Non-discriminatory writing

WHO does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, beliefs or religion. It is easy to avoid gross examples of discrimination: expressions that portray one ethnic group as superior or inferior to others, or gender-specific language that favours males over females. As a writer, you need to be aware of other more subtle ways discriminatory language can interfere with your main message.

Gender	Using masculine pronouns to generalize for all people. It is preferable to use “humankind” rather than “mankind,” for example. Using only men as examples
Disability and chronic illness	Emphasizing the chronic illness or disability rather than the person. Use “wheelchair user,” not “wheelchair bound.” Use “people with epilepsy” rather than “epileptics.”
Age	Focusing on age when it is not relevant. Use “the project manager,” for instance, rather than “the young project manager.” If you need to emphasize something related to inexperience, it is preferable to say “the inexperienced project manager.” Inexperience and youth are not synonyms, nor are age and wisdom.

You can often revise discriminatory writing quite easily to eliminate the unnecessary noise it causes in communications. Revise these examples, and compare your responses to ours.

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