Women's and men's ratings of their own and ideal speech

A study (involving 466 high school and college students) comparing women's and men's ratings of their own and ideal speech showed that a greater number of speech characteristics of males differed from the speech characteristics of the ideal speaker. The results of the study combined with material from the writings of women who have made a conscious effort to change their language indicate that before women continue to try to alter their speech by such means as assertiveness training they should consider the desirable characteristics associated with female speech.