WriteByMe is for everyone.
The implications of unconscious gender bias range from subtle to severe. We are working hard to provide you with tools and information so your communication is as strong as you are.
Why this is importantHow It Works
Word categories
Words matter. Data and peer-reviewed research have shown that words in the following categories convey to listeners that the speaker is uncertain and lacks leadership, credibility, confidence, and competence.
For more about why, please click here.
Apologies
Be mindful of saying sorry.
Some situations call for an apology, but not all do. Women often use sorry as a way to cushion their actions, out of a desire to avoid offending, even accidentally. We may think we're being polite, but what we're actually doing is putting ourselves in a subordinate position.
Communal
Communal words make you seem indecisive and less competent.
People who use agentic* words are perceived as being effective and influential leaders and as being confident and composed. Research has found a negative correlation between the number of communal** words and characteristics in a resumé and positive hiring decisions.
Questions
Asking questions is important, but only if what you're saying should be a question, rather than a statement.
We (women) often position statements and demands in the form of a question, to maintain an equal playing field and help others save face. However, this can decrease your authority and credibility and make you appear less confident. Using interrogatives/questions (“Could you reach that file?”), rather than imperatives/demands (“Pass me that file”) for giving directives, is a form of indirect communication. This type of communication is less assertive and less confident and leaves room for ambiguity.
Hedges
Hedges undermine credibility and authority.
A Hedge is a word or phrase used in a sentence that expresses ambiguity, probability, caution, or indecisiveness about the remainder of the sentence, rather than full accuracy, certainty, confidence, or decisiveness. Here are two examples:
1. We might want to ask him if he has done the assignment.
2. I think the answer is blue.
Hedges are often used to soften requests and statements. Research shows that messages containing hedges are less persuasive than messages without them. Hedges are known as a type of powerless language. Research shows that a speaker who uses powerless language will be perceived as less assertive, less competent, less credible, less authoritative, and, in general, will be evaluated less favorably than a speaker who uses powerful language. Hedges are for gardens and the stock market, not for written communication.
Qualifiers
Qualifiers undermine your ideas and display a lack of confidence.
Qualifiers are words or phrases that change the meaning of a sentence by limiting it. The general effect of qualifiers is to express doubt and uncertainty. Using a Qualifier downplays your authority. A study found that the qualifier “I think” is used 68% of the time by women as compared to men.
Extra Polite
Being polite is good; being overly polite isn't.
Several studies have shown that women tend to soften their demands by using extra-polite words and statements, whereas men tend to be more direct. Women thinking they need to be polite are less likely to negotiate in bargaining settings than are men, because negotiating is seen, by women, as impolite to the other party.
Tips
If you are writing a letter of recommendation or an evaluation (for yourself or for someone else), we have some useful communication tips for you! Our algorithm doesn't, yet, highlight these issues, but we do want you to be aware of them.
Letters of recommendation: Letters of recommendation written using agentic words are more likely to be given serious consideration than are those written using communal words. Research has shown that most letters of recommendation written for women are written with communal words. This means you could, unknowingly, be hindering a woman's chance for advancement. Follow WriteByMe suggestions to change communal words to agentic words.
Self-evaluations: If you are writing an evaluation for yourself or someone else (specifically for a woman), make sure to use action terms, instead of broad adjectives. This way, any critique remains situational. For example, saying “I didn't write enough” vs “I am not an innovative writer”. While both may explain why you weren't able to do something, “I didn't write enough” speaks to one situation, while not being innovative carries across all situations, and conveys the idea that you are not an innovative writer at all and, therefore, that you are very likely to fail in other job evaluations. Note that men and those evaluating men are more likely to describe their negative traits or experiences with action verbs, and you should do the same! Let's level the playing field. Take a moment to think about the situation you're writing about and see if you can re-write it, using action words.
