The Influence of Language: Why ‘Guys’ isn’t Just a Word

Influence

Why has this become the default term for addressing a group?

I hate it. In fact I tend to counter by calling people ‘Gals’, much to my children’s embarrassment. I don’t mean to be overly PC, but this type of male-orientated language has an effect. Even if it’s subtle, what it’s reinforcing is the idea that men are the norm, the default, the most ‘seen’ in the group.

Why do I think this is important? Because we need to be more mindful about accelerating our efforts toward gender equality, and we can start with language.

Two statistics I read recently blew my mind: 

The World Economic Forum’s estimate that we won’t achieve full gender parity globally for another 134 years, until 2158, and the United Nations’ report, “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2022”, which says that full gender equality may not be realised for nearly 300 years!

That could mean that we women won’t get equality for at least 10 generations. That’s sobering!

I had a really positive experience on International Women’s Day watching some clients facilitate a panel discussion on women in the food industry. They’re a catering company, @Dinner Ladies who’ve set up a forum to support and promote women in the sector, acknowledging how male-dominated much of it is.

But we need more than one day a year to focus on the need for change.

We need more of us pushing for these types of initiatives, to collaborate together, and come up with strategies for challenging the status quo. 

What does equity in the workplace look like? How can we challenge the leadership to create alternative policies that offer transparent promotion criteria and flexible work arrangements?

For this we need to encourage everyone to take responsibility, not making it about women vs men, but about all of us working together to create the change which will be a win/win for all.

They say that even the most introverted of us will influence 10,000 people in our lifetime. So think about the influence you have, starting with your word choice.

Perhaps it’s time to ditch the ‘Guys’ and choose a more inclusive term?