Despite years of conversations about workplace equality, the language used in performance reviews still puts women at a disadvantage
A new study by Textio has found that 78% of women have been described as “emotional” in their performance reviews, compared to just 11% of men.
This isn’t just frustrating – it shows how little progress has been made in tackling gender-based language bias.
The study, which analysed feedback for over 25,000 employees across 253 organisations, also found that more than half of women (56%) were labelled as “unlikeable” in their reviews, while only 16% of men faced the same criticism.
Meanwhile, 67% of men were described as intelligent, but only 32% of women received that praise.
Back in 2014, a Textio report revealed that 76% of high-performing women had received negative feedback, compared to just 2% of men.
Women were frequently described using personality-based words like “abrasive,” “difficult,” “friendly,” or “helpful,” whereas men’s reviews focused more on skills and accomplishments.
What makes this even more frustrating is that the gender of the manager giving the feedback didn’t make a difference – both male and female managers showed the same biases in their reviews.
Diversity and well-being speaker Gifty Enright said: “Words such as ‘unlikeable’ or ‘emotional’ don’t evaluate performance; they attack character and create barriers.”
Language in performance reviews holds real power and Elizabeth Willetts, founder of Investing in Women, pointed out that biased feedback can impact confidence, career progression, pay raises, and leadership opportunities.
If women are consistently told they’re “too emotional” or “not likeable,” it’s no surprise that they internalise these stereotypes.
The study found that women were seven times more likely to do so, while men were 2-4% more likely to internalise positive stereotypes about themselves.
Michelle Gyimah, a pay gaps strategist at Equality Pays, put it bluntly and said: “Likeability can be, and is being, used as a weapon or a reward depending on the whim or biased behaviours of the person doing the evaluation.”
Awareness is the start of finding a solution she said, but real change requires organisations to rethink how they evaluate employees.
That means training managers to recognise bias, using objective criteria in performance reviews, and holding leadership accountable for ensuring fair evaluations.
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