{"id":9560,"date":"2023-06-07T11:24:40","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T09:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unequity.com\/he-she-it\/"},"modified":"2025-11-06T09:16:40","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T08:16:40","slug":"he-she-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unequity.com\/en\/he-she-it\/","title":{"rendered":"He, she, it…Language as a reflection of awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Respectful communication<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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It is Pride Month, and social media is full of rainbow flags and posts about diversity and equity. We have also been contemplating these topics\u2014or rather, the societal values they represent\u2014in terms of how they relate to language.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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At Unequity, we live our values. After all, we describe ourselves as the People-to-People Agency. And in our people-to-people communication<\/strong>, we aim to use gender-neutral language. When writing in English, this isn\u2019t too difficult but in German, we have gendered nouns.<\/p>

In German, it can be a challenge to balance the need for clear, easy-to-understand writing with the goal of using inclusive language. More to that later, but first we need to take a short detour to explain what \u2018gendern\u2019 means in the German language and why it\u2019s slightly controversial.<\/p>

The ‘gendern’ debate<\/strong><\/p>

Right now, in Germany, there\u2019s much debate about \u2018gendern\u2019, or the gendering of language.<\/p>

German companies are currently facing this challenge, and the pressure from both sides of ideological divide. Those who dislike \u2018gendern\u2019 and find it spoils the flow of writing, and those who appreciate the effort to use more inclusive language. For instance, the gendered form of \u2018an employee\u2019 is der Mitarbeiter <\/em>(masculine) and die Mitarbeiterin<\/em> (feminine). When we are talking about all of the employees of a company, until recently, we would have written die Mitarbeiter<\/em>, but that takes the masculine form which isn\u2019t very inclusive. Or die Mitarbeiterinnen<\/em> (plural, but all female employees).<\/p>

To be more inclusive, we could write die Mitarbeiter und Mitarbeiterinnen <\/em>but when you are writing about employees, and you have to write that dozens of times in one newsletter or blog post, it can feel a bit wordy!<\/p>

To avoid this, it has become common for companies to use a colon or Genderstern<\/em> (gender asterisk) to create a new, gender-neutral version: Mitarbeiter:innen<\/em> or \u2018Mitarbeiter*innen\u2019<\/em>. Or they use the other methods we describe below of avoiding gendered nouns altogether. And that\u2019s where it\u2019s gotten a bit controversial.<\/p>

Let\u2019s go back to inclusive language and communication.<\/p>

A philosopher of language once said, \u2018Genus is not sexus<\/strong>\u2019. We can\u2019t escape this linguistic fact. In Germany, the sun (die Sonne) is not female, and the moon (der Mond) is not male.<\/strong> And the same applies, for example, for one of our core business areas, der Mitarbeiterbeteiligung<\/em> or the employee shareholding. (In English, we\u2019d be more likely to call it an employee participation plan, or incentive plan but in German, it\u2019s a compound noun).<\/p>

Mitarbeiterbeteiligung<\/em><\/strong> is not male or female. Companies don\u2019t offer employee share programs only to Mitarbeiter<\/strong><\/em> but rather to Mitarbeiterinnen<\/strong><\/em> and those who do not identify as either the former or the latter.<\/p>

When we write for our German-speaking clients, we have to decide how to deal with the gendered noun. Often, we opt to avoid it altogether by writing, Beteiligung f\u00fcr Mitarbeitende<\/em> (share participation of employees) but that\u2019s a bit unwieldy and long-winded. There are many other examples we could use that really challenge our copywriters (Textenden! Or maybe Copywriterinnen?) such as: Die Mitarbeiteraktion\u00e4re <\/em>(employee shareholders) who become:Aktion\u00e4rinnen und Aktion\u00e4re<\/em> (shareholders) or maybe die Gruppe der Mitarbeitenden, die Anteile an dem Unternehmen h\u00e4lt <\/em>(the group of employees that hold shares in the company).<\/p>

And yet, we are aware that words transport more than just meaning. They also reflect our intellectual or philosophical position on a subject.<\/strong><\/p>

Awareness is critical\u2014and it is also important that we are patient with one another, as language is shaped by culture, and its connotations have grown and shifted over time. We are all trying. We try being aware of language, and we try being patient because linguistic habits don\u2019t change overnight. All of us have the best intentions of being understanding and respectful in our communication. And in time, we will all get much better at this. Whatever we use: a Genderstern (gender asterisk – Mitarbeiter*innen) or a colon (Mitarbeiter:innen), or a neutral rephrasing (Mitarbeitende Person, Arbeitskraft), what we leave unsaid is important. And that is \u2013 we are open and tolerant towards every form of gender identity, sexual orientation, and lifestyle. It\u2019s the person that counts.<\/p>

As humans, and as Kommunikationsexpertinnen* (communications professionals), we stand for confident and respectful communication \u2013 multilingual, multifaceted, yet clear.<\/p>

*No gendering needed here because we are a diverse all-women team right now. From 26 to 62 years, in various phases of their life, from singles to same-sex marriages, with life partners, patchwork extended families, or with several children. One of our values is \u2018authenticity\u2019, and that means we can all be who we are. And that goes for everyman \u2013 literally. If you are a guy interested in joining our team, we\u2019re currently looking for a Senior Designer (m\/f\/d) and a Working Student (m\/f\/d)<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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