Realisation of gender equality in written and spoken language attained when women and men and those who do not conform to the binary gender system are made visible and addressed in language as persons of equal value, dignity, integrity and respect.
… her; her or his. Use the third person plural (‘they’). Use gender-neutral pronouns, such as “ze”. Rephrase to omit … article (the) or indefinite article (a). Information about gender and gendered nouns (“female lawyer”) Do not provide … each. Subordination and trivialisation Ensure that your language actively promotes gender equality by not …
… 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 …
… name. Instead just refer to someone's ‘last name’ Examples Gender-discriminatory language Mr and Mrs Alistair Farrar will be attending this evening. Gender-sensitivelanguage Jessica Farrar and Alistair Farrar will be …
… Although gender-neutral language can be a way of overcoming the use of the male as … extra support to come forward. Better language (gender-sensitive) In 2014, 23% of women and 5% of men aged 18-65 …
… this removes women from the common experience. Examples Gender-discriminatory language The responsible citizen will report anything suspicious he sees to the police. Gender-sensitivelanguage The responsible citizen will report …
… Assigning a gender to an inanimate object by using gendered pronouns to … talk about inanimate objects. Examples Gender-insensitive language The ship slipped her moorings. Gender-sensitivelanguage The ship slipped its moorings. …
… Avoid using words which imply a gender connotation to describe an aspect of a person or … as an insult, often to mean weak or ineffective. Using language in this way is sexist. Do not employ gender … who believes salespeople need a firm handshake. Gender-sensitivelanguage Paul’s weak handshake did not impress his …
… do not provide irrelevant information about people’s gender. Doing this supports the stereotype that the ‘normal’ … with no gender description. Examples Gender-insensitive language The eco-action group chairman Moni Patel works … language Priti is a career woman*. Gender-sensitivelanguage Priti is focused on her career. * The term …
… pronoun (e.g. he or she), the speaker is assuming the gender of the person they are talking about. Often people use … in certain roles. Instead you should use gender-neutral language. A common way to do this is to use the plural … of her own uniform and cover the expense herself. Gender-sensitivelanguage Every nurse should take care of his or her …
… 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 …
… To ensure that you've used ‘gender-savvy’ language in your writing, try asking yourself the following … to the discussion that mean you should be using gender-sensitivelanguage instead? Tip! Policymakers and law-makers …
… aim to follow these principles if you wish to make your language inclusive and transformative: Recognise and … principles you are well on your way to becoming a user of gender-sensitivelanguage and you should find yourself naturally …
… 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-sensitivelanguage: Will mentioning gender shed light on key …
… In practice it is not always easy to judge where your language falls on the inclusive/exclusive scale, so you may feel that it is safest to avoid any mention of gender altogether. Indeed, we sometimes recommend … of gender relations. In this respect, only gender-sensitivelanguage is likely to be up to the task. Read more …
… presents key terms you need to know in order to make your language more inclusive. It also explains why we recommend that you mention gender in certain cases. This section is designed to help you understand the key principles for using gender-sensitivelanguage . This toolkit includes examples of three …