Do women struggle to articulate their thoughts during interviews?

It’s never easy in an interview to explain your thoughts and ideas, the added pressure of making sure not to say the wrong thing can often leave you leaving feeling frustrated. New research suggests that women struggle more to articulate their thoughts during interviews. 

Research released today has found six in ten women struggle to articulate their thoughts and ideas during interviews. Experts also discovered another 15 per cent reckon their reading, writing or communication skills have hindered their chances of securing a job.

Furthermore, more than three-quarters of women admitted changing the way they speak to people at work by altering their accent, tone of voice or even choosing words which sound more intelligent.

The study also found 45 per cent of women have had to ‘work harder’ to get a point across in a professional environment. Released Friday, September 7, the research was commissioned by Lancôme and the National Literacy Trust, highlighted a range of barriers women face in the workplace due to poor literacy, communication skills and confidence.

Fiona Evans, head of schools programmes at the National Literacy Trust, said: “Thousands of young women leave school every year without the literacy skills they need to succeed. As a result, these young women will find it hard to get a job and be more likely to live in poverty.

“This issue is particularly acute for young women from the poorest communities, where only 44 per cent left school last year with good GCSEs in English and maths. We are thrilled to be working with Lancôme to transform the futures of hundreds of young women by giving them the literacy skills, confidence and inspiration they need to achieve their potential.”

Two-thirds who took part in the OnePoll.com study said they had misunderstood certain words at work, and half have used words they don’t understand, in a meeting, in a bid to sound smarter. Close to one in three confessed using words in the wrong context as a result.