Gender-Inclusive Language in English and Other Languages

Creating a respectful and inclusive environment free from gender discrimination and bias starts with the language we use every day. By using gender-inclusive language we can help ensure that diverse groups feel welcome and included. Inclusiveness isn’t limited to one language, though. Here’s a brief guide to help you communicate more inclusively in English and other languages.

General Guidelines

First, you should become familiar with the three strategies that the United Nations recommends for communicating in a more gender-inclusive way:

1. Using non-discriminatory language
2. Making gender visible when relevant
3. Not making gender visible when it isn’t relevant

These strategies can help you eliminate gender bias in your speech and writing, no matter what language you speak.

At the same time, it's helpful, as well as realistic, to recognize that different languages can have different approaches to using gender-inclusive language. This may be a result of a language’s characteristics and history (such as grammatical gender in Romance languages), the culture where the language is spoken (for example, the use of “ma’am” in the United States), current events or laws, or other considerations. Levels of adoption may also vary. In some countries, using gender-inclusive language has become more mainstream and enjoys a wider base of support, while in other countries, using gender-inclusive language is largely limited to the academic community. The goal of inclusion and respect remains the same, however.

English

Now try these three tips for using gender-inclusive language in English:

1. Address all people in a group in the same way, no matter their gender. For example, “John and Jane” or “Dr. John Smith and Dr. Jane Doe” instead of “Smith and Jane.” And not always addressing the men first.
2. Use gender-neutral pronouns when someone’s gender is indeterminate. Options include using the traditionally plural pronoun “they” in a singular context, the pronoun “one” and the relative pronoun “who.” Here are some examples of these options in action: - Please send your report to the department head. They will review it each month. - One will be notified by email. - A student who earns a B or better can choose which track to study next year.
3. Use gender-neutral words, such as “firefighter” instead of “fireman,” “flight attendant” instead of “stewardess,” “spouse” instead of “husband/wife” and “humankind” or “humanity” instead of “mankind.”

Spanish

Here are two tips for using gender-inclusive language in Spanish:

1. Use constructions that avoid gender, or else double up on masculine and feminine words, in order to avoid using only masculine words as the default. For example: Le damos la bienvenida or Bienvenidos y bienvenidas instead of the traditional Bienvenidos, which means “Welcome.”
2. Use gender-neutral suffixes, such as -x, -@ and -e. For example, maestro (male teacher) or maestra (female teacher) can be expressed as maestrx, maestr@ or maestre. Interestingly, -@ is preferred in Spain, while -x and -e are more common in Argentina.

Spanish is a language that uses grammatical gender, meaning every word is categorized as either masculine or feminine. This gender categorization is readily apparent in nouns, pronouns and adjectives, where it often appears as a suffix (a letter or a group of letters that is placed at the end of a word). Using gender-neutral suffixes helps to remove gender from matters where gender is not relevant.

French

Here are two tips for using gender-inclusive language in French:

1. Use active voice rather than passive voice, since passive voice in French requires the use of the generic masculine, while active voice does not.
2. Use a slash or parentheses to allow masculine and feminine forms to appear together, so that masculine words aren’t always the default. For example, le/la fonctionnaire (the employee) and l’administrateur(trice) (the administrator).

German

Here are two tips for using gender-inclusive language in German:

1. Double up on masculine and feminine words to avoid using the generic masculine. For example, Leser und Leserinnen (male reader and female reader).
2. Or use an underscore before a gender-specific suffix. This allows the masculine and feminine forms to be combined. For example, liebe_r Student_in (dear student).

We hope this guide will help you to use more gender-inclusive language in your speech and writing.

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