A linguistic comparison of letters of recommendation for male and female chemistry and biochemistry job applicants

Letters of recommendation are central to the hiring process. However, gender stereotypes could bias how recommenders describe female compared to male applicants. In the current study, text analysis software was used to examine 886 letters of recommendation written on behalf of 235 male and 42 female...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sex roles 2007-10, Vol.57 (7-8), p.509-514
Main Authors: SCHMADER, Toni, WHITEHEAD, Jessica, WYSOCKI, Vicki H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affective Behavior
Biochemistry
Biological and medical sciences
Candidates
Chemistry
College Faculty
Committees
Discursive Practices
Employment
Females
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gender differences
Gender Discrimination
Hiring
Job Applicants
Job hunting
Job Search
Letters (Correspondence)
Linguistics
Males
Occupational psychology
Organic Chemistry
Orientation. Selection. Evaluation
Personnel Selection
Psychological Studies
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Research Universities
Resistance (Psychology)
Search Committees (Personnel)
Sex Differences
Sex roles
Sex Stereotypes
Social Psychology
Social role. Sex role
Social sciences
Stereotypes
United States of America
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Summary:Letters of recommendation are central to the hiring process. However, gender stereotypes could bias how recommenders describe female compared to male applicants. In the current study, text analysis software was used to examine 886 letters of recommendation written on behalf of 235 male and 42 female applicants for either a chemistry or biochemistry faculty position at a large U.S. research university. Results revealed more similarities than differences in letters written for male and female candidates. However, recommenders used significantly more standout adjectives to describe male as compared to female candidates. Letters containing more standout words also included more ability words and fewer grindstone words. Research is needed to explore how differences in language use affect perceivers' evaluations of female candidates.
ISSN:0360-0025
1573-2762
DOI:10.1007/s11199-007-9291-4