#GreetNeutrally Newsletter (04.22.20)

There's an old riddle. If you haven't heard it before, give yourself time to answer before reading past this paragraph:

”A father and son are in a terrible accident that unfortunately ends the father's life. The son is rushed to the hospital; just as he's about to undergo surgery, the surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy - he is my son!" Explain.”

If you haven't heard this before and it took you awhile to get to the right answer - that the surgeon is the boy's mother - don't feel bad. In one Boston University study, less than 15% of respondents got the right answer. Gender biases run deep, and they're the result of decades and centuries of socialization.

Part of this socialization lies in the language we use and hear. Language, including elements such as pronouns, gendered titles, and more - inform and reinforce gender stereotypes, as one 2016 study found. For example, referring to boys as “future scientists” while calling girls “future female scientists” can reduce girls’ sense that science is an appropriate profession for them. Why should girls even need to hear the word "female" in front of a profession or title? Other common offenders are "female CEO" and "female doctor." As research shows, despite good intentions, such language is not actually helping to advance gender equality.

Today, more than 70% of the global health workforce is made up of women, and yet studies and meta-analyses show that when children are asked to draw a doctor, more often than not, they draw a male (the percentages of children responding by drawing a female is going up, even if it's still not where it should be!). 

Moral of the story: we promote "Greet Neutrally" because our words shape our society. In the news, as we hear reports of business executives and elected officials who are trying to lead and navigate our economy and society through this pandemic, we still often see a masculine default. 

We don't think this is a small thing; it's hard to change deeply-ingrained language habits. We get it. Shifting to the gender-neutral "Representative" instead of "Congressman/Congresswomen" takes extra thought. Saying "Chair" or "Chairperson" instead of "Chairman/Chairwoman" might feel silly to some people. Reducing (or completely eliminating!) saying "you guys" in everyday language is hard, because it comes so naturally. But it matters.

If we want our future - and perhaps, our present - to be informed by equality, one simple step that we can start with is being mindful of the language that we use, and shifting towards neutrality wherever we can. Not just because we envision a gender-equal and inclusive world, but because we need every child (and adult!), regardless of gender, to see themselves as scientists, doctors, healthcare workers, elected officials, business executives, and beyond. You can make this happen. #GreetNeutrally.