English does not have grammatical gender in the way some other languages do and most nouns (e.g., lecture, timetable, desk, whiteboard) have no gender and are referred to with the pronoun it. However, some of the nouns that describe or name humans and animals (mother, father, wife, husband, duchess, duke, drake, duck, doe, buck, hind, stag) are often referred to with gender-specific pronouns and, in this section, we encourage writers to use language that is respectful of human gender, whether it is binary or non-binary. In other words, we recommend adopting gender-inclusive language and using vocabulary that is unmarked for gender when gender is unknown or not relevant. In this regard, we follow the guidelines of the European Institute for Gender Equality and the American Psychological Association.
Recommended citation:
«Guidelines: Gender» [en línia]. A: Llibre d’estil de la Universitat de Barcelona. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. Serveis Lingüístics. <https://www.ub.edu/llibre-estil/criteri.php?id=2249> [consulta: 21 novembre 2024].