Presented By: Interdisciplinary Committee on Organizational Studies - ICOS
Is it the Expression that Counts? Gender and Hiring into Entry-Level Sales Jobs
Adina Sterling, Columbia University
Although sociologists have long recognized that variation within gender categories exists, most research on labor market inequality remains focused on outcomes between two groups: women and men. One way that individuals’ gender varies is through their gender expression, or their conveyance of femininity, masculinity, both or neither in the hiring process. In this project we argue that hiring is affected by the gender expression of candidates, and that gender expression can occur through candidates’ written communication—e.g., in job applications. Using free-form responses on job applications for tens of thousands of candidates for the same entry-level sales job and natural language processing methods, we find evidence that gender is expressed in written communication. Further, we find that candidates—men and women—who express higher levels of masculinity are more apt to be offered jobs. We close with a discussion of how the treatment of gender on a spectrum influences hiring and gender inequality in labor markets.
Related Links
Co-Sponsored By
Explore Similar Events
-
Loading Similar Events...
