Officials and members in the European Parliament have been sent guidebooks on using gender-neutral language in all of their official EU-related work and communications.
Under the new guidelines, European lawmakers will be strongly encouraged to say “chair” instead of “chairman”, “artificial” instead of “man-made”, and “humanity” instead of “mankind.”
“Gender-neutral or gender-inclusive language is more than a matter of political correctness”, the guidebook reads. “Language powerfully reflects and influences attitudes, behaviour and perceptions.” “Political leaders” should be preferred to “statesmen” and items should be called “artificial” or “synthetic” rather than “man-made”.
“Businessperson” should be chosen over “businessman or businesswoman, according to the guidelines, which were updated from the first edition in 2008. “Chair” should be used instead of Chairwoman. “Chairperson” is discouraged because “the tendency has been to use it only when referring to women.”
The guidebook says that its recommendations are not “binding rules” but encouragement.
“The use in many languages of the word ‘man’ in a wide range of idiomatic expressions which refer to both men and women, such as manpower, layman, man-made, statesmen, committee of wise men, should be discouraged,” the guidebook reads.
“With increased awareness, such expressions can usually be made gender-neutral.”
The parliament’s secretariat described the guidebook’s aim as promoting non-sexist, inclusive and fair language and “aims to avoid phrasings that could be seen as conveying prejudice, discrimination, degrading remarks or implying that a certain gender or social gender represents the norm”.
