How gendered language emerges in applicant materials and leadership descriptions in the hospitality industry: A text analysis study
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Date
2024
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elservier
Abstract
The hospitality industry faces a gender gap in leadership. Further research is needed to explore if gender ste
reotypes emerge naturally in applicant materials, like resumes and cover letters. This paper examines the use of
agentic and communal language in men and women’s self-descriptions in applicant materials, as well as dif
ferences in agentic and communal language in descriptions of successful leaders in the industry. Across Studies
1–3, women used more communal language than men in self-descriptions in applicant materials, though dif
ferences in agentic language did not emerge. Study 4 found that agentic characteristics were strongly associated
with leadership in respondent descriptions of successful leaders in the industry. These findings suggest that
gender stereotypes in selection contexts can be attributed to women using more communal language in applicant
materials and highlight the need to assess potentially biased selection processes in the hospitality industry.
Description
International Journal of Hospitality Management 120 (2024) 103756
Keywords
Sex stereotypes,Gender gap,Leadership,Sex role theory,Applicants,Hospitality industry