Non-discriminatory language guidelines

Language, and the way it is used, is a major vehicle for the expression of prejudice and discrimination. It not only reflects and maintains any discriminatory values and practices in our society, but is often inaccurate and perpetuates false assumptions and stereotypes.

The aim of these guidelines is to increase awareness of discriminatory language in everyday use and to offer a variety of examples and suggested alternatives. As it is not possible to cover every possible contingency, the alternatives and strategies offered may not be applicable in every case, and the examples given should not be considered exhaustive.

The University of Sydney is committed to providing equal opportunity for all students and staff and aims to prevent discrimination in employment and study on the grounds of sex, pregnancy, race (including colour, ethnic background, nationality or national identity), marital status, transgender status, disability, sexual preference, political or religious belief, carer’s responsibility and age. Senate policy states that the University community regards as offensive, under all circumstances, the use of written or spoken language that makes personal or irrelevant reference to any of the characteristics listed above.

Non-sexist or gender inclusive language ensures that bias is not expressed in favour of one sex over another.

Generics and personal pronouns
A common form of sexism in the English language is the use of man and he/him/his as generic terms, where the reference is to both women and men. Using man generically can be confusing and discriminatory. As an alternative, try humans, woman and man, people and humanity. Further examples include:

manned	staffed
man-made	handcrafted, artificial
manpower	workforce
one-man	run by one person
sportsmanship	fair play, sporting
tradesman	tradesperson

Instead of he/him/his, it is acceptable to use the plural they/them/their, add the female equivalent or omit the pronouns:

when a lecturer commences he must ...	when lecturers commence they must/or when a lecturer commences she/he must ..
each student must bring with him	students must bring with them ...
any student wanting his work evaluated	any student wanting their work evaluated

It is no longer acceptable to add a disclaimer stating that all masculine nouns and pronouns are to be taken as referring to both females and males.

Sex role stereotyping
Occupational terms or job titles that relate to only one sex are inaccurate and discriminatory, and should be replaced with neutral, generic terms such as:

authoress	author
businessman/woman	business executive
chairman	chair/convenor
girl Friday	assistant
headmaster/headmistress	principal
layman	non-specialist, lay person
matron	director of nursing
professors and their wives	professors and their partners
salesman/salesmen	sales assistant/sales staff

Avoid irrelevant, gratuitous gender descriptions that imply deviation from the norm, such as a woman doctor or a male nurse.

Patronising expressions and stereotyped images
In public situations, patronising expressions such as love, dear, sweetie, sheilas and birds should be avoided. The word ladies can also be considered condescending in certain situations, and should only be used when gentlemen would be appropriate for males in the same situation.

The following are examples of stereotyped images that could be considered demeaning:

• you think just like a man
• you’re pretty smart for a woman
• even a housewife can do that
• boys in the storeroom
• girls in the office

Word order and word choice
As men usually precede women in expressions such as men and women and his and hers, try reversing the order occasionally.

When describing the same characteristic in women and men, use similar terms. The following examples illustrate how women and men are often described, although the circumstances may be identical.

women words	men words
aggressive/pushy	assertive/ambitious
domineering	strong
hysterical	angry
stubborn	firm

Titles and forms of address
As a general rule use a first name, a neutral title or nothing. For women, the use of Miss and Mrs identifies marital status as well as title, whereas Mr refers only to title. The use of Ms is recommended for all women where the parallel Mr is applicable, and when a woman’s preferred title is unknown. As with men, a woman’s preferred title should be respected when known. When listing names, use alphabetical order except where order by seniority is more important. If addressing correspondents whose name and/or gender are unknown, do not assume they are male.

Discriminatory language in relation to the portrayal of people with disabilities is characterised by depersonalising – by emphasising the disability rather than the individual person – and by stereotyping. Many words used to describe disability are outdated and inaccurate. If describing people with disabilities is necessary, the following terms are considered appropriate:

• people with disabilities (not handicapped/disabled)
• people with physical disabilities (not cripples)
• people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (not mentally
  handicapped)
• people with cerebral palsy (not spastics)

Other appropriate terminology includes: blind or vision impaired (depending on the disability), deaf or hearing impaired (depending on the disability), and mobility impaired.

People with disabilities should not be pitied, feared or ignored, and it is important not to imply that they are more courageous and special than others. Do not use the term normal or able-bodied in contrast. The terms victim or sufferer tend to dehumanise a person with a disability or disease and emphasise powerlessness, e.g.

an AIDS sufferer	a person with AIDS
polio victim	a person who had polio

Some Australian Indigenous people object to being labelled Aborigines, as this was a term imposed on them by the British, and is the general term for any indigenous people. Some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people prefer to be known by the terms from their own languages (see below). Others, however, consider the nouns Aborigine(s), Aboriginal person (people) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be acceptable. The use of the word Aboriginal as an adjectival noun should be avoided, but it is acceptable to use it as an attributive adjective such as in the Aboriginal Education Unit. Aboriginal/Aborigines when referring to the Indigenous people of Australia should always be spelt with a capital A.

Some terms used by Indigenous people to refer to themselves are:

• Koori (Sydney area)
• Murri (Western NSW and Nth Queensland)

(Note that the spelling of these names may vary)

The Indigenous people of the Torres Strait Islands have a separate linguistic and cultural identity to Aboriginal people. The preferred name is Torres Strait Islanders and Murray Islanders, not abbreviations such as Islander or TSI. However, the abbreviation of T.I. is generally acceptable. It is important to observe the preference of title of an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander. If in doubt check with the University’s Koori Centre (9351 2046).

Take care not to ignore the history of the Indigenous people of Australia with expressions such as: “Captain Cook discovered Australia”. As the history of Australia spans many thousands of years, such statements are insulting and inaccurate.

Non-discriminatory language in relation to race and ethnicity aims to recognise and present the diversity of Australia’s population in positive ways. The term Australian refers to all Australian citizens regardless of ethnic background, and some Australians prefer not to be identified by their ethnic background.

Try not to: refer to ethnicity unless there is a valid reason for doing so; stereotype by race; or use racially derogatory terms and nicknames.

Terms for religious groups should not always be equated to terms for certain ethnic groups; for example, not all Lebanese people in Australia are Muslims, and not all Muslims are Arabs.

The diversity among various racial and ethnic minorities is often not recognised or acknowledged. For example, the various Asian ethnicities present in Australia are often lumped together under the single term Asian, despite their many differences.

In a society where a sizeable proportion of the population holds religious beliefs other than Christian beliefs or none at all, it is recommended that the term christian name be replaced in official documents by given name or personal name. The term first name is not always suited to the naming procedures of some cultural and ethnic groups living in Australia.

Age
Keeping bias out of our communications can be especially difficult when society holds strong stereotypes. One example of this is our attitude to people aged over 65, who are often portrayed as feeble and incompetent. Try to mention age only where relevant and do not use terms that are demeaning and/or make assumptions about physical or intellectual capacity.

Sexual preference
Any discussion of issues pertaining to sexual orientation should be accurate and informed. Lesbians and gay men should be described in terms that do not trivialise or demean them, do not encourage discrimination or distorted images of their lives. Avoid negative stereotyping of supposed characteristics of lesbians and gay men, use the term partner instead of spouse and do not assume that everyone belongs to a traditional family.

University publications and documents, including communications to staff and student teaching material, should adhere to these guidelines. Care should also be taken in speaking, especially in formal settings such as lectures, seminars and meetings, to use speech conventions that reflect equality. Try to remember the following points:

• always consider the context – not all alternatives work in all contexts
• the list of alternatives is not exhaustive
• commonsense about style needs to prevail.

Further information regarding equal opportunity, including issues covered on this website, is available from the Staff and Student Equal Opportunity Unit on 9351 2212.

References
Guidelines for Communicating without Bias – Charles Sturt University (1995)
Non-Discriminatory Language – Anne Pauwels, AGPS Press, Canberra (1991)*
Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers 5th ed. – AGPS Press, Canberra (1994)*
Non-Discriminatory Presentation and Practice – UNSW

* Commonwealth of Australia copyright reproduced by permission.