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.
Recommended Citation
Jobe, Amelia and Kreiter, Michael, "Hiring the “Best Minds in Technology”: How Amazon’s Job Postings Perpetuates Gender Inequality" (2024). 2024 Undergraduate Research Showcase. 89.
https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/under_showcase_2024/89