Your resume is a marketing document designed to showcase your skills, knowledge and experience. Mentioning your gender is usually not helpful as most employers are only interested in your ability to do your job.

Plus, in most cases, recruiters will be able to tell by your name or photo (if you add one) if you are a man or a woman.

When mentioning your gender can work in your favor

Of course, there are situations where mentioning your gender can be helpful:

You have an unusual or unisex name

If you have a name that doesn’t immediately indicate that you are a man or a woman, you might consider including your gender in your resume contact information.

Particularly in the English-speaking world, male names such as “Alex” have become popular with women. Likewise, if you have a foreign name, your gender may not be immediately obvious.

You are applying for a position where your gender matters

There are many roles that require a man or woman to fill this role. For example, a gym appointing a dressing room attendant may require the candidate to be a specific gender. An acting or modeling role may require a male or female, depending on the role. A women’s shelter may want to hire only female staff to make women feel safe.

In such cases, you should still only include your gender on your resume if your name does not immediately indicate that you are a man or a woman.

Gender discrimination

Anti-discrimination laws around the world require everyone to have equal opportunities for work and education. This means that you should not be discriminated against based on a number of characteristics, such as nationality, race, religion, political affiliation or gender.

While the gender gap between women and men is narrowing, the gap is far from closed for women in the labor market. This is evidenced by data from Catalyst, a global nonprofit that works with some of the world’s most influential executives and leading companies to create inclusive jobs for women.

Some of the common reasons for the gender gap are:

Women are underrepresented in leadership positions. In addition, they are less likely to get paid work than men. Caregiving responsibilities are often taken over by women. Many low-paid jobs traditionally considered “female” (eg nurses, teachers, salespeople) are held by women.

Despite the slow progress in women’s emancipation, women can still be discriminated against in the labor market and in the workplace, namely:

The interviewer can ask the woman how she intends to combine childcare and work (men are rarely asked this question). Job descriptions cannot be gender neutral. For example, words such as hacker or ninja are used. The employment contract cannot be extended due to pregnancy. Lack of adequate protection against sexual harassment in the workplace. position.

Using gender-neutral language in job descriptions

One way some employers are helping to combat gender discrimination is through the use of gender-neutral language in job descriptions. For example, the job description might state that “candidates have 2 years of project management experience” rather than “he / she will lead all project management efforts”.

You can also use gender-neutral job titles to avoid gender preferences, such as “chair” instead of “chair”.