How Specific Words On Women’s Résumés May Be Holding Them Back, According To Research

New research reveals that specific language on women’s résumés may impact their hiring prospects, particularly for jobs in male-dominated fields. The studies suggest that avoiding certain words could improve women’s chances of being hired.

The recent studies, published in the Journal of Business and Psychology, analyzed more than 2,500 résumés posted on Indeed.com. The résumés focused on six distinct professions—some male-dominated, others female-dominated. Researchers examined how often the résumés included what they call “communal” and “agentic” language. Communal words, typically linked to women, emphasized relationship-oriented traits such as helpful, interpersonal, and caring. In contrast, agentic words—more often associated with men—highlighted qualities like assertiveness, confidence, and ambition.

The researchers found that women used more communal words than men in their résumés, regardless of the type of job they were applying for. Interestingly, men and women did not differ in the number of agentic words on their résumés.

To further explore the impact of using these more feminine words, the researchers conducted an additional study. They crafted fictional résumés, mirroring the levels of communal language found in the real résumés, to assess how this language influenced hiring evaluations.

The researchers then asked 346 participants, all of whom were full-time employees with most having hiring experience, to evaluate the fictional job applicants. They asked how likely they would be to hire the candidate and whether the candidate showed leadership potential. Half of the participants were told they were hiring for a human resources position, a job typically held by women, and half were told they were hiring for an IT manager, a job typically held by men.

The researchers found that women applying for the IT manager position were penalized for using communal language in their résumés. These women were viewed as less likely to be hired and less likely to be good leaders. For men, using communal language had no impact on their evaluations—only women were negatively evaluated for using it.

The use of communal language did not impact the perceptions of job candidates applying for the human resources position. Only women who were applying for the more male-oriented IT manager position were penalized for using communal language.

As a result the researchers suggest that women may want to review their résumés, particularly if they are applying to jobs in male-dominated fields. “Female applicants should carefully assess their word choice and consider reducing the amount of communal language on their résumés, particularly for prototypically masculine-typed jobs,” the researchers recommend.

However, a body of previous research suggests women should be cautious about presenting themselves only in an aggressive or ambitious light. Women who do so can take a hit to their likability, which may, in turn, impact a hiring decision. The research studies on résumés did not assess likability of the job candidates.

Women are expected to be nurturing and mother-like, regardless of whether they have children. Women who don’t fit this mold are often seen as overly aggressive. Ambitious and assertive women like Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi have been labeled with derogatory terms like “nasty.” Hillary Clinton was called “unstable” and “unhinged” when she was seeking the presidency. Awareness of this bias against ambitious women is likely what’s driving women to soften their résumés with more communal language.

As a result of these stereotypes, women face a double-edged sword. If they present themselves using only words that reflect their assertiveness and ambitions, they could take a hit to their likability or perceptions of their warmth. If they add the softer, communal language, they risk not getting the job. More research needs to be done to determine if there is an optimal amount of this language to include on résumés.