Business Writing Skills Part III: Avoiding Sexist Language

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Avoiding Sexist Language in Writing By Linda Elizabeth Alexander

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

Not Making Any Progress? Write It Down
Not Making Any Progress' Write It Down.



By Ken Leonard Jr.

'2002 KLJ Online



Do you have a problem getting things done' Write it down.

Can't find time to build your business' Write it down.

Are .....

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.

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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

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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 ......

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