propositions were substantively the same, but the language used was different.
The first ad was written in predominantly masculine language and featured phrases such as ‘It’s a high-pressure environment in which you’ll consistently be grasping opportunities in securing new guests.’
The second ad was written in feminine language. ‘It’s a supportive environment in which you, as part of the leadership team, will nurture opportunities,’ gives a flavour of this second approach.
We sent a survey to the student database of Target Jobs, without admitting that it was a gendered language test. Instead, we suggested that it was simply a ‘creative testing exercise’ designed to identify which of two approaches would yield the better results if published.
Clear results
Of the 1399 respondents, we paid particular attention to those identifying as female. First, we asked them: ‘Which campaign presents Rowan Tree Hotels as a place most likely to meet your long-
term career aspirations?’ 37% of females favoured the masculine ad, whilst 63% preferred the feminine ad. We also asked: ‘Which campaign describes the working culture that is closest to your ideal?’ 30% of females preferred the masculine ad, whilst 70% preferred the feminine alternative.
Finally, we asked: ‘Which campaign makes you want to work for Rowan Tree Hotels more?’ This time, the feminine ad beat the masculine ad by 63% to 37%.
An interesting side-point – which we’ll come back to – was that males also favoured the feminine ad over the masculine one in the final question, albeit by a marginal difference of 51 to 49%.
We also looked in detail at particular phrases, asking respondents which created positive and negative impressions. By taking the latter away from the former, we created a Net Promoter Score (NPS).
It turned out females particularly liked ‘career opportunities for individuals who
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show commitment and loyalty’ (which had an NPS of +44) and ‘team player, responsive, honest and with excellent interpersonal skills’ (with an NPS of +60.)
One thing at least looks like a good idea: given that slight male preference for the feminine ad, perhaps we should always be writing in feminine language when attracting early talent. Females will respond to it, and males won’t mind it either. Maybe it really is that simple.
...We sent a survey to the student database of Target Jobs, without admitting that it was a gendered language test. Instead, we suggested that it was simply a ‘creative testing exercise’ designed to identify which of two approaches would yield the better results if published.
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