Does gendered wording in job advertisements deter women from joining start-ups? A replication and extension of Gaucher, Friesen, and Kay (2011)

Gaucher, Friesen, and Kay (2011: “GFK” hereafter) found that women perceive jobs to be less appealing when job adverts use masculine wording—a result they attributed to women's lower evaluations of “belongingness.” As masculine wording is used more often in male-dominated jobs, GFK concluded that gendered wording in job adverts may deter women from entering such jobs. In light of growing general interest in joining new ventures (“start-ups”), we replicate and extend GFK's study to compare start-ups and established firms. Interestingly, we find that GFK's original findings are replicated in the context of start-ups, but not in established firms. We propose and adduce evidence that the unique context of start-ups may prime women to respond especially sensitively to gendered wording, via positive expectancy violation.