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1. Use gender-neutral terms
Most people know it's proper nowadays to say "firefighter" instead of
"fireman," or "flight attendant" instead of "stewardess."
But it's common to still hear all people referred to as "mankind," or a
newly-wedded couple as "man and wife."
The usual argument is that "mankind" is merely a generic term and
you're some kind of extremist if you get offended by it. But what if all people were
consistently referred to as "womankind?" Neither term is a fair and equal
representation. "Humanity," on the other hand, makes everyone feel included.
2. Use the same terms for everyone
I've seen countless newspapers use the term "chairman" when referring
to a male, but "chairperson" only when referring to a female. This is a very
sneaky way of appearing to be gender-neutral without actually being so.
Generic terms must be used consistently for everyone, or
else there's really no point. Use "chairperson" (or better yet, just
"chair") regardless of gender. If you must refer to both genders, use parallel
phrasing. This means using two equal terms, such as "ladies and gentlemen" or
"men and women" - not "man and wife" or "the men's and girls'
sports teams."
3. He said / she said
"It's too clunky" is a popular excuse for not using gender-neutral
writing, especially when dealing with the he/she issue (commonly referred to as 'the
pronoun problem'). But there are a lot of creative ways to get your message across without
bias; there's no need for literary gymnastics.
One way to solve the pronoun problem is to use plurals.
For instance, "When a customer calls, he expects an immediate response" could be
re-written as "When customers call, they expect an immediate response." Or
remove pronouns altogether: "Every subscriber was sent his or her receipt" could
be re-phrased as, "Receipts were sent to all subscribers."
4. Let the context be your guide
Unless the situation specifically demands it, don't even bother mentioning
gender. For example, business letters to an unknown recipient shouldn't start with
"Dear Sir/Madam" - it's old-fashioned and overly formal, and what if the
recipient (such an 18-year-old entrepreneur) doesn't really identify with either term?
Better to open with, "Dear Entrepreneur" (or
other job title). Or skip the formal salutation and use an attention-grabbing marketing
headline instead, such as "Want to know the secret to small business success?"
Making the effort to write in a non-sexist style needn't
be a chore. In fact, it can open up a whole new avenue of creativity in your writing as
you discover different ways of turning a phrase. But remember, the key to effective
business writing is keeping your message clear and focused - regardless of the terminology
used.
About the Author
Tanja Rosteck runs
Word 4 Nerds
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