Feminatives and neutral pronouns. How and why to use inclusive language in the workplace?

Starting from the ending

Inclusive language often meets opposition among people who use Polish on a daily basis. The use of pronouns "onx/jex" is often considered a completely unnecessary invention of modernity, and terms like "byłom" or "chciałobym" seem unthinkable.

Even the Polish Language Council in response to an inquiry about the use of the above forms states that "the forms are systemically correct, but basically belong to the class of potential forms, not used on a daily basis".

What's more, as a society we often struggle even with linguistically simpler issues than gender-neutral form, such as feminatives. Even some women oppose their use, claiming that female endings are not needed. And this despite the fact that feminatives have been present in our native language for hundreds of years.

For example, the word "gościni", which so many people like to mock, has existed in Polish for centuries, as Martyna F. Zachorska convinces in her book The Female Ending of Language, also known as The Lady of Feminatives. More on this topic was also discussed in his TEDx Koszalin presentation by Maciej Makselon (you can watch it below).

So I won't reinvent the wheel and I refer everyone who is convinced that feminatives are a feminist invention to the sources mentioned. Instead, I will focus on the impact that words have on the reality around us, especially in the workplace.

Job for a man

Language is a powerful tool for shaping social consciousness. When job advertisements use stereotypically male terms, it unconsciously reinforces the belief that certain professions are "male", which can discourage women from applying for these positions. The introduction of neutral terms can therefore not only increase the number of women applying for a given position, but also contribute to changing the perception of who is suitable for this position.

This thesis is also supported by research. For example, from the report Language of job offers prepared by Pracuj.pl and the Success Written in Lipstick Foundation, it appears that as many as 83% of the women surveyed support the use of female job titles. 78% of respondents, on the other hand, expect feminatives in job advertisements.

Another study, the results of which were published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, showed that job advertisements with stereotypically male adjectives such as "assertive" or "ambitious" discourage women from applying for such positions.

Mr. Nurse and Mrs. President

Such language not only creates a barrier for women, but also reinforces stereotypes about who should perform certain professional roles. For example, is the president of a company a woman or a man? One might argue that it depends, yet recently, when the CEO of one of the Polish marketing agencies changed her position title to female president in the National Court Register, she dispelled all doubts.

The names of high positions in the female form still cause controversy among some people. After all, nurse or teacher, i.e. those professions where there are stereotypically more women, sound natural, but lecturer or doctor seem funny to some. From the aforementioned study Language of job offers, it appears that as many as 36% of men believe that the title "president of the board" loses its seriousness compared to "president of the board". Similar results are noted for the phrase "board member" compared to "board member". Interestingly, only 9% of women share this opinion. And these different attitudes are also visible in other results.

Femifans versus traditionalists

In the study Just a word conducted by BNP Paribas, four groups were identified; in terms of their attitude towards feminatives. The people who expect them to be used universally, are young (in the age group 18-35), well-educated, open to the world, confident women, who were called Femifans in the study. However, they constitute only 16% of all respondents.

People who have a rather stereotypical notion of gender roles, but understand the need to adapt language to a changing world, constitute 24% of respondents and were named Ready for Change in the report. Most of them are young men with higher education.

On the other hand, older men are more likely to remain Traditionalists (22% of respondents) and are rather opposed to the use of feminatives. Considering the fact that these people largely grew up during the PRL era, their attitudes should not be surprising. It was during this time that the use of female endings began to decline and care was taken to ensure that high positions were primarily associated with men.

The largest group of people are so-called Unengaged (38%), who do not know what to think about feminatives.

Draw a person engaged in science

Perhaps the opinion of these people would change if they paid attention to the Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST). As part of the test, participants are asked to draw a person engaged in science according to their own imaginations (scientist – in English there is no gender connotation like scientist and female scientist). Then the drawings are analyzed for features and elements consistent with stereotypical images of scientists.

Boys in nine out of ten cases draw a man. Among girls, however, changes began to be noticed - in 2016 for the first time more of them drew a female scientist (58%). What's more, six-year-olds drew a woman in as many as 70% of cases, and this percentage decreased with the increasing age of the girls participating in the test.

DAST quite clearly shows how language shapes reality and its perception, and what patterns we take from it in the future. Therefore, the introduction of neutral language and feminatives in school or at work should be an important step towards gender equality.

How to use inclusive language in practice?

• Instead of saying "chairman", you can use the term "chairwoman/chairman" or "presiding person" to include all genders.
• Instead of "disabled person", you should use the term "person with a disability", which emphasizes that the person is more important than their disability.
• It is also worth avoiding stereotypical descriptions. For example, instead of talking about a "strong man", you can talk about a "person with great physical strength", which avoids assuming that only men can be strong.

Inclusive language plays a key role in promoting equality and respect, helps fight discrimination and promotes justice for all people. Through its application, it creates a safe and friendly environment where every person, regardless of their identity, can feel accepted and respected. At the same time, inclusive language serves to prevent stereotypes and prejudices, which are often unconsciously embedded in our way of communication, paving the way for more conscious and sensitive interpersonal communication.