Common words on job adverts that women think are intimidating and too masculine

Article here. Excerpt:

'Job adverts which use the words ‘ambition’ and ‘drive’ may deter women from applying.

Stereotypically masculine job descriptions can leave women feeling ‘intimidated’ and worried about facing a ‘boys’ club’, a study has found.

When researchers removed ‘masculine’ terms like entrepreneurial from an advert, they found the proportion of women applying increased by four per cent.

Men who were not alpha male types were also more likely to go for the job.

Dr Joyce He, who led the study from the University of California, Los Angeles, said: ‘Changing the language of a job advert, which is such a small and cost-effective thing to do, could encourage women to apply and be more inclusive for everybody.

‘Words like competitive may suggest to women that their colleagues will be stereotypically masculine and so they won’t fit in.'