-biased terms in their job advertisements, they experienced a 22% rise in female applicants.
Note: We have also provided a breakdown of the 10 most commonly used masculine-coded terms if you wish to view frequent terms you can eliminate to create more gender-neutral job advertisements.
Furthermore, here’s a compilation of 25 of the most-utilized exclusionary terms. Check these out if you seek more inclusive substitutes while crafting job postings during your hiring process. They include appropriate replacements for non-binary individuals, people with disabilities, individuals of color, and many other underrepresented groups.
Why I authored this?
Ongig is dedicated to revamping job descriptions. Ongig’s Text Analyzer removes gender bias, other forms of biases, and, overall, enhances the attractiveness of your job advertisements. If you’re recruiting over 100 individuals annually, we would be glad to demonstrate how to gender-neutralize your job descriptions. Simply click the demo request button on this page or contact us at friends@ongig.com. Thank you!