Gender Differences in Communication Styles. A Systematic Review Using the PRISMA Protocol
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this paper is to examine the current differences and similarities in communication styles between women and men, specifically focusing on the communication characteristics of Generation Z.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The study explores how gender and generational differences manifest in communication styles. To address this aim, a systematic literature review was conducted using the PRISMA protocol. The review included peer-reviewed, open-access articles from 2013 onwards, sourced from Web of Science and Scopus, resulting in 25 relevant studies after applying strict inclusion criteria.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The argumentation process within this paper is built upon a thorough analysis of existing literature regarding gender differences in communication.
RESEARCH RESULTS: The analysis of the identified studies reveals persistent differences in communication styles between women and men. Women’s communication tends to be more emotionally expressive and relationship-oriented, while men’s communication is typically more direct, specific, and focused on asserting power and status. However, the studies examined mostly focused on interpersonal communication rather than professional contexts, with limited attention to Generation Z.
CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND APPLICABLE VALUE OF RESEARCH: The review highlights a significant research gap regarding gendered communication in professional settings and the communication styles of Generation Z. Further studies are recommended to explore these areas, particularly in light of Generation Z’s increasing presence in the workforce and evolving communication patterns.
References
Angelakis, A., Inwinkl, P., Berndt, A., Ozturkcan, S., Zelenajova, A., Rozkopal, V. (2024). Gender differences in leaders’ crisis communication: A sentiment-based analysis of German higher education leaderships’ online posts. Studies in Higher Education, 49(4), 609–622. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2023.2246505
Balt, E., Mérelle, S., van Bergen, D., Gilissen, R., van der Post, P., Looijmans, M., Creemers, D., Rasing, S., Mulder, W., van Domburgh, L., & Popma, A. (2021). Gender differences in suicide--related communication of young suicide victims. PLoS ONE, 16(5), e0252028. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252028
Barnett, M.D., Maciel, I.V., Johnson, D.M., & Ciepluch, I. (2020). Social anxiety and perceived social support: Gender differences and the mediating role of communication styles. Psychological Reports, 124(1), 70–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294119900975
Dash, K.K., Dash, S.K., & Satpathy, S.A. (2021). Study on gender differences in workplace communication across organizations. Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities, 13(3), 1– 10. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.15
DeJesus, J.M., Umscheid, V.A., & Gelman, S.A. (2021). When gender matters in scientific communication: The role of generic language. Sex Roles, 85, 577–586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-021-01240-7
Fereydooni, A., Ramirez, J.L., Morrow, K.L., Sorondo, S., Lee, J.T., Coleman, D.M., & Chandra, V. (2022). Interview experience, post-interview communication, and gender-based differences in the integrated vascular surgery residency match. Journal of Vascular Surgery, 75(1), 316–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvs.2021.05.060
Graf, J., Smolka, R., Simoes, E., Zipfel, S., Junne, F., Holderried, F., Wosnik, A., Doherty, A.M., Menzel, K., & Herrmann-Werner, A. (2017). Communication skills of medical students during the OSCE: Gender-specific differences in a longitudinal trend study. BMC Medical Education, 17, 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-017-0913-4
Gray, J. (1992). Men are from Mars, women are from Venus. Harper Collins.
Gutiérrez-Santiuste, E., & Ritacco-Real, M. (2024). Gender perspective on intercultural competence: Communication and student self-perceptions in higher education. European Journal of Education Research, Development and Policy, 59(4), e12699. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.12699
Iosub, D., Laniado, D., Castillo, C., Fuster-Morell, M., & Kaltenbrunner, A. (2014). Emotions under discussion: Gender, status and communication in online collaboration. PLoS ONE, 9(8). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104880
Janssen, D., & Carradini, S. (2021). Generation Z workplace communication habits and expectations. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 64(2), 137–153. https://doi.org/10.1109/TPC.2021.3069288
Johnson, K., Caskey, M., Rand, K., Tucker, R., & Vohr, B. (2014). Gender differences in adult--infant communication in the first months of life. Pediatrics, 134(6), 1603–1610. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-4289
Joshi, P.D., Wakslak, C.J., Appel, G., & Huang, L. (2020). Gender differences in communicative abstraction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 118(3), 417–435. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000177
Kapadia-Kundu, N., Tamene, H., Ayele, M., Dana, F., Heliso, S., Velu, S., Berhanu, T., Alemayehu, G., Leslie, L., & Kaufman, M. (2022). Applying a gender lens to social norms, couple communication and decision making to increase modern contraceptive use in Ethiopia, a mixed methods study. Reproductive Health, 19, 138–151. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-022-01440-8
Kloch, Z. (2000). Język i płeć: różne podejścia badawcze. Pamiętnik Literacki, 91(1), 141–160.
Koçak, A., & Vergiveren, Ö.Y. (2019). Group-based communication: Contents and practices of WhatsApp group use by generations and genders. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 9(4), e201922. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/5900
Lim, J., Paek, M., & Shon, E. (2015). Gender and role differences in couples communication during cancer survivorship. Cancer Nursing, 38(3), E51-E60. https://doi.org/10.1097/NCC.0000000000000191
Löffler-Stastka, H., Seitz, T., Billeth, S., Pastner, B., Preusche, I., & Seidman, C. (2016). Significance of gender in the attitude towards doctor-patient communication in medical students and physicians. Wien Klinische Wochenschrift, 128, 663–668. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-016-1054-1
Maximova, О.B., & Lukyanova, G.O. (2020). Gender differences online: Self-representation and involvement in political communication on Facebook. Heliyon, 6(12), e05613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05613
Mayuga, E., & Petrosyan, G. (2022). Speech aggression in corporate communication: The gender aspect in the philosophy of culture. WIDSOM, 3(2), 124–136. https://doi.org/10.24234/wisdom.v3i2.837
Mazzi, M.A., Rimondini, M., Deveugele, M., Zimmermann, C., Deledda, G., & Bensing, J. (2014). Does gender matter in doctor–patient communication during standard gynaecological consultations? An analysis using mixed methods. Communication and Medicine, 11(3), 285–298. https://doi.org/10.1558/cam.v11i3.24806
Messyasz, K. (2021). Pokolenie Z na rynku pracy – strukturalne uwarunkowania i oczekiwania. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica, 76, 97–114. https://doi.org/10.18778/0208-600X.76.06
Moher, D., Shamseer, L., Clarke, M., Ghersi, D., Liberati, A., Petticrew, M., Shekelle, P., Stewart, A.L., & PRISMA-P Group. (2015). Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement: Elaboration and explanation. BMJ, 349, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g7647
Morejón-Llamas, N., Álvaro, R.R., & Cristòfol, F.J. (2024). Institutional and political communication on TikTok: Systematic review of scientific production in Web of Science and Scopus. Comunicacion y Sociedad, 37(2), 159–177. https://doi.org/10.15581/003.37.2.159-177
Mulac, A., Bradac, J.J., & Gibbons, P. (2001). Empirical support for the gender-as-culture hypothesis: An intercultural analysis of male/female language differences. Human Communication Re search, 27(1), 121–152. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2001.tb00778.x
Opperman, K., & Weber, E. (2000). Język kobiet – język mężczyzn. Jak porozumieć się w miejscu pracy (J. Mańkowska, Trans.). Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Psychologiczne.
Öztunc, M., & Yildirim, G. (2021). Gender communication and leadership: Qualitative research in managerial level. Türkiye İletişim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 38, 477–496. https://doi.org/10.17829/turcom.930886
Page, M.J., McKenzie, J.E., Bossuyt, P.M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T.C., Mulrow C.D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J.M., Akl, E.A., Brennan, S.E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J.M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M.M., Li, T., Loder, E.W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., …, Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
Rabab’ah, G., & Belgrimet, S. (2020). Postgraduate instructors’ formative feedback on EFL students’ assignments in email communication: A gender-based study. The Jalt Call Journal, 16(2), 85–105. https://doi.org/10.29140/jaltcall.v16n2.188
Rathi, S., & Kumar, P. (2023). Differences in work value, communication style, and leadership style among generational cohorts at the workplace: An overview. In C. Dogru (Ed.), Role of human resources for inclusive leadership, workplace diversity, and equity in organizations (pp. 233-254). IGI Global Scientific Publishing.
Roter, D.L., Erby, L.H., Adams, A., Buckingham, C.D., Vail, L., Reaple, A., Larson, S., & Hall, J.A. (2014). Talking about depression: An analogue study of physician gender and communication style on patient disclosures. Patient Education and Counseling, 96(3), 339–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2014.05.006
Sabater, C.P. (2017). Linguistic accommodation in online communication: The role of language and gender. Revista Signos, 50(94), 265–286. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-09342017000200265
Salgado-Moreno, A.L., Forero, J.A.M., Revilla, R.G., & Moure, O.M. (2024). Research trends in communication and tourism: A systematic review and a bibliometric analysis. Administrative Sciences, 14(9), 208. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci14090208
Santoso, N.R., Dewi, E.A.S.K., Arviani, H., & Achmad, Z.A. (2021). Public relations professionals’ communication strategies in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic based on gender. Plardiel, 18(1), 295–315. https://doi.org/10.52518/2021.18.1-08saderac
Schlamp, S., Gerpott, F.H., & Voelpel, S.C. (2021). Same talk, different reaction? Communication, emergent leadership and gender. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 36(1), 51–74. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-01-2019-0062
Scull, T.M., Carl, A.E., Keefe, E.M., & Malik, C.V. (2022). Exploring parent-gender differences in parent and adolescent reports of the frequency, quality, and content of their sexual health communication. The Journal of Sex Research, 59(1), 122–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2021.1936439
Skubalanka, T. (1976). Założenia analizy stylistycznej. In H. Markiewicz & J. Sławiński (Eds.), Problemy metodologiczne współczesnego literaturoznawstwa (pp. 250–273). Wydawnictwo Literackie.
Spahn, C., Kranz, S., Teismann, T., Forkmann, T., Schönfelder, A., Rath, D., Paashaus, L., Stengler, K., & Glaesmer, H. (2022). Gender-specific aspects of suicide-related communication in a high risk sample of psychiatric inpatients. Journal of Men’s Health, 18(9), 188–199. https://doi.org/10.31083/j.jomh1809188
Stawicka, E. (2023). Zmiany w komunikacji wewnętrznej w organizacjach w dobie postpandemicznej. Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wrocławiu, 67(5), 237–246. https://doi.org/10.15611/pn.2023.5.19
Suryanarayana Reddy, M.R.S. (2024). Workplace expectations of Gen-Z: An empirical study. In S.S. Senguputa, P. Jyothi, S. Kalagnanam & B. Charumathi (Eds.). Organization, purpose and values. Integrating diversity, equality and inclusion (pp. 508–537). Routledge.
Wilkoń, A. (1987). Typologia odmian językowych współczesnej polszczyzny. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego.
Zuber, M. (1999). Komunikowanie międzykulturowe. In B. Dobek-Ostrowska (Ed.), Studia z teorii komunikowania masowego (pp. 24–36). Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego.
Copyright (c) 2024 HORIZONS OF EDUCATION
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright to their work while granting the journal the right of first publication. The work will be simultaneously licensed under a CC BY-ND license, which permits others to share the work with proper credit given to the author and the original publication in this journal.
- Authors may enter into additional, non-exclusive agreements for the distribution of the published version of the work (e.g., posting it in an institutional repository or publishing it in another journal), provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged.
We allow and encourage authors to share their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on personal websites) both before and during the submission process, as this can foster beneficial exchanges and lead to earlier and increased citations of the published work. (See The Effect of Open Access). We recommend using any of the following academic networking platforms:
