Equality, diversity, and inclusion

Gender-inclusive language

Basic principles

The Affirmative Action Plan for the Advancement of Women and Gender Equality of the University of Vienna states (§2) that

  1. all institutions and members of staff (academic and non-academic) are to use non-discriminatory and gender-inclusive language in all communication directed at members of the University or at the public.
  2. general statements such as “The masculine form refers to women and men equally” are not acceptable.
  3. neither the University nor third parties are allowed to display or distribute materials on university grounds that do not comply with the principles of anti-discrimination and equality or that use or convey discriminatory stereotypes.

Common practice

The University of Vienna is committed to using gender-inclusive language. The University does not prescribe what form of gender-inclusive language should be used in German, though the use of the asterisk (*) is recommended. For the sake of simplicity, it may also be appropriate to use gender-neutral terms. English has very few gender markers: pronouns and possessives and some nouns and forms of address. For the most part, the plural can be used to include all genders in a statement.

There are different possibilities to avoid using “he/she” or “he or she”:

  • Everyone: Everyone is entitled to participate.
  • Use second person pronouns: Discuss changes in your dissertation with your supervisor.
  • Use “an”, “a” or “the” instead of the pronoun: The doctoral candidate should submit the research proposal promptly.
  • Discard the pronoun entirely: A supervisor must advise students.

Some nouns that once ended in “-man” now have neutral equivalents that are used to include both genders, often using “-person” instead. It is not sufficient to merely point out at the beginning or at the end of a text that the masculine form is used and includes women as well.

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