Companies

${ company.text }

Be the first to rate this company   Not rated   ${ company.score } stars     ${ company.industry}     ${ company.headquarters}

Articles

${ getArticleTitle(article) }

Topics

${ tag.display_name }

Community

${ getCommunityPostText(community_post) }

Contributors

${ contributor.full_name }

${ contributor.short_bio }

Jobs For Employers

Join InHerSight's growing community of professional women and get matched to great jobs and more!

Sign up now

Already have an account? Log in ›

  1. Blog
  2. Allyship

10 Adjectives to Stop Using to Describe Women

All of these little ladies with their big words!

Adjective used to describe women
Photo courtesy of Eva Bronsoni

Emotional, feisty, nasty. It’s unfortunately all too common for us to hear these words used to describe women—and only women—while other words, like driven or committed, are used to describe men. What gives? Sexism. Sexism, intentional or not, gives people a whole new vocabulary.

This isn’t anecdotal, either. The use of adjective-sexism to undermine women is backed by research. Take this study featured in the Harvard Business Review: Researchers looked at professional feedback received by 4,000 men and women in the military in order to see how prominent adjective-sexism really is. There were no differences in the way both genders were described objectively in evaluations (like efficiency, organization, analytical nature) but several differences existed on subjective counts (behavior, likability, approachability). Here, women were largely described in terms with negative connotations, and men in terms with neutral ones; gender bias, thus, is largely intertwined with our everyday language.

These language biases have measurable impacts in the workplace. They can affect how employees perceive themselves, how their performance in the workplace is perceived, and how they and their peers perceive their capability of being promoted. Language can determine who leads projects, gets promotions, is awarded raises, or even who is fired.

Why are sexist adjectives still used to describe women in the workplace?

Why indeed. Often, it’s because people aren’t actively aware of their gender biases or the impacts of their language on their coworkers and direct reports. They might hold men and women to different standards in leadership—unfairly expecting women to be more “caring” and “maternal” and then criticizing them when they don’t meet those sexist standards.

This toxic mentality can be a culture problem, which is why it’s important for managers and colleagues to be mindful of the terms they use when giving feedback about others. If women are described in condescending and sexist terms, they are put at significant disadvantages when compared to their male counterparts. Constructive criticism should be welcome in a professional setting, but using gender-neutral terms to do so is incredibly valuable to creating a work environment that promotes equality and inclusivity.

A good step toward change is focusing on making easy swaps in terms used to describe everyone, especially in formal company documents like annual reviews. This helps to eliminate the gendered way women are evaluated and, in the process, makes feedback more beneficial and effective.

Read more:Women in the Workplace Primer: 19 Terms You Need to Know

10 adjectives to swap out right now for non-sexist terms

1. Bossy

The problem: It makes a woman who likes things done her way and has strong visions for her work seem immature and inconsiderate.

Alternative: Opinionated

2. A nag

The problem: It makes it sound like strong-willed women who are attentive to detail in a way are constantly imposing or dragging on others—when being detail-oriented is a good trait.

Alternative: Persistent

3. Catty

The problem: This word describes women as if they are moody and prone to lashing out at others, especially other women. Men who behave the same way are rarely described with this word!

Alternative: Snide

4. Ditzy

The problem: “Ditzy” implies women who may be forgetful and lighthearted are also incompetent.

Alternative: Disorganized

5. Sassy

The problem: “Sassy” used to diminish a woman who makes strong sarcastic or witty remarks.

Alternative: Bold

6. Feisty

The problem: This is a condescending way of describing an outspoken woman determined to achieve her goals.

Alternative: Driven

7. Bubbly

The problem: “Bubbly” might be a fun term outside the office, but at work, the word portrays outgoing women as silly and giggly. Again, men with similar personality traits are simply not described this way.

Alternative: Lively

8. High maintenance

The problem: This word makes women with clear expectations and professional standards seem irrational.

Alternative: Perfectionist or detail-oriented

9. Hysterical

The problem: Whew. This one describes a woman affected by high-pressure situations as if she is unreasonable and overreacts in a way that men wouldn’t.

Alternative: Fearful or upset

10. Emotional

The problem: This term, especially in the workplace, makes what could be a well-reasoned defense or assessment by a woman sound unhinged and worthy of being discounted.

Alternative: Passionate

About our expert${ getPlural(experts) }

About our author${ getPlural(authors) }

Share this article

Don't Miss Out

Create a free account to get unlimited access to our articles and to join millions of women growing with the InHerSight community

Looks like you already have an account!
Click here to login ›

Invalid email. Please try again!

Sign up with a social account or...

If you already have an account, click here to log in. By signing up, you agree to InHerSight's Terms and Privacy Policy

Success!

You now have access to all of our awesome content

Looking for a New Job?

InHerSight matches job seekers and companies based on millions of workplace ratings from women. Find a job at a place that supports the kinds of things you're looking for.