Guidelines for using gender-sensitive language in communication
English speakers and writers have traditionally been taught to use masculine nouns and pronouns in situations where the gender of their subject(s) is unclear or variable, or when a group to which they are referring contains members of both sexes. Our language choices have consequences. If we believe that women and men deserve social equality, we should think seriously about how to reflect that belief in our language use. Thankfully, there are a number of different strategies that one can use to express gender relationships with accuracy.
How to use these guidelines?
- Check out the guidelines to make your language more gender-sensitive.
- The guidelines are summarized below for the busy reader but can be accessed as a pdf in the attachment.
Guidelines summarized
Source: Reutlingen University: Guidelines for using gender-sensitive language in communication, research and communication