ABSTRACT
This chapter will examine the social, as opposed to linguistic, consequences of linguistic differentiation based on gender. I shall focus on two areas: the classroom and the workplace. I shall argue that, in both, there is evidence that female speakers are disadvantaged and this results, in part, from the linguistic practices associated with these two contexts. I shall also examine the fashionable claim that masculinity is in crisis and that, especially in school, it is boys rather than girls who are failing to fulfil their potential.
