Has a Recommendation Cost You a Job or Promotion?
Even a favorable recommendation could impede a woman’s career according to on-going research at Rice University, that shows qualities described in recommendations for women differ sharply from those of men.
And those differences may be costing women jobs and promotions in academia and medicine according to the findings of psychologist Michelle Hebl, her colleague Randi Martin and graduate student Juan Madera, now an assistant professor at the University of Houston. Dr. Hebl says the ramifications extend beyond academia and medicine into the corporate culture. “Women, even if they are protected by law or the organization, experience discrimination in subtle ways,” she said.
The study, funded by the National Science Foundation, reviewed over 600 letters of recommendation for nearly 200 applicants for eight junior faculty positions at a United States University.
Female candidates were described in “communal” terms like sensitive, caring and nurturing. Their male counterparts were described in “agentic” terms that included decisive, independent and aggressive. “Having people describe you in communal terms is not a good thing,” said Dr. Hebl who says that words that are supposed to be positive are not the ones that come to mind when someone thinks of a leader.
Dr. Hebl doesn’t think using gender neutral terms in recommendations will make a difference. Instead, she suggests recommenders look at the requirements of the job itself rather than resorting to conventional stereotypes. The traits that are valued in the academic job are research ability, independence and autonomy, not words that may say a women is not serious about a job, for example role model.
If an employee asks for a recommendation, Dr. Hebl suggests eliminating qualifiers in your description. “Phrases like, ‘I think she might be good’ or ‘might be a leader’ are doubt raisers about ability.”
