Frequently Asked Questions

Got a question? Check out the FAQs below!

• What is gendered wording and what makes a word masculine or feminine?

  Gendered wording refers to masculine and feminine words that are often associated with gender stereotypes. Words such as competitive, dominant, and force have a masculine connotation, and words such as devote, support, and help have a feminine connotation. The words used in job descriptions can imply a preferred gender without us even realizing it, and as a result discourage the opposite gender from applying. See the Bias in job ads page under Research and Analysis for more details on the impacts of gendered wording.

• What evidence supports the claim that wording in job ads has an impact on readers?

  The evidence underlying this tool comes from a research paper written by Danielle Gaucher, Justin Friesen, and Aaron C. Kay, titled Evidence That Gendered Wording in Job Advertisements Exists and Sustains Gender Inequality. Please see the Bias in job ads page under Research and Analysis for more in depth details.

• What happens to a job ad that I check using this tool?

  When you upload or paste your job description, it is analyzed for gendered language. The full text of the description and the analysis are not saved in a database.

• Can I use this for other purposes that aren't related to job ads?

  It's possible to use the tool on any body of text. It does seems like a reasonable assumption that gendered wording has affects in some other domains. However, the research on which our tool is based on only examined job descriptions.

• What are the limitations of the tool?

  While using the Editor, please be aware of the tool's limitations:
  
  • The tool automatically adds a period after every sentence
  • If a job description has more than one occurance of a gender-biased word, the Editor updates and replaces the first occurance of the word
  • The tool works best when you paste in the job ad, so we encourage you to paste in, rather than write your entire job description within the Editor
  Thanks for your patience as we work to further develop and perfect the Editor