New Recommendations for Inclusive Language
The University of Zurich (UZH) is committed to promoting diversity and preventing discrimination. To this end, relevant information should be easily accessible to staff and students while avoiding communication barriers.
A new website launched by the Office for Equality, Diversity, Inclusion (Vielfalt kommunizieren an der UZH, available in German) provides UZH staff and students with background information, recommendations and tools. These resources help to prevent discrimination and remove barriers in communication, whether verbal or visual. In addition to offering concrete ideas and examples, the website enables users to delve deeper into the topic. The recommendations apply to spoken and written contexts, including lectures, websites, job ads, e-mails and images.
The new German-language recommendations build on and update the university’s previous guidelines (“Sprachleitfaden: Geschlechtergerecht in Text und Bild” and “Leitfaden Stellenausschreibungen: Empfehlungen für einen geschlechtergerechten Sprachgebrauch”) and supersede these documents. For those communicating in English, the guidelines on inclusive language described in the UZH English Writing Guide (section 2.3) continue to apply.
What’s new?
The new recommendations now cover two additional dimensions of diversity. In addition to gender-neutral communication, the recommendations include guidance on accessible and discrimination-free language related to the national, religious or cultural background of a person or group of people.
These new tools provide UZH staff and students with more resources to implement the university’s Diversity Policy, which was introduced in 2018 and states: “UZH staff and students cultivate a communication style that is diversity-friendly and inclusive. UZH is committed to stopping the reproduction of stereotypes in words and pictures and to giving its members barrier- and discrimination-free access to information.”
The recommendations are now available on a website with a modular, question-based structure that enables users to find the information they need as quickly as possible.
Inclusive language for a diverse society
The new recommendations aim to provide the UZH community with wide-ranging information about the scope of inclusive communication. Equipped with this knowledge, community members can apply the recommendations creatively in both their written and spoken language. Language users at UZH will continue to have the freedom to choose from a range of inclusive options, independently and according to context. The guiding principle is that language use should reflect the diversity of society. Consistent use of specific language features, for example, can enhance a website’s accessibility and readability.