Evidence from text analysis of 886 letters of recommendation on behalf of 235 male and 42 female applicants for either a chemistry or biochemistry faculty position at a large U.S. research university.
…the results of the current study revealed more similarity in the letters written for male and female job candidates than differences. Male and female candidates had similar levels of qualifications and this was reflected in their letters of recommendation. Letters written for women included language that was just as positive and placed equivalent emphasis on ability, achievement, and research.
Thus, in contrast to the findings of Trix and Psenka (2003), letters for female candidates to jobs in chemistry and biochemistry did not contain significantly more tentative language and did not overemphasize teaching and hard work over research and ability.
However, it is notable that recommenders used significantly more standout adjectives to describe male candidates as compared to female candidates, even though objective criteria showed no gender differences in qualifications.
…Interestingly, the data also revealed that letters that contained more standout words also included more ability related terms and fewer grindstone [e.g. hardworking] words.
19 Responses
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Men got more standout adjectives in rec letters. Makes sense if more men in tails of ability-distribution? @cblatts http://t.co/6AVQ8uwkfz
RT @TimHarford: How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
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RT @TimHarford: How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
RT @TimHarford: How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
RT @TimHarford: How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
RT @TimHarford: How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
RT @TimHarford: How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
RT @TimHarford: How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
RT @TimHarford: How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
RT @TimHarford: How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
RT @TimHarford: How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
RT @TimHarford: How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/iGngC9IS3D
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/04/14/study-suggests-stem-faculty-hiring-favors-women-over-men
How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ: Evidence from text analysis of 886 letters of re… http://t.co/szcuuro0dB
How academic recommendation letters for men and women differ http://t.co/vUzOd0qv6A
I wonder to what extent this is capturing differences in country-of-origin. In rec letters I’ve seen, Asian letter writers are much more likely to use “grindstone” words when pushing their students, and in the sciences, the gender ratio among students from East Asia is much more balanced than the male-heavy ratio among European, S. Asian and N. American candidates. There appears to be no attempt to control for this.