Business_Spotlight_No3_202..

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Business Spotlight 3/2020 LANGUAGE

LANGUAGE

GRAMMAR

Avoiding gender

bias in pronouns

Damit sich durch ein Personalpronomen

niemand diskriminiert fühlt, gilt es einiges

zu beachten. TENLEY VAN DEN BERG

klärt die Situation.

MEDIUM PLUS

alternating

[(O:ltEneItIN]

, (ab)wechselnd

antecedent

[)ÄntI(si:d&nt]

, Bezugswort

gender bias

[(dZendE )baIEs]

, geschlechtsspezifische

Diskriminierung

gender-nonconforming

[)dZendE )nQnkEn(fO:mIN]

, sich keinem binären

Geschlecht zugehörig

fühlend

indefinite

[In(defEnEt]

, unbestimmt, allgemein

issue [(ISu:]

, Thema; Problem

omit sth. [EU(mIt]

, etw. weglassen

personal pronoun

[)p§:s&nEl (prEUnaUn]

, Personalpronomen

return (on investment)

[ri(t§:n]

, (Kapital-)Rendite

work [w§:k]

, hier: passen

TENLEY VAN DEN BERG

is an editor at

Business Spotlight.

Contact:

t.vandenberg@

spotlight-verlag.de

Answers

ALTERNATIVE FORMULATIONS

Here are some ways you can formulate your sen­

tences to avoid gender bias.

1. Nearly everyone now accepts using “they” and re­
   lated pronouns to refer to a singular subject:
   Biased: A new business owner needs enough money
   to establish his business.
   Unbiased: A new business owner needs enough
   money to establish their business.

“They/them” is also used with indefinite (singular)

personal pronouns, such as “somebody” and “nobody”:

Biased: Everybody has to choose the career that suits

him best.

Unbiased: Everybody has to choose the career that

suits them best.

2. Change a singular subject to a plural subject:

Biased: It’s really challenging to work for a perfec-

tionist, because he is never satisfied.

Unbiased: It’s really challenging to work for perfec-

tionists, because they are never satisfied. Exercise: Using

inclusive language

A good lawyer listens 1.

to their clients.

Good lawyers listen 2.

to their clients.

A good lawyer listens 3.

to clients.

A good lawyer listens 4.

to his or her clients.

To be a good lawyer, 5.

one has to listen to

one’s clients.

To be a good lawyer, 6.

you have to listen to

your clients.

THE PROBLEM OF GENDER BIAS

In Business Spotlight 2/2020, we explained the

basics of how personal pronouns are used in

modern English. Here, we look at the issue

of gender bias. Traditionally, the pronouns

“he”/“him”/“his”/“himself” are used when the

gender of the antecedent — the word the pronoun

refers to — is not specified. This usage excludes

not only women but also people who identify

themselves as being gender­nonconforming.

Biased:

⋅ Everybody loves his mother.

⋅ A doctor wears gloves to protect himself^

against germs.

Exercise: Using inclusive language

Using the formulations above, rewrite this sen­

tence in six different ways to avoid gender bias.

⋅

A good lawyer listens to his clients.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

M

3. Replace the pronoun with “the” or “a”/“an”, or

omit the article, if possible, which will often require

a change to the plural:

Biased: An investor wants a good return on his in-

vestment.

Unbiased: An investor wants a good return on the/

an investment.

Unbiased: An investor wants a good return on in-

vestments.

4. Some writers use “he or she”, “he/she” or “s/he”:
   Biased: A business owner often assumes he knows
   what his customers want.
   Less biased: A business owner often assumes he or
   she knows what his or her customers want.

You may also see a writer use “he” and “she”, etc. in

alternating sentences, paragraphs or chapters:

Biased: A leader should reflect on his decisions. And

a leader should not hire people just like himself.

Less biased: A leader should reflect on his decisions.

And a leader should not hire people just like herself.

These two options can be confusing, however. And

they still exclude gender­nonconforming people.

5. “One” can be used, but is rather formal sounding.

“You” can be used instead, as written language has

become less formal:

Biased: A careful researcher has to check his data.

Unbiased: To be a careful researcher, one has to

check one’s data.

Unbiased: To be a careful researcher, you have to

check your data.

Personal taste and context will determine which of

the above options to use. Note that not every option

will work in every case.