PhD – Gendered vacancies

"Women simply prefer to work in other sectors, the IT sector is very nerdy and dusty, and therefore more suited for men."

We hear statements like these often in the workplace. But is this really true? If we look at the gender distribution within certain sectors, we see that there are more women working in caretaker roles (such as teachers and nurses) and more men in technical sectors. In primary education and nursing, only one in five employees is male, while in the technology sector, only 14% are female.

How can this be? Ideas about how men and women should behave are deeply ingrained in many people. So deeply, that it can even be reflected in job vacancy texts. And this is often the first impression people get from companies. At such an early stage in the job search process, certain expectations can already be conveyed. These expectations can, among other things, relate to the desired gender of the candidate they are looking for.

Language is a powerful tool. Previous research on gender norms in job vacancy texts has already shown that the use of certain words ('competitive' and 'leader' vs. 'caring' and 'team player') can influence whether men or women are more (or less) likely to apply for a particular position. But does it end there? In this research, we investigate whether other elements in job vacancy texts also have an impact on who applies. For example, what is the influence of the description of working conditions (such as the number of hours worked) or the description of someone's work mentality ('hands-on mentality', 'flexible')? Understanding the consequences of writing choices in job vacancies on the job application process can help us make different choices so that vacancies are more attractive to a larger, more diverse group of people.

Involved researchers