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SSRN Electronic Journal
Article . 2023 . Peer-reviewed
Data sources: Crossref
Management Science
Article . 2025 . Peer-reviewed
Data sources: Crossref
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Gender-Inclusive Language and Economic Decision-Making

Authors: Balafoutas, Loukas; Fornwagner, Helena; Hauser, Emily; Hauser, Oliver;

Gender-Inclusive Language and Economic Decision-Making

Abstract

Providing inclusive environments has become a primary tenet of modern societies and organizations. The use of gender-inclusive language (GIL) is often considered an instrument that can promote inclusion, yet little is known about its effects on relevant economic behaviors and on gender gaps in the labor market. GIL avoids the masculine “default” (common to many languages) by either explicitly mentioning both masculine and feminine (pro)nouns, or replacing them with nongendered (pro)nouns. Here we study the causal short-run impact of GIL on competitiveness and leadership in the laboratory, with two different language samples—English and German—which differ, among other things, in the extent to which gender is embedded linguistically. We vary GIL in experimental instructions across three treatments ([Formula: see text]): a masculine baseline condition, a condition with feminine and masculine (pro)nouns, and a condition with nongendered (pro)nouns. We find that participants who identify as female and participants who identify as male compete, stand for leadership, and vote on leader candidates similarly across all treatments, in either language. Furthermore, we find no treatment differences in participants’ feelings of inclusion and perceived entitlement. In sum, there is a lack of support for GIL having short-term causal effects on competitive and leadership behavior and inclusion perceptions. This paper was accepted by Marie-Claire Villeval, behavioral economics and decision analysis. Funding: This work was supported by the Austrian Science Fund [Grant SFB F63], UK Research and Innovation [Grant MR/T020253/1], the University of Exeter, and Regensburger Universitätsstiftung Lucia and Dr. Otfried Eberz. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2024.04342 .

Country
Austria
Keywords

gender-inclusive language, experiment, economic behavior, gender equality

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green