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Deborah Powell, the journal’s editor in chief, shared the announcement, noting that the associate editors praised the paper for being “well executed,” having both practical and theoretical impact, and addressing a highly topical issue in the modern workplace. To determine the award, a subcommittee of editors reviewed all papers published during 2025 and selected the best of those works.

“Do Words Matter? The Impact of Communal and Agentic Language on Women’s Application to Job Opportunities” examines how the wording of job advertisements influences women’s perceptions of workplace fit and their likelihood of applying for open positions. Specifically, the research explores the effects of communal language, which emphasizes collaboration and support, versus agentic language, which emphasizes competition and independence.

This recognition highlights the strength of faculty–student collaboration at Lake Forest College.

The findings suggest that job advertisements using agentic language tend to attract fewer female applicants. However, the researchers found that these effects disappear when accounting for the gender composition of the industry, highlighting the complex interaction between language, workplace culture, and existing gender norms.

The paper grew out of a student–faculty collaboration that began as part of the Richter Scholar Program, underscoring the impact of undergraduate research experiences and mentorship. In addition to Batz-Barbarich and Ahmed, the paper was co-authored by Assistant Professor of Management Nicole Strah of UNC Charlotte’s Belk College of Business.

“To see a project that began as a Richter research idea become a published work named the year’s best paper in an academic journal is incredibly rewarding,” Batz-Barbarich said. “It highlights the exceptional students Lake Forest College attracts and the unique opportunity to work closely with them as co-creators of knowledge. This is what truly meaningful research looks like—having impact not only through the work itself, but through the process of creating it.”

The Journal of Personnel Psychology is an international, peer-reviewed publication focused on psychological research related to the workplace and the people within it. The Best Paper Award is presented annually to recognize exceptional scholarship that advances understanding in the field.

This recognition places the research among the most impactful contributions published by the journal in 2025 and highlights the strength of faculty–student collaboration at Lake Forest College in producing meaningful, real-world research.