Avoiding gender bias in reference writing
Got a great student? Planning to write a super letter of reference?
Don’t fall into these common traps based on unconscious gender bias.
Keep it professional
Letters of reference for women are 7x more
likely to mention personal life - something that
is almost always irrelevant for the application.
Also make sure you use formal titles and
surnames for both men and women.
Be careful raising doubt
We all want to write honest letters, but
negative or irrelevant comments, such
as ‘challenging personality’ or ‘I have
confidence that she will become better than
average’ are twice as common in letters for
female applicants. Don’t add doubt unless it
is strictly necessary!
Stay away from stereotypes
Although they describe positive traits,
adjectives like ‘caring’, ‘compassionate’, and
‘helpful’ are used more frequently in letters
for women and can evoke gender stereotypes
which can hurt a candidate. And be careful
not to invoke these stereotypes directly
(‘she is not emotional’).
Emphasize accomplishments,
not effort
Letters for reference for men are more likely
to emphasize accomplishments (‘his research’,
‘his skills’, or ‘his career’) while letters for
women are 50% more likely to include ‘grind-
stone’ adjectives that describe effort. ‘Hard-
working’ associates with effort, but not ability.
Research from Trix, F & Psenka, C. Exploring the color
of glass: Letters of recommendation for female and
male medical faculty. Discourse & Society, 2003; and
Madera, JM, Hebl, MR, & Martin, RC. Gender and
letters of Recommendation for Academia: Agentic
and Communal Differences. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 2009.
Don’t stop now!
On average, letters for men are 16% longer
than letters for women and letters for women
are 2.5x as likely to make a minimal
assurance (‘she can do the job’) rather than a
ringing endorsement (‘she is the best for the
job’).
We all share bias
It is important to remember that unconscious
gender bias isn’t a male problem. Research
shows that women are just as susceptible to
these common pitfalls as men.
This is a problem for all of us - let’s solve it
together!
Mention research &
publications
Letters of reference for men are 4x more
likely to mention publications and twice as
likely to have multiple references to research.
Make sure you put these critical
accomplishments in every letter!
Adjectives to avoid:
caring
compassionate
hard-working
conscientious
dependable
diligent
dedicated
tactful
interpersonal
warm
helpful
Adjectives to include:
successful
excellent
accomplished
outstanding
skilled
knowlegeable
insightful
resourceful
confident
ambitious
independent
intellectual
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