Gendering in Online Marketing – Definitions, Tips & Opportunities

1. Gender-sensitive language – heatedly debated, but important?
2. What does gender-sensitive language mean?
3. What's the deal with language change in the German language?
4. What possibilities for gendering are there?
5. What is the legal situation regarding gendering?
6. Where you should stop gendering
7. What about forms and booking systems?
8. Gendering in online marketing: advantages for companies
9. A reality check – Gendering in online marketing put to the test
10. Further tips for gendering, which will help you
11. Tools that will help you implement it

Our guest author Samantha Lang had to find out that the topic of gender-sensitive language is being discussed as intensely and heatedly as hardly any other. For some, it's completely superfluous and a "mascara" of the German language, for others, it's very important and urgently necessary.

Why is it that the topic preoccupies and stirs us up so much? How much can it really contribute to equality and visibility of women and other genders? And not to forget, how implementable is this whole thing in online marketing and in relation to SEO?

Gender-sensitive language – heatedly debated, but important?

In German, we commonly use the generic masculine – these are personal or professional titles in the grammatically male form, so the biological gender of a person is not taken into account. The use of the generic masculine supposedly includes men, women, and all other genders.

A psycholinguistic study by hogrefe eContent shows, however, that when using the generic masculine, women are often included, but rarely thought of. Don't believe it? Here's a puzzle to illustrate:

"Dr. Brandt lives in Hamburg and has a brother in Berlin, Prof. Brandt. Prof. Brandt, however, has no brother in Hamburg. How can that be?"

Did you directly come up with the solution? About 80% of those surveyed did not directly come up with the most obvious solution. Thoughts were "Is there another city also named Hamburg?" or "Are they not biological brothers?" – but not that Dr. Brand is a woman.

However, reality looks quite different. According to a Statista survey in Germany almost 50% of all PhD candidates are now women.

So rationally we know very well that Dr. Brand can also be a woman, in practice the whole thing looks different: Rationality often does not win.

What does gender-sensitive language mean?

In gender-sensitive language, three terms are very important:

• Clarity: means language should always be chosen in such a way that it is clear who is meant and as many misunderstandings as possible are avoided.
• Representation: means language should always be chosen in such a way that it represents all genders and
• anti-discrimination: means language should never be discriminatory.

I assume that most people do not want to discriminate or exclude anyone with their used language, and yet the topic of gender-sensitive language is being discussed so intensely and heatedly in our society. The feeling arises that people are afraid for the German language. Which brings me to my next point, is this fear justified?

What's the deal with language change in the German language?

Language change is something completely natural - as old as our language itself, has always taken place and affects us all at any time.

An everyday example: Barely anyone came around the book "The Dative is the Genitive's Death", at least most will have heard of it. The loss of the genitive was described as a dramatic downgrading of our German language. Most no longer said something like:

"I caught a cold because of the cold weather", but "I caught a cold because of the cold weather"

Today, both variants are correct. The dramatic case was somewhat concealed that the loss of the genitive has been taking place since the 18th century and was nothing new, but a process that continued.

Another example of language change that had particularly large effects in marketing is the practice of saying 'Du'. Traditionally, there was a culture of 'Sie' in the German language, it often took a very long time before you were offered 'Du'.

Pierre Bourdieu: "Language influences our thinking, feeling, and acting."

In certain industries, this is still the case, but the trend is moving away from 'Sie' and towards 'Du'. This is also noticeable in marketing. A pioneer here was Ikea. They started to call their customers 'Du' in 2003 and not out of rudeness, but because they wanted to create a closeness to potential customers – successfully, which is why so many follow this strategy.

Ikea also takes a clear line on the issue of gender-sensitive language. Ikea Germany has introduced gender-neutral language for all communication channels, and they also use the gender asterisk.

What possibilities for gendering are there?

One thing in advance: As of today, there are no official, prescriptive regulations for the use of gender-sensitive language. What we can do is orient ourselves as best we can to the German spelling rules. The use of gender signs is even incorrect according to the spelling rules.

The lack of regulation is initially nothing unusual, the German spelling reform looks at "trends" in the language and only sets rules afterwards. This is a good thing, because it means that we as a society decide what will prevail and what will not.

The following options give a hunch as to what could ultimately become the rule:

The dual naming

In dual naming, both the feminine and the masculine form are mentioned. This option is easy to understand and compatible with German spelling, but it inflates texts and does not include all genders.

Example: Employees and employees

The neutralization

In neutralization, neutral terms are used. This variant includes all genders and is largely understandable, but it can seem impersonal, and there are not neutral terms for all male forms.

The main criticism of generic masculinity is that women and people of other genders become invisible in language - this is also the case with gender-neutral personal and job titles.

Example: Employees

The gender signs

When using gender signs, various possibilities have emerged, all with their advantages and disadvantages. The most-used characters are the colon and the asterisk. These both include all genders equally. The colon is not read as a word by screen readers, but a short pause is made, and it is an unobtrusive sign of gender diversity.​

However, if the colon is overlooked, the generic feminine form results. The gender asterisk, on the other hand, is a visible sign of gender diversity. For screen readers, it is read as the word "star", although this can now be reconfigured. Moreover, the meaning of the asterisk is ambiguous and could cause confusion.

Short check: Does the word also exist with the suffix -in? Then you can also set a gender sign (there are no victims or members! → Gender signs are not necessary here!) – if you're not sure about a word, you can always look it up in the online Duden 😉

Example: Employees:inside, employees*inside

What is the legal situation regarding gendering?

Equality and equal treatment are fundamental values of the German Constitution. The use of gender-sensitive language for equality and visibility of women and other genders is therefore permitted. In addition, there are legal requirements that companies must adhere to.

Job advertisements

One regulation is the advertising of open positions, because they must not exclude any genders, and must therefore be written in a gender-neutral way.

If this is not adhered to, it is a violation against the Equality Act. According to § 1 AGG "Preventing or eliminating discrimination on the grounds of race or ethnic origin, sex, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual identity".

Rejected applicants can sue the respective companies on grounds of discrimination.

Therefore, most job advertisements look like this:

Account manager (m/f/d)

In this formulation, the generic masculine has crept back in – as studies show that women feel less addressed by a masculine formulation of job advertisements, this is not the best solution – but it is legally compliant.

To address all genders directly, choose the following variation:

Account Manager*in (m/f/d)

Or

"We are looking for a professional (m/f/d) for our account management."

Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be and avoid such a variation:

We are looking for an account manager*in (m/f/d) Too much is too much! 😊

This regulation will have a lasting effect, many believe. Women will become more visible and will also be taken more into account in job advertisements. In addition, according to the Information Service Science children think more openly about stereotypical gender roles and are more likely to fancy "male" professions.

Where you should stop gendering

Gender-sensitive language can also reach boundaries. Legal requirements should not be ignored by companies, as this can lead to enormous penalties. For mandatory information, as it appears for example in the Heilmittelwerbegesetz, again, there should be no gendering.

Here is an example: "For risks and side effects, read the package insert and ask your doctor or pharmacist."

What about forms and booking systems?

Large companies (most recently DB) were sued because they only had the options "Mr/Ms" to choose from in their forms. This is not in line with the law, so please avoid!

Gendering in online marketing: advantages for companies

A positioning on the issue of gender-sensitive language is becoming noticeably more relevant in society and at the same time for companies. Because this societal change increases pressure on companies to at least engage with the topic. It's best for companies to do this early, before it possibly becomes the norm, an obligation, or even a Google ranking factor.

To know your own target group, but not to address them directly in the first step, can lead to less turnover in the long run - strong statement, but easy to explain:

From numerous reputable sources we know that women make up to 80% of purchasing decisions, these should then not be ignored in our approach. Studies show that the generic masculine makes women and people of other genders feel less addressed. Therefore, you should know your target group very well and be aware of what is important to them. Another important factor is the brand perception and the moral demeanor of a brand. Here, you can demonstrate an awareness of socially relevant issues and thus sustainably increase the degree of sympathy in the public eye, if it fits your target group.

According to a survey by Adobe 83% of the population (particularly younger persons) are willing to pay a premium for 'moral brands'

We remember the hefty shitsstorm of companies who showed the rainbow flag in Pride Month, but largely ignored the topic the rest of the year. Again, Ikea does it differently. They live the issue of equality all year round with numerous initiatives. Guess who didn't get shitstorm ;)

In addition, in this heated debate, it is about visibility of women and people of other genders - companies can make a lasting contribution to this visibility.

A reality check – Gendering in online marketing put to the test

But not for all companies in every industry is the immediate use of gender signs and co. sensible, here the own target group has to be analyzed very exactly. That it is not sensible at a certain point does not mean that companies should not deal with the topic at all.

The trend is toward gender-sensitive language and companies should be prepared, in the sense that they at least know about the topic. A very simple tip, if you are not sure, ask your existing customers just once, how they feel about the topic. But don't forget that you may not be addressing a part of your target group at all and they are therefore not yet customers.

Live in-company communication inwardly

Before a company communication takes place towards the outside, it should first be lived internally. One reason for this is authenticity! People and potential customers are sensitized to moral issues and it becomes quite quickly apparent whether a company really stands behind the topic. Should this topic be important to you, it is only sensible to also live it internally.

Why we won't get ahead with glitter and pink color in this debate

Some companies have done it before, they brought products specifically for women to the market. These products were usually very stereotypically shaped and had no added value for women.

Often according to the motto: With a little glitter and pink color, we'll convince women. Apart from the fact that many brands have done very badly with this and have caused negative attention, these companies contribute to the lack of visibility. So an important note: Don't think pink!

SEO & Gendering in Online Marketing

The historically prevalent and commonly used generic masculine is of course also strongly represented in search engines. The Google algorithm is to be understood as a mirror of our society, which of course also means that it will adapt to our handling of gender signs.

If important and relevant keywords are gendered, this can of course have effects on the search engine. The problem shows itself in the sometimes greatly differing search volumes and in the number of indexed pages.

If you search for an "electrician", Google does not recognize the search intent female, male and diverse. The "electrician" has indeed a much higher search volume than the "electrician" - the electrician is also stereotypically anchored in many heads as a"men's profession".

On the other hand, the keyword "nurse" has a higher search volume than the "nurse". Nevertheless, significantly more pages are indexed for the search term "nurse".

A simple tip at this point:

Use the colon and the word stem remains (which is not the case with every keyword). Google recognizes the generic masculine and you have your keyword placed.

Example where it works: Employee:inside

Example where it doesn't work: Customer:inside

If "customer" is an important keyword for you, then choose the dual naming and write "male and female customer".

The topic SEO & Gendering is definitely far more complex, but this should not discourage from the use of gender-sensitive language. In December 2021, John Mueller spoke about inclusive language, saying that the Google algorithm learns from the changing search behavior of users.

Further tips for gendering, which will help you

• Tip 1: Pay attention to the frequency of gender signs
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  ⁠A rule of thumb can be derived from the Council for German Spelling. This says that max. 1-2 gender signs should be used per paragraph to ensure a pleasant reading flow.
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• Tip 2: Don't be afraid of Anglicisms
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  ⁠"User" and "follower" are gender-neutral terms in English. If we add these words in German, they become Anglicisms. As Anglicisms are included in the Duden and mean a person or profession, they are also consistently gendered.
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  Example: User and user, manager and manager. Follower and follower

• Tip 3: Please use the plural
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  ⁠In gender-sensitive language, problems arise when you want to use the singular. Gender signs belong not only in the noun itself, but also between the set articles. The masculine article comes first. This can look very complicated.
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  ⁠With the plural, gender signs can be used without any problems, because the articles for the masculine and feminine noun are the same from the 1st case (nominative) to the 4th case (accusative). So here you only need the gender sign between the word stem and the feminine ending.

• Tip 4: Avoid syllable separation
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  ⁠Special characters in connection with a syllable separation can obstruct the reading flow. Better swap words within a sentence, lengthen or shorten the sentence, and thus avoid syllable separation.

Tools that will help you implement it

The following tools will simplify the application of gender-sensitive language.

• Termlabs.io: With the SERP Genderings function, termlabs shows you whether your competition is already gendered and how often these forms are used in the content.
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• Office Add-in genderapp: The add-in for Microsoft Word indicates all places in your texts that were not formulated in gender-sensitive way and offers alternatives that you can insert by click.
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• fairlanguage: Fairlanguage offers an auto-correction tool for all browsers' web applications and a browser extension for Chrome. Here you can copy texts into the input field and have them checked for gender-sensitive language. You have different alternatives to select from.
  
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• The Online Gender Dictionary : Geschicktgendern.de suggests neutral terms for you for generically masculine people designations. The online dictionary is constantly expanded and can greatly help when you can't think of a neutral designation.