The effect of language on performance: do gendered languages fail women in maths?

Abstract Research suggests that gendered languages are associated with gender inequality. However, as languages are embedded in cultures, evidence for causal effects are harder to provide. We contribute to this ongoing debate by exploring the relationship between gendered languages and the gender ga...

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Autores principales:	Tamar Kricheli-Katz, Tali Regev
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/c5df86c94328485182252c51e5f7b2cb
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:c5df86c94328485182252c51e5f7b2cb2021-12-02T18:15:31ZThe effect of language on performance: do gendered languages fail women in maths?10.1038/s41539-021-00087-72056-7936https://doaj.org/article/c5df86c94328485182252c51e5f7b2cb2021-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00087-7https://doaj.org/toc/2056-7936Abstract Research suggests that gendered languages are associated with gender inequality. However, as languages are embedded in cultures, evidence for causal effects are harder to provide. We contribute to this ongoing debate by exploring the relationship between gendered languages and the gender gap in mathematics achievements. We provide evidence for causality by exploiting the prominent (but not exclusive) practice in gendered languages of using masculine generics to address women. In an experiment on a large representative sample of the Hebrew-speaking adult population in Israel, we show that addressing women in the feminine, compared to addressing them in the masculine, reduces the gender gap in mathematics achievements by a third. These effects are stronger among participants who acquired the Hebrew language early in childhood rather than later in life, suggesting that it is the extent of language proficiency that generates one’s sensitivity to being addressed in the masculine or in the feminine. Moreover, when women are addressed in the masculine, their efforts (in terms of time spent on the maths test) decrease and they report feeling that “science is for men” more than when addressed in the feminine. We supplement the analysis with two experiments that explore the roles of general and task-specific stereotypes in generating these effects.Tamar Kricheli-KatzTali RegevNature PortfolioarticleSpecial aspects of educationLC8-6691Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. NeuropsychiatryRC321-571ENnpj Science of Learning, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 1-7 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571
spellingShingle	Special aspects of education LC8-6691 Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571 Tamar Kricheli-Katz Tali Regev The effect of language on performance: do gendered languages fail women in maths?
description	Abstract Research suggests that gendered languages are associated with gender inequality. However, as languages are embedded in cultures, evidence for causal effects are harder to provide. We contribute to this ongoing debate by exploring the relationship between gendered languages and the gender gap in mathematics achievements. We provide evidence for causality by exploiting the prominent (but not exclusive) practice in gendered languages of using masculine generics to address women. In an experiment on a large representative sample of the Hebrew-speaking adult population in Israel, we show that addressing women in the feminine, compared to addressing them in the masculine, reduces the gender gap in mathematics achievements by a third. These effects are stronger among participants who acquired the Hebrew language early in childhood rather than later in life, suggesting that it is the extent of language proficiency that generates one’s sensitivity to being addressed in the masculine or in the feminine. Moreover, when women are addressed in the masculine, their efforts (in terms of time spent on the maths test) decrease and they report feeling that “science is for men” more than when addressed in the feminine. We supplement the analysis with two experiments that explore the roles of general and task-specific stereotypes in generating these effects.
format	article
author	Tamar Kricheli-Katz Tali Regev
author_facet	Tamar Kricheli-Katz Tali Regev
author_sort	Tamar Kricheli-Katz
title	The effect of language on performance: do gendered languages fail women in maths?
title_short	The effect of language on performance: do gendered languages fail women in maths?
title_full	The effect of language on performance: do gendered languages fail women in maths?
title_fullStr	The effect of language on performance: do gendered languages fail women in maths?
title_full_unstemmed	The effect of language on performance: do gendered languages fail women in maths?
title_sort	effect of language on performance: do gendered languages fail women in maths?
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/c5df86c94328485182252c51e5f7b2cb
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The effect of language on performance: do gendered languages fail women in maths?

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