Gendered Language and the Educational Gender Gap

7 Pages Posted: 23 May 2016 Last revised: 22 Feb 2018

See all articles by Lewis Davis

Lewis Davis

Union College - Department of Economics

Megan Reynolds

Union College - Department of Economics

Date Written: February 21, 2018

Abstract

Languages differ in the degree to which they employ gender distinctions for nouns and pronouns. Speaking a more gendered language may highlight gender in the mind of the speaker, leading to more pronounced gender roles, and is associated with lower female labor force participation rates, earlier female marriage, and greater fertility. We advance this literature by showing that speaking a more highly gendered language is also associated with a greater gender gap in educational attainment.

Keywords: culture; language; gender; educational inequality

JEL Classification: I24; J16; Z1

Suggested Citation

Davis, Lewis S. and Reynolds, Megan, Gendered Language and the Educational Gender Gap (February 21, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2782540 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2782540

Lewis S. Davis (Contact Author)

Union College - Department of Economics ( email )

Schenectady, NY 12308-3107
United States

Megan Reynolds

Union College - Department of Economics ( email )

Schenectady, NY 12308-3107
United States

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