Unconscious Bias in Job Titles: Implicit Associations Between Four Different Linguistic Forms with Women and Men

The use of masculine forms in job titles (e.g., fireman, salesman) can deter women from applying or being selected for certain positions. The current research investigated the degree to which masculine linguistic forms are effective as generics. An experiment (N = 273) assessed to what extent four linguistic forms of job titles in German—masculine, abbreviated form with slashes, gender neutral, or masculine with brackets (m/f/d)—are implicitly associated with women and men using an Implicit Association Test. Masculine job titles were more strongly associated with men relative to women. In contrast, job titles using the slash form and gender-neutral form eliminated this male bias in implicit associations. The masculine form with brackets (m/f/d) produced similar effects to the conventional masculine form, and as such, was also ineffective in reducing a male bias. The present work contributes to the growing literature on the role of gender-inclusive language in recruitment and selection.