האם השפה העברית מכשילה נשים? ממצאים מחמישה ניסויים

This paper explores the effects of addressing women and men in different gendered forms on their performance using five experiments conducted on a large representative sample of the Hebrew-speaking adult population in Israel. In the first experiment, addressing women in the masculine in an online math exam reduced their efforts and achievements in math, relative to addressing them in the feminine. Similarly, addressing men in the feminine relative to the masculine reduced their achievements, but the differences were smaller and not always significant. Three additional studies tested whether the gendered form of address activates stereotypes regarding women and men and their abilities. Finally, we tested the effects of two additional practices of using forms of address that are intended to be more gender inclusive: the masculine-plural form of address and the slash (masculine/feminine). Addressing women in the masculine-plural resulted in the best outcomes for women in our research project and had no negative effects on men’s achievements. The study provides evidence for the powerful role of language in reinforcing and preserving gender stereotypes and gaps.