Gender Neutral Language

Syllabus tag: Kenya CBC | Grade 9 English | Theme 1.0 Citizenship | Strand 1.3 Grammar | Sub-Strand 1.3.1 Gender Neutral Language (2 Lessons)

Lesson objectives

By the end of this sub-strand, you should be able to:

• Identify gender specific words and their gender neutral equivalents.
• Use gender neutral language in speech and writing.
• Rewrite sentences to remove unnecessary gender marking.
• Appreciate the value of inclusive language in communication.

Summary

Gender neutral language is wording that does not needlessly specify whether a person is male or female. It matters because many English words that once seemed general, such as chairman or mankind, actually name one sex, and using them makes half the population invisible in the sentence. The skill is practical: replace the gendered word with a neutral one, or restructure the sentence so no pronoun is needed at all.