Section: Inclusive writing
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Introduction
You can often avoid using gendered pronouns by pluralizing the noun that the pronoun refers to. This is because the singular pronouns “he” and “she” are gendered in English, but the plural pronoun “they” is not. Pluralizing the noun can therefore be a quick and easy way to make your sentence inclusive without rewriting it.
| Gendered sentence | Inclusive solution |
|---|---|
| The supervisor must give feedback to her employees monthly. | Supervisors must give feedback to their employees monthly. |
| Every visitor must report to the reception desk to receive his temporary pass. | All visitors must report to the reception desk to receive their temporary pass. |
| A public official must conduct himself with integrity in the performance of his duties. | Public officials must conduct themselves with integrity in the performance of their duties. |
| The applicant must send her application by December 31. | Applicants must send their application by December 31. |
| The advisor must inform the graduate student of her responsibilities in regard to course work. | The advisor must inform graduate students of their responsibilities in regard to course work. |
Guidelines for pluralizing the noun
Making a noun plural can work well in a formal text that sets out instructions or guidelines. In this kind of writing, you’re usually speaking in a general and collective way, and the intended meaning doesn’t really change when the noun is made plural.
But in some cases, pluralizing a noun can lead to a significant change in meaning by shifting emphasis away from the individual and toward the collective. This is especially true in cases such as contracts or legal writing, where the emphasis is on defining the roles and responsibilities that fall on each individual. Here you want to avoid all ambiguity, since subtle changes of meaning or connotation might have major consequences. In these cases, another technique is probably preferable.
| Gendered sentence | Inclusive but unclear solution | Inclusive and clear solution |
|---|---|---|
| Each researcher is expected to organize his hours of work, workdays and days of rest in order to suit his specific research project(s), subject to the approval of the employer. | Researchers are expected to organize their hours of work, workdays and days of rest in order to suit their specific research project(s), subject to the approval of the employer. | Each researcher is expected to organize their hours of work, workdays and days of rest in order to suit their specific research project(s), subject to the approval of the employer. |
In the gendered sentence above, each researcher is acting on their own to organize their work schedule. That emphasis is lost in the inclusive but unclear solution when the noun is pluralized. However, in the inclusive and clear solution, the emphasis remains on the individual.
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