This research project received funding through the 2024-2025 Institute for Diversity Science Seed Grant Program
Principal Investigator: Stav Atir, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, UW-Madison
Co-Investigator: Hannah Birnbaum, Assistant Professor, Washington University St. Louis
Abstract:
Studies show that men are more frequently addressed by their professional titles, giving them a status boost relative to women. This project turns the spotlight to professionals’ own choices by examining self-titling. We suggest that women might lean on titles more as a strategy—which we term “compensatory formality”—to combat perceived lower respect.
The result, however, may be a trade-off: though using titles may elevate a woman’s status, it could also make her seem less likable, which is significant given the outsized impact of likability in evaluations of women.
We combine analysis of existing large datasets, surveys, and experiments. In data from medical Twitter, we found that women were more likely than men to incorporate their professional titles into their display names. A parallel effect emerged in academia when we analyzed profiles from a major academic conference: women were more likely than men to include their PhD credentials as part of their names. We plan to complement these results with surveys and experiment to provide insights into why this gender difference emerges and how self-titling affects perceptions of status and likability.
This research shines a light on the linguistic strategies women use to navigate male-dominated professional environments.