Inclusive communication
As a set of rules and practices, inclusive communication aims for equal representation of all people. In this sense, it reflects a society that is committed to equality between women, men and non-binary people, fights against all forms of discrimination and seeks to value diversity. Inclusive communication refers to the written, spoken and visual dimensions of all communication.
Executive Directive 0.17 on inclusive communication
The University of Lausanne has adopted a directive on inclusive communication, which will come into force on 1 October 2024.
Goals of the Directive
The directive aims to à give à all documents produced by the Université de Lausanne a common basis, in order to :
- enable à every person, whatever their gender identity, to recognise themselves in the words and visuals chosen ;
- contribute to the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion within the university community;
- harmonise communication practices on campus.
Scope
Directive 0.17 applies to all documents and all institutional, written and/or visual communication from the Direction, faculties, services, and units of UNIL.
For example: regulations, directives, reports, job offers, newsletters, current events, posters, websites, blogs and social networks.
Directive 0.17 does not apply to scientific writing or to teaching materials / exams / students' work.
Guide to the Equality Office
This practical and accessible guide presents a number of ideas and solutions that reflect the most recent studies on inclusive communication. It invites you to take the time and change your perspective, so that you can bypass the automatisms of the masculine as a default value and communicate in an inclusive way.
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Guide to inclusive communication at UNIL (in French only) (1,963KB, .pdf)
2024 edition, revised and expanded
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Non-Sexist Language When Communicating in English (137KB, .pdf)
Pascal Gygax, 2019
Principles for inclusive communication at UNIL
For texts that are rich, inclusive and enjoyable to read, it is advisable to:
- pay attention to the type of text envisaged, its purpose and who it is aimed at;
- adopt an inclusive form from the purpose of the redaction ;
- privilege the combination of different strategies ;
- ensure that the text is legible and that the message is fluid and concise;
Depending on the context, we will seek to neutralise the genre or, on the contrary, we will endeavour to make it visible.
A formulation is epicene when it is deprovided with gender markers. It allows any person to be included.
Examples:
- Training as a mediator → Training in médiation.
- The members of the organising committee are suitable to make this decision.
Use names, titles and functions in the feminine or masculine form, depending on the person being signed.
Examples:
- An author; an assistant maître, an assistant maîtresse; a mentor, a mentore.
If it is not possible to reformulate the text in a gender-neutral manner, or if it is indicated that women and men are to be expressly mentioned as active subjects of a sentence, adopt the feminine then masculine form jointly.
Examples:
- The doctoral student should contact the secretariat.
- Ladies and gentlemen thérapeutes,
Proximity agreement consists of agreeing past participles, adjectives or endings with the closest noun.
Examples:
- The best candidate will be contacted shortly.
- The main representatives of the associations.
If it is not possible to use a feminine-masculine doublet, use the full stop for the contracted form intended to signify mixed gender.
Examples:
- étudiant·es;
- vous êtes convié·es à la conférence.
To address the diversity of the academic community, and particularly if you want to get past the binarity of the French language in terms of grammatical genres, other forms of writing exist: neutral pronouns, nlogisms or the inclusion of « x » in contracted forms.
Examples :
- the collaborators will meet in room 2317;
- les étudiant·x·es seront présent·x·es, iels s’exprimeront sur ce point.
Inclusive visual communication
Some elements of a visual composition are likely to quickly induce stereotypes.
For example:
- Clothing and accessories (consider the appropriateness of the clothing presented with the situation depicted by the image. Likewise, pay particular attention to the attribution of gender-specific objects and accessories.
- Attitudes and postures (for example, we will refrain from showing women systematically in withdrawn or passive postures and, on the contrary, men in assertive or expert postures).
Training and workshops on inclusive communication
The Bureau de l’égalité regularly organises training courses and moments of exchange around inclusive communication.
Find on here the next dates.