Words matter.
#BreakTheBias
What does your choice of language say about your organisation?
The words you use every day can speak volumes about who you are and what you stand for – in fact, they might be saying more than you realise.
In the lead up to International Women’s day, we analysed every word of the 2021 Annual Reports of the ASX300 to identify their implicit gender bias. The results may surprise you.
In the ASX-300? Find out how many male and female pronouns appeared in your last annual report.
83% of ASX300 Annual Reports
were found to use gender imbalanced language
Male pronouns were used 3x more
than female pronouns
Chairman was used 6,738 times
Chairwoman was used 3 times
What does this mean for my organisation?
Annual Reports are the key indicator of an organisation’s yearly performance – heavily crafted and signed off by senior stakeholders.
This means that on an institutionalised level, a whopping 83% of our biggest companies use gender-biased language.
Of course, Annual Reports are just the tip of the iceberg.
Gender-balanced language and equitable representation can significantly impact your perception and reputation as an employer, as well as the wellbeing and performance of your people.
Our ASX300 analysis found that organisations who practised gender balanced language also emphasised language associated with social cohesion and inclusivity – two key indicators we know drive effective performance.
Interested in our findings? Sign up to learn more about our research.
You can’t #BreakTheBias if you don’t recognise it.
The first step towards addressing unconscious bias is facing it head on. If you choose to check your bias, we’d love to talk more with you about language, gender bias and representation in your organisation.
If you’re keen to start a discussion about language, gender bias or the AI behind our analysis, fill in the form and we’ll be in touch.