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Why avoid sexist language in
your business writing? Biased language can alienate any potential
reader. If you alienate your readers, you lose credibility. Without
their faith in your words, you have lost your audience and cannot make
your argument. Therefore, avoiding sexism in your writing benefits
everyone. Here are some tips for avoiding common mistakes regarding sexist language.
He/She
The use of a masculine pronoun to refer to both genders is offensive to
many people. Also, using terms such as "man" to define people
can often be confusing - are you referring only to "men" or to
"all people"? The easiest and best way to get around this
is to rewrite the sentence in the plural, or avoid using a pronoun
altogether.
Example: The executive cannot do his job properly until he understands
how.
Correct to: Executives cannot do their jobs properly until they
understand how.
You could also say "The executive cannot do his or her job properly
until he or she understands how." However, this tends to be
clumsy, especially after being used repeatedly.
Ms./Miss/Mrs.
Miss refers to an unmarried woman. Mrs. Refers to a married woman.
Ms. is a universally accepted form of addressing a woman regardless of her
marital status. This should be adopted whenever possible.
However, there are women who indicate a preference for either Miss or
Mrs., and that preference should be honored if known. When
addressing general audiences, or if you are not sure of the woman's
marital status, always use Ms.
Other ways to avoid sexism in your writing:
Don't assume that a particular job is filled by a particular gender: there
are many female constructions workers and doctors; there are also many
nurses and office assistants that are male.
Instead, talk about "mail carriers" instead of mailmen,
"flight attendants" instead of stewardesses, and "police
officers" instead of policemen. Certain job titles refer to
both men and women; "lineman" is one such example.
Try not to be confusing by going overboard with terms such as
"saleswoman" or "salesman" or "salesperson."
Instead, use simple words like "sales associate" or
"chair" instead of "chairman/woman/person."
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Linda Elizabeth Alexander is a business writer specializing in web and
sales copy. Be a better writer! Subscribe to
her FREE ezine today and learn tips, tricks and tools for improving your
writing at work! http://www.topica.com/lists/write2thepointcom
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