Diversity at the top: leveraging language for inclusion

This study explores how gendered job titles in Italian, particularly feminine forms used for leadership positions, are represented and perceived on social media like Twitter. While feminine titles align with Italian grammatical norms, they are often resisted in public discourse, especially in prestigious domains like firms and management. Drawing on feminist theories of language and institutional theory, we analysed Italian-language tweets from 2006 to 2022 to examine the prevalence and sentiment associated with gendered job titles. Our findings show that although masculine forms remain dominant, the use of feminine titles has grown over time, particularly for the role of entrepreneur. Sentiment analysis reveals that tweets using feminine titles, especially for women on Boards of Directors, are associated with more positive sentiment than their masculine counterparts. These results suggest that gender-fair language may contribute to more inclusive perceptions of leadership, though its adoption remains uneven across roles and regions.