Gendered communication in the Workplace: An Analysis of Polite Language in Professional Context

Despite progress in fighting gender discrimination, it remains vital to
examine how gender shapes communication styles in the workplace.
These differences can create unequal power dynamics, hindering effective
and inclusive interactions. This study therefore investigates gendered
communication patterns within professional settings, focusing on how
members from the Global Action for Community Development and Talent
House Speakers Organizations make requests and use polite language.
Specifically, the study explores how gender influences interactions and
how much individuals consider “face”—their public image and others’
perceptions. This research is guided by Brown and Levinson’s Politeness
Theory (1987), which explains how people manage social relationships
through language, especially when performing potentially “face
threatening” acts like making requests. To achieve the objectives, 50
participants (25 males, 25 females) aged 20 to 45 were carefully selected
from the above mentioned organizations, and data was collected through
Focus Group Discussions. Major findings indicate that men and women
employ distinct communication styles for politeness and requests. While
both genders generally demonstrate politeness, the majority opinion
suggests that, women are more polite when making requests. This aligns
with Hussain M. (2020) study, who found out that, male speakers used
more direct requests, while females preferred indirect ones. Also, (Basow
& Rubenfield, 2003) said women employ more expressive, tentative, and
polite language than men, especially during conflicts, Therefore, the use
of requests and politeness varies between genders based on context and
reason. These findings simply imply that recognizing these gendered
communication differences can foster more inclusive and understanding
workplace environments, improving professional interactions. The study
recommends that, future research should explore a broader range of
politeness and request strategies, including “off-record” communication,
which were not part of this study.

Keywords: Communication, Gender, Language, Politeness, Workplace.