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

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 s...

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Main Authors: Dominik Hetjens, Stefan Hartmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0308072&type=printable
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author Dominik Hetjens
Stefan Hartmann
author_facet Dominik Hetjens
Stefan Hartmann
author_sort Dominik Hetjens
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj-art-5ceedcf839b74d51a0f538c5b37fec6f2025-08-20T02:56:47ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-01198e030807210.1371/journal.pone.0308072Effects of gender sensitive language in job listings: A study on real-life user interaction.Dominik HetjensStefan HartmannThe 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.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0308072&type=printable
spellingShingle Dominik Hetjens
Stefan Hartmann
Effects of gender sensitive language in job listings: A study on real-life user interaction.
PLoS ONE
title Effects of gender sensitive language in job listings: A study on real-life user interaction.
title_full Effects of gender sensitive language in job listings: A study on real-life user interaction.
title_fullStr Effects of gender sensitive language in job listings: A study on real-life user interaction.
title_full_unstemmed Effects of gender sensitive language in job listings: A study on real-life user interaction.
title_short Effects of gender sensitive language in job listings: A study on real-life user interaction.
title_sort effects of gender sensitive language in job listings a study on real life user interaction
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0308072&type=printable
work_keys_str_mv AT dominikhetjens effectsofgendersensitivelanguageinjoblistingsastudyonreallifeuserinteraction
AT stefanhartmann effectsofgendersensitivelanguageinjoblistingsastudyonreallifeuserinteraction