Do Studentsʼ and Authorsʼ Genders Affect Evaluations? A Linguistic Analysis of Medical Student Performance Evaluations

Abstract

MSPEs differed slightly but significantly by student and author gender. These differences may derive from societal norms for male and female behaviors and the subsequent linguistic interpretation of these behaviors, which itself may be colored by the observer's gender. Although the differences in MSPEs did not seem to influence students' rankings, this work underscores the need for awareness of the complex effects of gender in evaluating students and guiding their specialty choices.