Private, Work, and Organizational Use of Gender-Inclusive Language

Abstract: Empirical evidence suggests that gender-inclusive language forms (e. g., word pairs, the German asterisk, and colon forms) can reduce the male bias associated with generically intended, grammatically masculine words. Yet, predictors of gender-inclusive language use remain unclear. Using a mixed-methods approach across two employee samples ( N ₁ = 654, N ₂ = 325), we found positive relationships among private gender-inclusive language use and attitudes, knowledge about it, and acquaintances’ gender-inclusive language use. Organizational-level gender-inclusive language use was higher when formal language policies existed, though few organizations had them. Employee-level gender-inclusive language use related to private use and use by others at work. Organizational policy (Study 1) and organizational-level language use (Study 2) additionally predicted employees’ language use. Overall, the social context appears more predictive of gender-inclusive language use than individual characteristics. Qualitative responses emphasized linguistic complexity and aesthetic concerns as key objections, while supportive arguments included visibility and equal treatment of all genders.