Effects of gender sensitive language in job listings: A study on real-life user interaction

Abstract

The possible impact of gender-sensitive language on readers is among the most controversially debated issues in linguistics and beyond. Previous studies have suggested that there is an effect of gender-sensitive language on mental representations, based on data gathered in laboratory settings with small groups of participants. We add a new perspective by examining correlations of authentic language use with authentic user interaction on a recruitment website. Drawing upon a large dataset provided by the recruitment platform StepStone, we evaluate whether job advertisements using certain kinds of gender-sensitive language in their titles correlate with higher proportions of views by female users. Our results indicate that there are differing effects depending on the type of gender-sensitive language that is used. Overall, the strongest correlation can be found with terms that include the feminine suffix -in.