The Language of Discrimination: Using Experimental versus Observational Data

We use experimental and observational data to examine whether people respond differently to questions posed by females versus males. We document significant differences in the language of responses, both in terms of the distribution of language utilized, and the sentiment of this language (positive or negative). In the observational data, we also document differences in the language and sentiment of questions posed by gender. This highlights the importance of using experimental data to identify the causal role that gender plays in influencing the language choice of individuals responding to questions from males versus females.