Using gender-neutral and inclusive language in your writing
How to make your content inclusive, and why it’s important
Google recently announced plans to introduce gender-neutral prompts while writing text in the Google Workspace. This is a welcome step in the right direction. We’ve always been taught to consider inclusivity as optional — good to have, but not a priority. However, the hard truth is:
If you are not including everyone, you are definitely excluding someone.
As writers, the onus is on us to set an example. Our content should aim to educate and embrace, not hurt and discriminate. I know it’s tough and there’s a huge spectrum to cover — which is why I’ve compiled a checklist of questions to run through before you hit the ‘Publish’ button.
1. Are you assuming gender?
Sadly, gendered terminology is still not a thing of the past. Take a look at this snippet:
“We’re looking for someone with experience in management. He should be able to lead teams and share his guidance with his peers.”
Do you see what’s wrong? We have been trained to assume that ‘male’ is equal to ‘universal’. Businessman. Mankind. These are the defaults.
A male CEO is simply called a CEO. But when referring to a female CEO we explicitly use the word ‘female’. More examples? Think about how many times you have walked into a room and addressed a group of mixed-gender friends as ‘Guys’?
The default is not male.
We subconsciously demean entire demographics of people who are not cis-male. We don’t mean to, but we do it.
Gender is not binary. Let’s fix our biases, and our pronouns. Here are some common examples:
- Don’t say ‘Welcome, Ladies and gentlemen / boys and girls’. Instead, say ‘Welcome, everyone’ or ‘Good evening, folks’.
- Instead of ‘Manpower’, use ‘Staff’.
- Avoid ‘Husband and wife’ — use ‘Partners’.
- The next time you’re not sure of gender, do not assume — just ask. Use their preferred pronouns, or use ‘they/them’ as the default.
2. Are you thinking about learning disabilities?
People with learning disabilities or learning difficulties consume written content very differently. They might have trouble reading long, convoluted sentences, struggle with uncommon spelling, or are unable to focus and get easily distracted.
- 1 in 6 adults struggles with reading
- 5–9% of the general population has a learning disability
- Around 2.8% adults around the world have ADHD.
- About 15% of people in the world have dyslexia — that’s a whopping 700 million.
So, as a writer, how can you help? Here’s a few quick tips:
Ditch the fancy vocabulary
Use plain, simple language. Writers tend to show off their literary flair. But your readers just want to understand what you’ve written.
Keep it short
If you can split a sentence in two, do it. Your objective is to communicate an idea — and short, crisp sentences will do that.
Format your text
Highlight important areas with Bold, Underline or Italics. Use headings and subheadings to indicate hierarchy.
Break it into short consumable pieces
Keep not more than 3–4 sentences in a paragraph. Sometimes have standalone sentences to break the flow. Use bullet points if necessary.
Use active voice instead of passive voice
‘I planned the party’ vs ‘The party was planned by me’ — Which is easier to read?
Small changes to your writing can go a long way in helping someone consume it. Read more about learning disabilities here.
3. Are you putting people in boxes?
People are more than their descriptors. Remember to be careful when you’re using adjectives to portray someone.
- A ‘blind’ woman. Is being blind her primary descriptor? No. So use ‘a woman who is blind’ instead.
- A ‘differently-abled’ engineer. Is it relevant? If you want to hire a bus with a ramp, then maybe. But in most cases, it isn’t.
We also tend to make assumptions about what makes a human being ‘normal’ and what doesn’t. For example, I’ve read sentences like:
‘A woman’s natural maternal instinct will come out when she sees her child.’
While I’m almost certain it was written without any mal-intent, as a woman who does not possess any ‘natural’ maternal instincts herself, and has no liking for children, it makes me feel alienated and attacked. Or worse — try and imagine how a mother who suffers from post-partum depression (and cannot feel affection for her child) feels when she reads that line.
Remember to leave your biases at home when you’re writing content for other people.
4. Are you unknowingly alienating your reader?
Human beings tend to imagine that everyone is similar to them. In an attempt to sound relatable, we often end up alienating the ones who are different from us. Here are few more things to keep in mind while crafting your content:
- Avoid idioms, jargon that indicates knowledge of a particular subject. Don’t use catchphrases that are specific to a certain community or demographic. e.g. take the phrase “hit it out of the park”. Unless your reader is a baseball fan, they might not know what this implies. Instead, use a more generic phrase like “did very well”.
- Avoid ableism. For example, using phrases like ‘That’s so lame’ or ‘Crippled with debt’ can hurt people living with disabilities. ‘A walk in the park’ may sound easy to you, not so much to someone in a wheelchair.
- Be respectful of mental health. Avoid casually throwing around terms like ‘Psycho. OCD. Crazy.’ It is hurtful to the people who actually live with it.
- Steer clear of thoughtless ageism. Terms like ‘young man/young lady’ or ‘elderly’ are demeaning, and tend to either infantilize people or imply feebleness. Stick to ‘older people’ or ‘people over 65’.
- Be mindful of race, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. e.g. refer to groups as black students, or black faculty — not ‘blacks’. Similarly, use ‘gay community’ instead of ‘gays’.
- Use empowering language when talking about poverty. Don’t say ‘poor’ or ‘homeless’ — instead use ‘low-income’ or ‘people experiencing homelessness’.
“But I’m too scared to say anything, anymore!”
Whenever I bring up this subject, this is usually the first response I get. Many people tell me that if there are so many rules to follow, they’re going to be anxious of everything they write or say. They say that it seems like nothing is allowed anymore, and we’re policing language and free speech.
I believe language is an ever-evolving, shape shifting, fascinating entity. It constantly matures across generations, cultures, politics and geographies. To you, this might seem like an inconvenience — or a mere alteration in semantics. But for women, trans people, the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC community, or other marginalized groups, it’s an accordance of dignity.
Yes, change is hard. But any good change takes time and effort from all of us. Instead of clinging to an out-dated, discriminatory past — let’s embrace new change that fosters a healthy, inclusive environment for everyone.
It’s 2021. We have no excuse.
This list hardly covers all the myriad aspects of inclusivity. But in the end, it boils down to one thing — making sure everyone is part of the conversation.
Some more helpful resources to get you started:
- https://www.usca.edu/diversity-initiatives/training-resources/guide-to-inclusive-language/inclusive-language-guide/file
- https://www.presence.io/blog/these-15-rules-will-help-you-start-building-an-inclusive-language-guide/
- https://www.cache.org.uk/news-media/dyslexia-the-facts
- https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/writing-for-dyslexic-readers
- https://adhd-institute.com/burden-of-adhd/epidemiology/
