Resumes with ‘they/them’ pronouns more likely to be rejected, says report; Musk finds it ‘interesting’

A recent study has claimed that job applicants who have ‘they/them’ pronouns written on their resumes are more likely to be rejected by potential employers. According to the study, the use of such pronouns may be seen as futile and unnecessary, thus making the resumes more likely to be overlooked.

The study was originally published in March by Business.com but gained attention recently after Tesla boss Elon Musk commented “interesting” under the findings of this study on Twitter. Musk is seen as a strong critic of the so-called ‘woke’ culture and the usage of 'they/them' pronouns in corporate space.

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Shocking revelations made by study

The study revealed how nonbinary individuals might end up getting lesser opportunities during their job search. The study, conducted in March, surveyed 400 nonbinary participants to understand their experiences and perceived prejudices related to their gender identities. Most participants preferred the use of 'they/them' pronouns on their resumes.

The researchers conducted an experiment by sending out two identical resumes to 180 job postings seeking entry-level candidates. The only difference between the resumes was the inclusion of gender-neutral pronouns ('they/them') in one version, while the other version did not have any pronouns.

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The study found that the resume with they/them pronouns received 8 per cent less interest compared to the ones without. Surprisingly, feedback from various prospective employers, regardless of their industry or age, expressed negative opinions about the inclusion of gender-neutral pronouns. They considered them unnecessary and inappropriate in a professional setting.

What's intriguing is that over 64 per cent of the companies that received these resumes claimed to be Equal Opportunity Employers and most of them were located in liberal areas. This raised concerns about the results of the study and highlighted the contradiction between claimed values and actual practices.

What do experts say?

Ryan McGonagill, director of industry research at Business.com, said that there was still a lot to do around diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in the workplace.

He said, “We clearly have more work to do on several fronts. Over the past 10 years, DEIB efforts have been prioritized by many companies; however, the results of this study and past research show that teams in most industries aren’t proportionately representative of the U.S. population.”

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