Europos lyčių lygybės institutas

Gender-sensitive communication

Gender-sensitive communication

To tackle gender inequality, we must look at the way we communicate.

This toolkit provides guidelines for the use of gender-sensitive language in writing. Gender-sensitive communication ensures that women and men – and those who do not conform to the binary gender system – are treated as persons of equal importance and dignity.

  • Test your knowledge
  • Practical tools

Contenuto

  • First steps towards more inclusive language
    • Terms you need to know
    • Why should I ever mention gender?
    • Choosing whether to mention gender
    • Key principles for inclusive language use
  • Challenges
    • Stereotypes
      • Avoid gendered pronouns (he or she) when the person’s gender is unknown
      • Avoid irrelevant information about gender
      • Avoid gendered stereotypes as descriptive terms
      • Gendering in-animate objects
      • Using different adjectives for women and men
      • Avoid using stereotypical images
    • Invisibility and omission
      • Do not use ‘man’ as the neutral term
      • Do not use ‘he’ to refer to unknown people
      • Do not use gender-biased nouns to refer to groups of people
      • Take care with ‘false generics’
      • Greetings and other forms of inclusive communication
    • Subordination and trivialisation
      • Naming conventions
      • Patronising language
  • Test your knowledge
    • Quiz 1: Policy document
    • Quiz 2: Job description
    • Quiz 3: Legal text
  • Practical tools
    • Solutions for how to use gender-sensitive language
    • Pronouns
    • Invisibility or omission
    • Common gendered nouns
    • Adjectives
    • Phrases

Downloads

Download the toolkit on gender-sensitive communication EN (528 KB)

More toolkits