Inclusive Writing: A Guide to Gender-Neutral Language in Business Writing

Did you know our chosen words can impact workplace equity and inclusivity? Inclusive writing goes beyond avoiding gendered language — it reflects respect, consistency, and diversity in modern business communication. Increasingly, organizations are consciously working to create a more inclusive culture, and are focusing their efforts on inclusive language. Inclusive language, in particular, gender neutral language is a conscious effort to confront biased thinking and create more equitable workplaces by choosing words that welcome human diversity. 

This guide will explore gender-neutral language, provide inclusive writing guidelines, and show how tools like Acrolinx ensure consistency in writing across enterprise content.

What is gendered language?

Gendered language is present in approximately one quarter of the world’s languages. Gendered language can refer to either grammatical gender or the way we use gendered language to convey ideas that lead to biased assumptions about gender. The author, Nayantara Dutta points out that “the gender structure of the language we’re speaking will have the effect of making us more or less aware of gender.” 

According to a recent article published by the BBC, global languages fall into three categories with respect to gender:

1. Gendered languages like Spanish (that has gendered nouns and pronouns).
2. Genderless languages such as Mandarin (where nouns and pronouns don’t have a marked gender).
3. Natural gender languages like English (with gendered pronouns and genderless nouns).
   

Why inclusive writing matters in business

The United Nations’ Principles of Gender-Sensitive Communication explains that imprecise word choices can be interpreted as discriminatory, demeaning, or biased, regardless of how they’re intended. Gendered language might not be intended to be hurtful, but it can have unintended consequences. Gendered language may:

• Assume that gender is binary and excludes gender-fluid or non-binary identities.
• Maintain gender inequality in traditionally male-dominated occupations, when gendered wording appears in job recruitment materials.
• Reinforce negative gender stereotypes.
• Hold a particular person to a certain to a higher standard than others, based on their gender. 
• Undermine or discredit people’s confidence in a colleague of a particular gender.
• Diminishes a person’s contributions by relegating them to “supporting” versus “leadership” roles. 
• Gendered language in education is associated with a greater gender gap in educational attainment.

From gendered language to inclusive language

Don’t know where to start with removing unnecessary gendered language from your business content? No problem! Inclusive writing doesn’t have to be complicated. The Acrolinx Inclusive Language Guide is a great resource to help you get started, and the APA Publication Manual also offers valuable insights on removing bias in your writing. In general, it’s a great idea to:

• Avoid assuming the gender of the person you’re writing to, whether that be in an email, Slack message, or invitation to participate in a job interview. When it comes to company content, you could choose to speak more inclusively to your customers. For example, Japan Airlines has retired the phrase “ladies and gentlemen” instead opting for “hello everyone” and “all passengers” to be more inclusive. 
• There’s a tendency when presenting information for the male version to come first in binomials such as ‘men and women’, ‘brothers and sisters’, ‘boys and girls’, or ‘Mr and Mrs’.
  • Be aware you’re not consistently acknowledging men before women. 
  • English doesn’t have a gender neutral word for all family or relationship scenarios, but using “siblings”, “partner”, “spouses”, “parents” or “children” are good gender neutral substitutes.
  • Use gender neutral pronouns.
• Describe only the relevant characteristics of a person. It’s not always necessary to include details about a person’s sexual orientation, disability, marital status, or socioeconomic status. For example, use “cleaner” instead of “cleaning lady”. 
• If the content requires you to include information about certain characteristics, it’s actually more respectful to be more specific. For example if you’re writing about socioeconomic status or income ranges, it might be better to say “below the federal poverty threshold for a family of four” than use general labels such as “low income”.
• Avoid perpetuating negative gender stereotypes. For example “John and Sarah are both employed full-time, so he helps her with the housework”. Instead, try “John and Sarah both work full-time, so they share the housework”.
• Make singular pronouns and nouns plural. For example, instead of “An employee who works long hours overtime, may make mistakes in [his/her] work.” try “Employees who work long overtime hours, may make mistakes in their work”.

Issue	How to address
Binomials	Avoid consistently putting men before womenUse gender neutral terms for family and relationshipsUse gender neutral pronouns
People descriptions	Include only relevant characteristics of a person
Necessary people descriptions	More details are better than less
Gender stereotypes	Avoid perpetuating stereotypes associated with gender roles
Singular pronouns and nouns	Make them plural

Practical steps for writing gender-neutral content

1. Avoid assuming gender

When writing emails, Slack messages, or interview invitations, avoid assuming the gender of the recipient. Inclusive writing encourages language that speaks to a diverse audience. For instance, Japan Airlines replaced “ladies and gentlemen” with “hello everyone” and “all passengers” to adopt more inclusive language.

2. Be mindful of binomials

Gendered pairings like “men and women,” “brothers and sisters,” or “Mr. and Mrs.” often place the male reference first. To promote inclusive writing, vary the order or use gender-neutral alternatives like “siblings,” “partners,” or “spouses.”

3. Use gender-neutral pronouns

Replace gendered pronouns like he and she with “they” or make nouns plural to achieve inclusivity. For example:

• Instead of: “An employee who works long hours may make mistakes in [his/her] work.”
• Try: “Employees who work long hours may make mistakes in their work.”

4. Focus on relevant characteristics

Avoid unnecessary references to personal attributes such as gender, sexual orientation, or marital status. Inclusive writing focuses on what’s relevant.

• Example: Use “cleaner” instead of “cleaning lady.”

5. Be specific when necessary

If characteristics must be included, provide clear, respectful details. For instance, instead of using broad terms like “low income,” say “below the federal poverty threshold for a family of four.” Precision ensures clarity and respect.

6. Challenge gender stereotypes

Avoid reinforcing outdated stereotypes in your content.

• Instead of: “John helps Sarah with housework while she works full-time.”
• Use: “John and Sarah both work full-time, so they share the housework.”

Using “they” as a singular non-binary pronoun

With greater attention on gender-neutral pronouns, using “they” as a singular pronoun is one commonly chosen pronoun for people whose gender identity isn’t represented by “he/him” or “she/her.” Language circles and content creators sometimes lament that the singular “they” pronoun feels awkward, and isn’t grammatically correct. But is that really true? 

As it turns out, the Oxford English Dictionary traces the singular “they” back to 1375, where it appears in the medieval romance William and the Werewolf (Baron. D, 2018) 

And you know what? It turns out that you probably use the singular “they” in your daily life. Take these examples:

1. “Someone left their coffee cup on my desk, gross!”
2. “I called a new dog walker today and booked Fluffball in for Thursday morning.” “Great. Did you also let them know how to unlock the key box?” 
3. “I heard we’re getting a new intern. Do you know when they start?”

You probably learned to avoid the singular “they” in school, because in the 18th century, grammarians said that English grammar should mirror Latin grammar — but that still doesn’t mean the singular “they” pronoun is technically wrong today. 

Gender neutral pronouns are inclusive because they challenge and outdated practice that refers to people or job roles using gender-specific pronouns or defaulting to a generic masculine. Even if you’re uncomfortable with using the singular “they” pronoun, it’s worth acknowledging that the discomfort of having to adapt to the evolution of language is still a lot more comfortable than having an identity that society erases or excludes from language. The good news is that you don’t need to understand non-binary people in order to respect them by using inclusive language!

For ideas on how other languages deal with gender neutral pronouns, this blog by the company Babbel is a great introduction.

How inclusive writing supports diversity and equity in the workplace

Gender neutral language has the power to increase the diversity of our workforce, with more equitable outcomes for all genders. And it’s not only about women. Nonbinary individuals face disproportionately high rates of exclusionary or discriminatory incidents. In fact, 42 percent of non-binary employees suffer from negative experiences in the workplace.

 It turns out that the languages we speak can and do influence societal constructs, and can even set the precedent for gender equality in our social systems. Languages that have two or more sex-based noun classes, are associated with a 0.75 year decrease in educational attainment and a 7.6 percentage point decline in the secondary school completion rate among women in any given language-country group relative to men in a similar environment. This statistic shows that it’s time we take gender neutral seriously, both in our business content, and the way we educate our children so that they can fulfill their potential in future workplace environments. 

Acrolinx: Ensuring consistency in writing across your organization

Inclusive writing is more than a best practice—it’s essential for fostering respect, belonging, and trust in today’s diverse world. By using inclusive language, organizations demonstrate their commitment to creating safe and welcoming spaces for everyone, regardless of their background or identity.

Acrolinx helps you scale and standardize your inclusive writing efforts across all content. With its advanced features, Acrolinx provides educational guidance and actionable suggestions to ensure your writing is consistent, culturally aware, gender-neutral, and free from non-inclusive language.

Inclusive writing isn’t just about words; it’s about building stronger connections and a more equitable workplace. Ready to transform your content and lead with inclusion? Let’s talk.