Why gender inclusive language matters in veterinary medicine

I distinctly remember the first time I was called out for using non-inclusive language. I was an Assistant Professor at the Ontario Veterinary College and had just received student evaluations for my emergency medicine lectures for the 3rd year class. Most of the comments were positive and regarded me as a good lecturer who delivered practical content in an understandable way.

But one comment stood out to me in particular and had nothing to do with my content or delivery. Rather, it was related to how I addressed the class. In the student’s words (I’m paraphrasing by memory as this was back in 2015), “Stop staying ‘you guys’. We are not ‘you guys’.”

I was dumbfounded. At the time, it was second nature for me to address the class (or my team in ICU) using phrases like “Hey guys, how are you today?” or “What do you guys think?”. Until then, it had never occurred to me that this would be off putting to someone.

Fast forward years later and I now can emphatically say that I get it. Using a term such as “guys” to address a room full of individuals with different gender identities ultimately leaves multiple people in the room feeling excluded.

The senate even recognized the importance of gender neutrality wherein 2018 a bill was passed to change the lyrics in O Canada from “all thy sons command” to “all of us command”. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but now when I sing the national anthem at the start of every hockey game I am proud of the move towards gender inclusive language.

So what does this have to do with veterinary medicine?

We must recognize that more than 80% of most veterinary workplaces are staffed with individuals identifying as female. Using phrases like “manning reception” rather than “staffing reception” or “man hours” rather than “working hours” inherently leave the vast majority of the team to feel excluded.

Additionally, the habit of using non-inclusive language such as “ma’am”, “sir”, “husband”, or “wife” might lead you to misidentify a client or their partner, which can lead to discomfort and hurt, not something any of us wants.

A group of surgeon interns is studying fetal development at different stages of pregnancy. Health education concept. Medical students in the classroom with images of ultrasound.

In certain geographical regions and cultures, it is customary to use these terms or phrases, so it may take time and energy to adjust or remove non-inclusive language.

Here are some suggestions for all-inclusive terms that will help get you started:

Use “partner” or “spouse” rather than “husband” or “wife”.
Avoid defaulting to masculine or feminine pronouns such as “he” or “she” and use a generic pronoun such as “they”.
Refer to the individual by name and remove the pronoun altogether.
Use phrases such as “anyone,” “everyone,” or “someone” to produce gender-neutral statements.
Address teams or groups of individuals as “everybody”, “friends”, “gang”, “teammates”, or “colleagues”.
Use the neutral “Ms.” title rather than “Mrs.” or “Miss”, unless otherwise requested by the individual.

I learned years ago that language is a powerful means to communicate inclusivity or discrimination. Phrases like “you guys” or “ladies and gentleman” are no longer acceptable ways to refer to groups of individuals. And assuming a person’s pronouns can inadvertently hurt others.

Let’s do what we can as an industry striving for inclusion to use language that creates a sense of acceptance to everyone.