Skip to main content
European Institute for Gender Equality

Main menu

  • Newsroom
    • Newsroom
    • Newsroom
      • News
      • Events
      • Director's corner
      • Subscribe to our updates
      • Frequently asked questions
    • In focus
      • EU Gender-based Violence Survey
      • Beijing Platform for Action
      • The Green Deal
      • Economic benefits of gender equality
      • View all campaigns
    • How the Western Balkans, Türkiye and EIGE are advancing gender equality together

      Type
      News article
      Illustration of a woman and man high-fiving through the ring of EU stars
    • New EU data shows women need to work 15½ months to earn what men make in a year

      Type
      News article
      Gender Equality Index 2025 written on a white background with purple elements on it
  • Publications and resources
    • Publications and resources
    • Publications
      • Search all publications
      • All on gender and climate
      • All on gender-based violence
    • Resources
      • Toolkits and guides
      • Videos
      • Glossary and thesaurus
    • Gender Equality Index 2025: Sharper data for a changing world

      Type
      Publication
      Gender Equality Index 2025: Sharper data for a changing world
    • Beijing Platform for Action +30: Impact driver - Marking milestones and opportunities for gender equality in the EU

      Type
      Publication
      Beijing Platform for Action +30 Impact driver - Marking milestones and opportunities for gender equality in the EU
  • Gender mainstreaming
    • Gender mainstreaming
    • Gender mainstreaming in the EU
      • What is gender mainstreaming
      • Institutions and structures
      • Policy areas
      • Country information
    • Resources
      • Step-by-step toolkits
      • More methods and tools
      • Good practices
      • Publications
      • Gender mainstreaming glossary
    • From reckoning to reform: gender mainstreaming in the EU

      Type
      News article
      EIGE Director Carlien Scheele
    • Institutional mechanisms for gender equality in the EU: Present realities, future priorities

      Type
      Publication
      Institutional mechanisms for gender equality in the EU present realities, future priorities
  • Gender-based violence
    • Gender-based violence
    • Gender-based violence in the EU
      • What is gender-based violence
      • Regulatory and legal framework
      • Costs of gender-based violence
      • How we support the Istanbul Convention
      • Publications
    • In focus
      • Gender-based violence in migration and conflict
      • Female genital mutilation
      • Cyber violence against women
      • Femicide
      • Administrative data collection
      • Risk assessment and risk management
      • Intimate partner violence and witness intervention
      • View all Focus areas
    • Improving the collection of national administrative data on femicide in the EU

      Type
      Publication
      Improving the collection of national administrative data on femicide in the EU
    • Putting gender-based violence at the centre of crisis response strategies

      Type
      Page
  • Gender Equality Index
  • Gender Statistics Database
    • Gender Statistics Database
    • Browse Gender Statistics
    • Data talks
    • FAQs
    • About
    • Search
  • About us
    • About us
    • Who we are
      • Our Work
      • Organisation
      • Contact us
    • How we work
      • Our partners
      • EU candidate countries and potential candidates
      • Projects
      • Consultations
      • Planning and reporting
      • Documents registry
      • Strategic foresight
      • Communications Lab 
    • Work with us
      • Recruitment
      • Procurement
    • How far have we come 30 years on? A comprehensive gender equality review

      Type
      Page
      Illustration of men and women, boys and girls in the various stages of life

Breadcrumb

  1. Home

Search

Filters

please type a term
Type
Topics
Country

464 items / 24 pages

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹‹
  • Page 12
  • Page 13
  • Page 14
  • Page 15
  • Current page 16
  • Page 17
  • Page 18
  • Page 19
  • Page 20
  • …
  • Next page ››
  • Last page Last »

Definition of gender sensitivity

Aim of understanding and taking account of the societal and cultural factors involved in gender-based exclusion and discrimination in the most diverse spheres of public and private life. 

Content type
Glossary & Thesaurus

2 gender statistics indicators found

Type
Gender Statistics Database
  • Women in decision-making: why it matters

    … Union has not yet reached the halfway mark to full gender equality. With the domain of power holding the lowest score in our Gender Equality Index, women remain under-represented in the … positions that shape politics, economics and society.  Yet gender equality is a founding value of the EU and improving …

    Type
    News article
    Topics
    • Digital agenda
    • Economic and financial affairs
    • Employment
  • Toolkit on gender-sensitive communication

    … words for general references can reflect assumptions about gender roles and influence readers. This toolkit is an easy-to-use guide on how to use more gender-sensitive language. Access the toolkit's web page …

    Type
    Publication
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Patronising language

    … diminutive affixes to denote that the referent is female. Gender-sensitive writers should avoid these expressions as they can trivialise women. Example Gender-discriminatory language The usherette helped me to my seat just as the actress came on stage. Gender-sensitive language The usher helped me to my seat just …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Naming conventions

    … name. Instead just refer to someone's ‘last name’ Examples Gender-discriminatory language Mr and Mrs Alistair Farrar will be attending this evening. Gender-sensitive language Jessica Farrar and Alistair Farrar will be attending this evening. Gender-discriminatory language Yang and his research …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Greetings and other forms of inclusive communication

    … feels like it is aimed at all people, not just one gender. When creating a piece of communication material, … consider: Choice of voice-over artist . Consider if the gender of the voice-over is perpetuating stereotypes, such as … Think about whether they are repeating stereotypical gender roles, or whether they only include one gender.  Gende …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Take care with ‘false generics’

    … Although gender-neutral language can be a way of overcoming the use of … of language is not always appropriate. It may ignore key gender elements of the subject under discussion. Furthermore, … reference (such as ‘people’) to mean men. Examples of gender-neutral language In 2014, 14% of people aged 18-65 …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Do not use ‘he’ to refer to unknown people

    … this removes women from the common experience.  Examples Gender-discriminatory language The responsible citizen will report anything suspicious he sees to the police. Gender-sensitive language The responsible citizen will report anything suspicious he or she sees to the police.  Gender-discriminatory language Each applicant must submit his …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Do not use ‘man’ as the neutral term

    … ‘man’ to refer to the experiences of all people.   Example Gender-discriminatory language Under the law, all men are equal. Gender-neutral language Under the law, all people are equal. Gender-sensitive language Under the law, all women and men …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Avoid using stereotypical images

    … the images we choose to use. A piece of communication is gender-discriminatory if the people within the images are … you use in your communication material do not reinforce gender stereotypes by including a wide mix of people in … of doctors as male and nurses as female. In order to be gender inclusive, it may be a good idea to have more than one …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Gendering in-animate objects

    … Assigning a gender to an inanimate object by using gendered pronouns to … to characteristics. These connotations are related to gender stereotypes and help to perpetuate them. You should … the pronoun it to talk about inanimate objects.  Examples Gender-insensitive language The ship slipped her moorings. …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Avoid gendered stereotypes as descriptive terms

    … Avoid using words which imply a gender connotation to describe an aspect of a person or … Using language in this way is sexist. Do not employ gender stereotypes to describe the way something is or the … Oneinchpunch, Scoring like a girl, Shutterstock   Examples Gender-insensitive language Paul’s effeminate handshake did …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Avoid irrelevant information about gender

    … do not provide irrelevant information about people’s gender. Doing this supports the stereotype that the ‘normal’ … Instead you should simply use the occupation title with no gender description.  Examples Gender-insensitive language The eco-action group chairman …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Avoid gendered pronouns (he or she) when the person’s gender is unknown

    … pronoun (e.g. he or she), the speaker is assuming the gender of the person they are talking about. Often people use gendered pronouns even when they do not know the gender of the person they are talking about or when talking about a group of people that could be of either gender. This practice perpetuates gender stereotyping by …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Common challenges when using gender-sensitive language

    … the most common stumbling blocks when trying to write in a gender-sensitive manner. It is designed to help you understand the issues which lead to language being gender-discriminatory so that you can recognise gender-discriminatory language when it occurs. Tip:  The …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Policy context

    … organisations have taken to encourage greater use of gender-sensitive language. It is designed to help you … understand the wider picture into which your work fits. Gender equality policies in the EU The European Union (EU) aims to combat stereotypes and to promote gender equality through equal treatment legislation, gender …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Practical tools (checklists and summary tables)

    … To ensure that you've used ‘gender-savvy’ language in your writing, try asking yourself … reflect the idea that women, men and those of a non-binary gender are independent persons of equal value, dignity, integrity and respect? When using gender-neutral language, have you considered whether there …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Key principles for inclusive language use

    … principles you are well on your way to becoming a user of gender-sensitive language and you should find yourself …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Choosing whether to mention gender

    … You will have to decide whether to include gender explicitly on a case-by-case basis. Guiding questions for choosing between gender-neutral language and gender-sensitive language: Will mentioning gender shed light …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Why should I ever mention gender?

    … so you may feel that it is safest to avoid any mention of gender altogether. Indeed, we sometimes recommend gender-neutral expressions as one way of avoiding gender-discriminatory language , i.e. language that fosters …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture
  • Terms you need to know

    … Gender-sensitive language Gender-sensitive language is gender equality made manifest through language. Gender equality in language is attained when women and men – …

    Type
    Toolkit page
    Topics
    • Culture

464 items / 24 pages

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹‹
  • Page 12
  • Page 13
  • Page 14
  • Page 15
  • Current page 16
  • Page 17
  • Page 18
  • Page 19
  • Page 20
  • …
  • Next page ››
  • Last page Last »

Share:

Cookie Preferences

Subscribe to email alerts

Get notifications about news alerts, publications and more

Contact us

Do you have feedback or media enquiries for us? You can leave them here.

Useful links

  • Who we are
  • Recruitment
  • News
  • Events

Popular pages

  • What is gender mainstreaming?
  • What is gender-based violence?
  • Forms of gender-based violence
  • Gender Equality Index
  • Glossary and Thesaurus

EIGE in social media

  • Linkedin
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Help us improve

European Institute for Gender Equality

© 2026 European Institute for Gender Equality

An EU Agency

Disclaimers

  • Web Accessibility
  • Legal notices
  • Data Protection
  • Cookies Policy
  • Login

To top