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Gendered Language

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Abstract

Languages use different systems for classifying nouns. Gender languages assign nouns to distinct sex-based categories, masculine and feminine. We construct a new data set, documenting the presence or absence of grammatical gender in more than 4,000 languages which together account for more than 99% of the world’s population. We find a robust negative relationship between prevalence of gender languages and women’s labor force participation and educational attainment both across and within countries. We also demonstrate that grammatical gender is associated with both weaker legal support for women’s equality and reduced female bargaining power within the household.

Suggested Citation

  • Pamela Jakiela & Owen Ozier, 2021. "Gendered Language," Department of Economics Working Papers 2021-13, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    • Handle: RePEc:wil:wileco:2021-13
    DOI: 10.36934/wecon:2021-13
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    grammatical gender; language; gender; linguistic determinism; labor force participation; gender gaps;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Z10 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - General
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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