2024 Undergraduate Research Showcase

Hiring the “Best Minds in Technology”: How Amazon’s Job Postings Perpetuates Gender Inequality

Document Type

Student Presentation

Presentation Date

4-19-2024

Faculty Sponsor

Dr. Michael Kreiter

Abstract

I conducted a mixed-methods analysis of all Amazon internships advertised to undergraduate students during the spring 2024 semester to investigate how seemingly gender-neutral language in job postings works to reproduce gender inequality in technology-related fields. In my analysis, I found that when the percentage of women in the given field decreased, the amount of meritocratic and status-based language increased. These meritocratic phrases in job postings appeared to be gender-neutral but really worked to reproduce existing structures of gender inequality. In theory, merit acts as a great equalizer. In actuality, it can justify inequalities by rewarding those with pre-existing privileges and punishing those with social barriers to success. The male-dominated mature of the tech industry shapes technological ideals of merit in masculine ways. This masculinization of merit acts as a primer for masculinized cultural matching, which reproduces masculine hegemony in elite technological spaces such as Amazon.

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