Language isn’t inherently masculine or feminine. However, we interpret some words as leaning masculine and some as leaning feminine. (Because of bias we’ve inherited from previous generations.) We associate certain traits and the words that convey them with men or women. Hence, gender-coded language.
This blog post will help you understand how gender-coded language occurs. True inclusion extends beyond just gender-coded language.
Gender-coded language in job descriptions is wording that seems to indicate a preference for one gender over another. It’s usually subtle and unintentional on the part of job description writers. But it’s also fairly common, showing up in the requirements section of job descriptions from even the most progressive and conscientious hiring teams.
Inadvertent gender-coded language
Gender-coded language can go either way, masculine or feminine. Most commonly, though, it’s wording that can imply a preference for male candidates that causes problems in recruiting. (For obvious, historical reasons.) Again, it’s usually inadvertent.
Let’s say we write a job description using the phrases ‘job autonomy’ and ‘assert control.’ On the surface, they seem innocuous, but they’re not. Independent and assertive are words that tend to lean masculine (although women can be both, of course).
Again, it’s not that those words actually have masculinity or femininity, it’s just that people interpret them that way. We tend to associate sentiments like strength and independence with men. Conversely, we tend to associate sentiments like collaborative and supportive with women. It doesn’t matter that individual men and women can be any one of those. It’s just the associations we’ve inherited and unconsciously perpetuate.
Diminished talent pool
Our hiring team didn’t intend to play favorites. But we’ve included some gender-coded language that could deter qualified female applicants. As a result, our talent pool won’t be as diverse as we’d like it to be.
We’re asking for someone who is autonomous and assertive, two stereotypically male attributes. Fortunately, we won’t lose any male candidates by doing that, for a couple of reasons. One, the language is biased towards men. Two, research shows that male candidates will apply to positions even when they don’t feel fully qualified. They may notice gender-coded language (whether masculine-leaning or feminine-leaning) but apply anyway.
However, research also shows that women typically apply to jobs only when they meet all of the requirements. So, a female candidate reading our job description may infer (consciously or unconsciously) that we’re looking for a male candidate. She may assume she doesn’t meet the requirements (being a woman) and not apply.
Gender-coded language in job descriptions
A larger, more diverse candidate pool will yield a more diverse final candidate pool. Whenever you lose a female candidate, your final candidate pool gets less diverse. If you want a diverse, qualified final candidate pool, it’s vital to clean up gender-coded language from your job descriptions. To make this systematic, consider an augmented writing platform like Datapeople’s Smart Editor.