Job disconnect: male applicants, feminine language
Job postings for home health aides say applicants need to be “sympathetic” and “caring,” “empathetic” and focused on “families.”
The study was done by Textio, which has analyzed 50 million job listings for language that provokes disproportionate responses from men or women.
Common key words in the job descriptions were sympathetic, care, fosters, empathy and families — all of which Textio has found appeal more to female candidates — and are more likely to result in a female hire.
Job listings for other fast-growing and female-dominated jobs like nurse practitioner, genetic counselor and physician assistant used similarly feminine language.
Societal expectations and stigmas concerning masculinity deter men from feminine jobs, social scientists say, so some health care employers have tried to use more masculine language to appeal to men, like talking about the “adrenaline rush” of being an operating room nurse.
[...] Textio said it improved the results for a job posting for a software development manager by changing a few words from masculine to gender neutral: “premier” instead of “world-class,” “extraordinary” instead of “rock star” and “handle a fast-paced schedule” instead of “manage” it.