Gender equitable language is a topic that is being discussed more and more in public ?? often controversial and emotionally charged. Companies in Lower Franconia are also concerned about whether and how they communicate in a gender-sensitive manner.
The feedback from some companies to a request from this editorial team shows that the topic is difficult: some willingly provide insight into how they deal with gender-sensitive language, others are currently developing a concept and some prefer not to comment on this topic. But what must or should companies consider when it comes to gender-sensitive communication? An overview.
Male, female, diverse
The term “gender” denotes the social gender of a person. It is about how a person perceives himself, regardless of biological gender. A gender-appropriate language should ensure that everyone feels addressed and integrated and that all genders are treated equally in word and writing. The goal: to treat everyone equally by breaking down stereotypical clichés that names such as cleaning lady or engineer evoke.
No one may be disadvantaged or discriminated against in job advertisements. This is stated in the General Equal Treatment Act, which came into force in 2006. In most of the advertisements, therefore, “(m / f / d)” follows the usually male name of the position, ie “clerk (m / f / d)” or “team leader (m / f / d)”. Despite the masculine spelling, this means all genders ?? male, female, diverse.
Legally, companies with “(m / f / d)” are on the safe side. But the incoming applications do not necessarily become more diverse. Kathrin Schirmer has been a communications expert for companies and agencies for over 15 years. She says: “If a company wants to attract women and various people to traditionally male jobs, it has to come up with more ideas than mwd.”
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A tip from the expert: reformulate properties
On the one hand, this concerns the designation of the position, which can be formulated neutrally. So: team leaders instead of team leaders, administrators instead of clerks. On the other hand, the body text of the tender is also important. “Women unconsciously identify themselves with different terms than men,” says Schirmer. They were more likely to feel addressed when properties ?? especially typically male ?? would be described as behaviors: For example, “pursue goals with perseverance” instead of “persistently” or “have a clear view of goals” instead of “ambitious”.
“It is particularly important to use the feminine form in job postings.”
Head of Communications Dagmar Ringel from Koenig & Bauer in Würzburg–
Dagmar Ringel also knows that language is important in job advertisements. She heads the corporate communications and marketing department at Koenig & Bauer, the printing press manufacturer in Würzburg. “It is particularly important to use the feminine form in job advertisements,” says Ringel. She knows from experience that more women apply if the job title explicitly addresses both genders.
Gender-appropriate language is prescribed to some extent in job advertisements. But not in other areas where companies use language. There are also a few aspects to consider here: How should companies address their customers (and customers) and their employees? Should the secretary use gender-sensitive language when creating presentations? If yes how? In short: should companies gender or not? The answer: it depends.
Whether a company communicates in a gender-equitable manner also depends on the target group
Communication expert Schirmer says: “Whether a company should gender depends on the industry and environment in which it operates, who its target group is and how these people want to be addressed.” If a company has a young, urban, educated and progressive target group, it makes sense to communicate in a gender-sensitive manner. If, on the other hand, the target group of a company is older, traditionally oriented and grown up with non-gendered language, the company may be more likely to repel its customers with gender-sensitive communication.
“Companies should deal with the topic and make a conscious decision that they review at regular intervals,” says Schirmer. Regardless of how a company decides, consistent communication is important. “The way I deal with people as a company – and that includes the language – is part of the corporate culture,” says Schirmer. Those who are gender should do so both internally and externally. But how?
From the inner I to the colon: what is common
There are various ways of communicating in a gender-equitable manner – from colon and gender star to internal I and double entries (see info box). The German Spelling Council has not yet recommended most of these forms for orthographic and grammatical reasons.
According to Ringel, Koenig & Bauer recently introduced the requirement to use the colon (“colleague: inside”). Because only the colon is recognized as a pause by speech output programs when reading texts automatically and is therefore not read out loud. “Since language has to do with aesthetics, we try – where possible – to avoid the colon and speak, for example, of employees,” writes Ringel.
Doreen Neuendorf heads the Global Communications department at Kneipp in Würzburg. When asked, she will inform you that the language used must match the company, the recipient and the topic. Various forms are used at Kneipp, from double naming to gender star to slash. Because: “We see gender-sensitive language as a process. As something that is already partially lived, but also has to develop.”
Gender-appropriate spellings
If you want to write gender-responsibly, you have various options to choose from. An overview of the most common:
“Employees”: The underscore, also known as the gender gap, depicts the spectrum of all genders. Female and male form the two outer poles.
“Employees”: The gender star symbolizes a wide variety of gender identities.
“Employees”: The colon is considered to be reader: more inner-friendly than an underscore or a gender asterisk. In addition, speech output programs insert a short pause in speaking when reading aloud.
“Workforce”, “Workforce”, “Employees”: Neutral forms, terms and substantiated participles or adjectives also include all genders.
“Employees”, “Employees”, “Employees”: The inner I, the double mention and the combination of slash and hyphen only represent the male and female gender. Classification as “diverse” is not possible.
to you
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