Using inclusive writing in your corporate communications: For or against?

At a time when laws advocating equality between men and women are being passed one after the other, the fight against discrimination is still topical, and societal issues are reflected in the French language with the question of gender and, among other things, the feminization of job names. With the creation of inclusive writing, whose primary aim is to represent genders equally, a polemic has arisen between feminists, defenders of language evolution and purists, the conservatives of the Académie française, who go so far as to proclaim the idea of a generic masculine. What are their arguments? What does the law say? What are the implications for business and recruitment? Here's an overview.

How inclusive writing works

The question of gender in language is typical of French-speaking countries , as it is linked to the absence of the neuter gender in French . It was one of the reasons for the emergence of inclusive writing.

Definition

Initially, inclusive writing is a "set of graphic and syntactic attentions designed to ensure equality of representation between men and women ".1 It also serves the cause of people who define themselves as "gender fluid", for example, but perhaps not sufficiently that of non-binary or transgender people, hence the appearance of M/F/X after certain job titles. X is intended to represent neutrality, although here again the choice of letter is debatable.

It can take different forms, including the controversial midpoint, which is used to refer to the masculine and feminine genders within the same word. For example: entrepreneur.e. 

How do you write inclusively?

 Inclusive writing isn't just about the median point, and its proponents offer advice on how to write in inclusive language:

• Double inflection, a term used by linguists, refers to the juxtaposition of the masculine and feminine genders in certain words. Example: les candidats and les candidates.
• The parenthesis, to integrate the feminine gender. Example: the French.

• The median point, a form of writing used to include both masculine and feminine genders in a single word. Example of inclusive writing: " les collaborateur.rice-s" involves a doubling of genders.
• An epicene term designating both sexes and remaining invariable in the singular, whether masculine or feminine. Examples: a student, a child, a journalist, a captain.
• To lighten the text, advocates of inclusivewriting also recommend replacing any gendered term with a " neutral " formulation: instead of writing "human rights", prefer "human rights". This also avoids gender stereotyping. Similarly, in corporate communications, you can use "colleagues" instead of "staff" or "employees".

In 2015, the Haut Conseil à l'égalité entre les femmes et les hommes recommended that public bodies feminize words and use double flexion2. 

Why is it such a divisive issue?

To understand the controversy surrounding inclusive writing, it's interesting to identify its origins and the issues it raises.

Historical background

The masculinization of the language reflects societal culture and the discrimination women have suffered for centuries. In the 17th century , women were compared by some to ignoramuses. For Scipion Dupleix, in 1651, "the masculine gender is the noblest", "because of the superiority of the male over the female", added academician Beauzé, in 1767.

Initially, many nouns did not exist in the feminine form, particularly professions, ranks, titles and functions linked to power. In 1944, some were even banned from the Journal Officiel, such as colonelle, ambassadrice, magistrate and présidente. It wasn't until 1986 that a circular was signed on the re-feminization of trade names in regulatory or administrative documents, which the Académie Française had denounced3.

Even today, putting certain words in the feminine implies creating neologisms that upset stereotypes and usage, and call into question a set of rules laid down by academics - despite the various laws on parity and equality between men and women, which should be reflected quite naturally in the language.

The political framework

Many politicians are opposed to inclusive writing, such as former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. Although he admits the need "not to mark a gender preference", he specifies in his circular that "In regulatory texts, the masculine is a neutral form that should be used for terms likely to apply equally to women and men [...]", for example, French citizens and he "proscribes inclusive writing for cases where it would come to replace the masculine which is used in "a generic sense "4. This is tantamount to favoring a generic masculine. It's enough to make feminists jump for joy! Since then, the Conseil d'Etat has ruled that inclusive writing should not be applied to official texts5. Finally, on October 30, 2023, the French Senate passed a bill designed to "protect the French language from the abuses ofinclusive writing6". Inclusive writing is prohibited in job descriptions, employment contracts, company bylaws, legal documents (on pain of nullity), the Education Code and all public service documents.

Arguments against

The main sticking points would be the use of the mid-point and parentheses to include the feminine in a nominal group generally represented by a masculine word. Example: les recruteurs / les recruteur.se.s. Critics of inclusive writing, including the current government, claim it lacks legibility and distorts the French language. For the purists at theAcadémie française, "inclusive" writing is an aberration that puts the French language in mortal danger7. What's more, it's impossible to read aloud certain types of content interspersed with mid-points, whose abusive use, among other things, weighs down the text. For some linguists, inclusive writing represents a step backwards and is an obstacle to reading by dyslexic, visually impaired or blind people who use software not designed for this type of writing.

Finally, the inclusive style doesn't make it at all easy for search engines like Google to find you, which is an obstacle to recruitment. What's more, who would type project manager in their job search?

The "for" arguments

• Too much masculine dominance

According to the rules of French grammar, a personal pronoun in the 3rd person plural or a qualifying adjective agrees in the masculine gender if it refers to a masculine noun and a feminine noun. Example: Technicians, "experts" in their field, are "numerous". "They" [...]. In short, the masculine is omnipresent and sometimes renders the feminine invisible. Even today, the government imposes the generic masculine.

• Back to neutral

The masculinization of the language is one of the reasons why the much-maligned neologism iel, iels, was created. Used as a pronoun, it designates a person without indicating gender. The gendarmes marched yesterday. They were in uniform. Without having to invent new words, it's also possible to use a neutral term like "the wanted person", which means enriching your vocabulary with synonyms.

• Recognition of women's professions

While certain professions have long been reserved for men, today the names of professions have their female equivalent - and vice versa. For example, pharmacienne, which until recently referred to a pharmacist's wife, now appears on a woman's diploma. Contrary to popular belief, the male form of midwife, originally a female profession, does exist! Yet a new trade name, maieuticien, has been created out of machismo? Midwife is an epicene term, designating the midwife who helps a woman give birth. Some job names are easy to feminize, like professeure. Others are less so, like plumber or firefighter. As for feminine titles, they have been discreetly "feminizable" since the 1986 circular: Madame la Ministre, Madame la Maire (preferred to mairesse).

• Combating stereotypes

Theuse of inclusivewriting is not incompatible with grammatical rules and helps to combat gender stereotypes . Indeed, inclusive writing clearly reduces mental representations linked to male gender domination , if only through the use of the generic masculine. For example, it's difficult for women to identify with the position of "director".

An inevitable transformation

Legislation has certainly evolved, but less rapidly than language and societal demands. Today, some teachers refuse to pass on the ancient rule of grammar, laid down in the 17th century, which stipulates that "the masculine takes precedence over the feminine" when it comes to the agreement of two nouns of different genders.

While inclusive writing is still a long way off, there isno obstacle in principle to the feminization of trade names . In the majority of cases, it is the feminization of the profession that modifies the grammatical form of the trade name. In fact, a report by the Académie française, guardian of the correct use of the language, is entirely devoted to the feminization of trade and function names8. Despite all this, the rules of agreement are far from having evolved, and the current question of gender is more profound. Could the reintroduction of the neuter gender, which already existed in Latin, be considered?

Inclusive writing and recruitment

Inclusive writing also has an impact on human resources.

Do companies have any legal obligations in this area? 

Yes and no. As job offers must be non-discriminatory, they must take into account both men and women. To this end, the words M/F are frequently used in brackets after the job title. But this is not enough to help women project themselves. Indeed, "we're recruiting a sales manager M/F" does not have the same impact as "we're recruiting a sales director". Some companies are happy to demonstrate their commitment to inclusion, by systematically using the masculine and feminine genders in job titles. Others, such as Doctolib, go even further, adding the X to designate non-binary or transgender people, following the example of Germany, Canada and Italy. The result is: recruitment officer X/F/H. However, some recruiters are opposed to inclusive writing, as mentioning gender alone is not enough to demonstrate inclusive practices. From their point of view, they prefer to limit themselves to mentioning skills.

Should it be used in job ads?

Inclusive writing or not, by systematically declining the masculine and feminine forms of the job name in job offers, the number of female applicants increases, as women are able to project themselves more easily. Several forms are possible: general manager; managing director; general manager to represent the feminine and masculine in a single word. In epicene language, simply specify the gender with the preceding determiner: un ou une responsable. New grammatical forms have also been introduced, with the attribution of feminine names to professions such as project manager or developer. In this way, the feminization of job titles enhances the attractiveness of the company.

What are the practices in startups and tech professions?

The under-representation of women in startups and in the tech professions does not facilitate parity, professional equality between the sexes, and even less so recruitment, in a sector that is under pressure. The current flop in inclusion is linked to mental representations associated with professions predominantly occupied by men, to self-censorship on the part of women themselves, and to sexist stereotypes on the part of partners and investors.

The figures clearly illustrate the problem: 36% of entrepreneurs are women9 and, by 2022, only 10% of European startups will have been created by women10 or 20% by mixed teams, in the case of France. What's more, cognitive biases are still very much in evidence among major investors, 85% of whom are men, since they award 70% of fund-raising to men.

 As a result, few small businesses (startups, VSEs, SMEs) practice inclusive writing, unless they have a manager who is convinced by the subject. Indeed, these companies rarely have a dedicated HR department capable of drafting inclusive job offers and training employees. By making their commitment "too" pronounced, young startups also fear their customers' reactions.

In short, inclusive writing's difficulties in gaining acceptance reflect the persistence of certain clichés and the resistance to change of French language purists. The question arises as to whether a "lighter" version of this practice (without midpoints or parentheses) would be a more readable solution, and would ensure stereotype-free public communication. Nothing is less certain, especially as the bill passed by the Senate is soon to be submitted to the National Assembly. What's more, when job offers are written inclusively, they must also truly reflect the corporate culture. Indeed, it is essential for the employer brand to display only those promises that the company is capable of keeping. 

At Skillink, we've chosen to use inclusive writing in our ads. It's obviously not perfect, difficult to use in all texts, and by no means solves all problems on its own. Naturally, we'll be keeping a close eye on regulatory developments in this area, and will be very open to even more effective solutions. But, if only because of the number of reactions it has provoked, inclusive writing has, in our view, been a major step in highlighting a fundamental problem that has been rooted in our culture for too long, and which doesn't allow everyone to flourish properly.

And let's be glad to see our beautiful language evolve, because the only languages that never evolve are dead ones!