Gender-sensitive communication

Gendered pronouns (he or she)

• He/she; she/he; he or she; she or he; s/he

• His/her; her/his; his or her; her or his.

• Use the third person plural (‘they’).

• Use gender-neutral pronouns, such as “ze”.

• Rephrase to omit pronoun.

• Replace with definite article (the) or indefinite article (a).

Information about gender and gendered nouns (“female lawyer”)

• Do not provide irrelevant information about people’s gender.

• Avoid using gendered nouns. Use gender-neutral descriptions instead (e.g. police officer).

• Simply use the occupation title with no gender description.

Gendering inanimate objects

• Use the pronoun ‘it’ to talk about inanimate objects.

Stereotypical images

• Make sure that that the images you choose to use in communication materials do not reinforce gender stereotypes. Include a wide mix of people in different environments.

Invisibility or omission

• Do not use ‘man’ or ‘he’ to refer to the experiences of all people.

• Make clear that you are referring to men and women by naming each.

Subordination and trivialisation

• Ensure that your language actively promotes gender equality by not trivialising or subordinating women.

• When referring to women you should use the term Ms which does not denote marital status.

• Always use the same naming conventions for men and women when referencing.

• You should be aware of the word order of your phrases and make sure that you are not always putting the male version first.

• Avoid patronising women using more innocuous terms.