Biased language in some job advertisements in the UK deters as many as one in two women from applying, a study said yesterday, amid a push to attract more women to male-dominated sectors.
Openreach, which operates most of the country’s broadband network, found that women’s interest in applying for an engineering job increased by more than 200 percent when changes were made to language in an ad.
The company asked 2,000 women about two different ads for the same job, and found they were put off by macho phrases like “being on the road in your van” and “getting your hands dirty,” and mention of climbing a telegraph pole.
“We were amazed to see just how much of a difference language makes,” said Kevin Brady, human resources director for Openreach, which is seeking to recruit women for 500 out of 2,500 new engineering jobs this year — 10 times historic levels. “We hope that this will be the catalyst for helping to break down barriers stopping women from considering a role in engineering.”
While 80 percent of women said they would not consider working in engineering, 56 percent were interested in the job once the advertisement had been rephrased, including replacing the word “engineer” with “network coordinator.”
The new ad also listed skills in more neutral language, stipulating that applicants should not be afraid of heights and be good at getting things done.
Just more than 3 percent of Openreach engineers are women, compared with 11 percent of engineers nationally.
With one-quarter of respondents, who were aged 18 to 55, saying they still believed some roles were more suited to men, the researchers said the findings had implications for many other industries.
British House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee Chairwoman Caroline Nokes said encouraging more women into engineering had been a battle for decades.
“This study takes a big step towards removing barriers which would stop women even considering themselves for roles they are perfectly capable of doing,” she said.
The study, carried out with linguistic specialists Linguistic Landscapes, also showed that 55 percent of respondents were possibly considering a new career because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS