This article discusses whether women really are more likely than men to apologise unnecessarily. Allegedly, women are more likely to cater to negative face needs by 'hedging', a linguistic technique used to lessen the force of a statement, making the speaker sound less confident and assertive.
Be wary of discussing this in an essay without evidence, as your analysis may come across as reinforcing gender stereotypes; a touchy subject!
Useful quotes from the article:
'Traditionally, girls are often raised to value empathy over the "masculine" trait of strength — which means that, in situations where strength or assertiveness is required, women feel the need to cushion their actions with an apology.'
'Some women are worried about hurting people's feelings and causing offence... it does depend on the level of confidence of the woman, how they have been brought up, their cultural background, their religious background, their personality type, and what role they are in. However, even at high level executive positions I have heard women say 'I am sorry ...' when men in equivalent positions wouldn't have. Our fear of causing offence leaves us open to manipulation, being ignored or not gaining respect.' - Psychologist Rachel Green from The Emotional Intelligence Institute
'There are many studies on this subject, but a widely-referenced one by Karina Schumann and Michael Ross found that, rather than men being reluctant to apologise, men and women simply have different ideas about which behaviours constitute an apology. After conducting two separate studies, Schumann and Ross found that "women reported offering more apologies than men, but they also reported committing more offenses. This finding suggests that men apologise less frequently than women because they have a higher threshold for what constitutes offensive behaviour.'
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