Why should you use gender neutral adjectives?
Did you know they affect people’s behavior (e.g., in everyday language, interview questions, job ads, etc.)? Therefore, using them helps you avoid words that might be interpreted as biased, discriminating, or degrading.
So, here’s a comprehensive list of gender neutral adjectives to help you create more balanced job ads (or any other type of content).
170 Examples of Gender Neutral Adjectives
- able
- accomplished
- accountable
- accurate
- ace
- adaptable
- adept
- advanced
- agile
- ambitious
- amiable
- amicable
- appreciative
- approachable
- articulate
- astute
- attentive
- authoritative
- broad-minded
- calculating
- capable
- clever
- cogent
- coherent
- cohesive
- commendable
- communicative
- comparative
- competent
- complex
- comprehensive
- confidential
- conscientious
- consistent
- cooperative
- cordial
- courteous
- credible
- creative
- cutting-edge
- curious
- dedicated
- dependable
- detail-oriented
- detailed
- devoted
- dexterous
- diligent
- diplomatic
- discerning
- disciplined
- diverse
- dynamic
- earnest
- easygoing
- educated
- elegant
- effective
- eloquent
- energetic
- empowered
- energized
- engaging
- enterprising
- ethical
- enthusiastic
- exact
- excellent
- exceptional
- exemplary
- experienced
- extensive
- fast-learner
- fast-learning
- first-class
- flexible
- fluent
- focused
- forward-thinking
- fueled
- genuine
- groundbreaking
- guided
- hardworking
- harmonious
- industrious
- independent
- ingenious
- innovative
- insightful
- inspired
- inspiring
- intelligent
- inventive
- investigative
- keen
- judicious
- knowledgeable
- legitimate
- lively
- methodical
- logical
- meticulous
- mindful
- motivated
- multi-faceted
- multi-tasker
- novel
- open-minded
- orderly
- organized
- oriented
- outgoing
- passionate
- patient
- perceptive
- persistent
- personable
- persuasive
- positive
- practical
- precise
- pragmatic
- pro
- proactive
- process-oriented
- productive
- professional
- proficient
- progressive
- prolific
- proven
- purposeful
- qualified
- quick-thinking
- receptive
- relentless
- reliable
- reputable
- resourceful
- respected
- respectful
- results-oriented
- revolutionary
- rigorous
- robust
- savvy
- seasoned
- self-starter
- self-motivated
- shrewd
- sincere
- skilled
- skillful
- sociable
- solid
- sophisticated
- sound
- specialist
- specialized
- spirited
- steadfast
- steady
- step by step
- strategic
- structured
- systematic
- supportive
- tactful
- talented
- team-minded
- technical
- team-oriented
- tenacious
- thorough
- tolerant
- trained
- true
- unique
- unprecedented
- veteran
- vigorous
- versatile
- well-grounded
- visionary
- well-versed
- well-rounded
- world-class
- zealous
5 Examples of Gender Neutral Adjectives
Writing 100% gender-neutral is still a new concept. So, that means creating job ads with ZERO male- or female-coded words.
I also found a few examples of brands doing this to give you inspiration. And I bolded the gender neutral adjectives, so they’re easy to find:
1. Job Ad Qualifications
Microsoft uses 4 gender neutral adjectives in the “Qualifications” section of their Technical Account Manager job ad. I bolded them for easier reading:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience preferred (Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or Digital Marketing).
- Highly skilled in interacting with sales teams and technical stakeholders and translating complex requirements into appropriate solutions.
- Exemplary communicator with excellent written and oral business communication skills.
2. A Mission Statement
Intuitive Surgical‘s mission statement uses the gender neutral adjective “intelligent” to describe their technology:
“We believe that minimally invasive care is life-enhancing care. By combining ingenuity and intelligent technology, we expand the potential of physicians to heal without constraints.”
3. “About Us” in Job Ads
SimpleHealth uses the gender neutral adjective “passionate” in the About Us section for their Growth Marketing Manager role:
“SimpleHealth is on a mission to reduce unnecessary doctor visits and save patients time and money. Come be part of a bright and passionate team that loves to solve hard problems and seeks to drive down spiraling healthcare costs. We have a diverse culture rooted in honesty and transparency, and we know that each voice matters.”
4. A Career Page Tagline
HPE‘s career site tagline “Make Your Mark” is supported by the gender neutral adjective “relentless” when they talk about their commitment (to their employees):
“Hewlett Packard Enterprise advances the way people live and work. What sets us apart? Our people. Our people’s relentless commitment to partner, innovate, and act.”
5. Company “Beliefs”
Snap uses the gender neutral adjective “consistent” in its diversity report, referring to removing hate speech from their product:
“We believe there is no place for racism and hate speech on our platform and the way we have designed our platform from the beginning is consistent with that belief.”
Gender Neutral Adjectives (for job ads)
Using gender neutral adjectives in job ads helps you reach a more broad and balanced set of applicants. Unfortunately, gender-coded words often find their way into job ads.
For example, using too many male-coded words in your computer programmer job description may discourage equally talented women software engineers.
Also, if you use too many female-coded adjectives in your nurse job posting, you may turn away qualified male nurses.
Tip:
Removing male- and female-coded words from job ads boosts your apply rate (by 29%) and decreases cost per application (by 41%).
(source: Appcast — The Impact of Gendered Wording on Candidate Attraction)
So, if your goal is to remove all gender-coded words, use this list of gender neutral adjectives to craft your job ads. I also put them into 10 categories (in alphabetical order) for easier reading:
| Gender Neutral Adjectives | Topics/Categories |
|---|---|
| amiable, amicable, approachable, articulate, coherent, cohesive, conscientious, cordial, diplomatic, eloquent, fluent, mindful, personable, persuasive, positive, proactive, tactful | communication |
| accomplished, ace, adept, advanced, authoritative, competent, educated, experienced, fast-learner, fast-learning, knowledgeable, multi-tasker, pro, professional, proficient, qualified, savvy, seasoned, skilled, skillful, specialist, specialized, technical, trained, veteran, well-versed | competence |
| clever, cutting-edge, elegant, first-class, forward-thinking, groundbreaking, ingenious, innovative, inspired, inspiring, inventive, novel, progressive, resourceful, revolutionary, sophisticated, talented, unique, unprecedented, world-class | creativity/innovation |
| accountable, commendable, confidential, consistent, credible, dependable, ethical, exemplary, genuine, legitimate, reliable, reputable, respected, sincere, steadfast, true, well-grounded | integrity |
| appreciative, approachable, easygoing, mindful, outgoing, patient, receptive, sociable | interpersonal |
| able, cogent, engaging, excellent, exceptional, proven, robust, solid, sound, steady | leadership |
| accurate, astute, calculating, complex, detail-oriented, detailed, discerning, exact, insightful, intelligent, investigative, methodical, meticulous, orderly, organized, perceptive, practical, precise, process-oriented, purposeful, rigorous, shrewd, step by step, strategic, structured, systematic, thorough | organization/problem-solving |
| conscientious, cooperative, courteous, harmonious, respectful, team-minded, tolerant | team player/teamwork |
| agile, broad-minded, capable, comprehensive, dexterous, diverse, extensive, flexible, multi-faceted, open-minded, quick-thinking, resourceful | versatility |
| comparative, dedicated, devoted, diligent, disciplined, dynamic, earnest, energetic, energized, enterprising, focused, fueled, guided, hardworking, industrious, inspired, keen, lively, motivated, oriented, passionate, persistent, productive, prolific, relentless, results-oriented, self-starter, spirited, tenacious, vigorous, zealous | work ethic |
ONGOING ADVANCES IN GENDER-NEUTRAL LANGUAGE
Gender identity awareness has become more widespread in recent years. Thus, shaping social interactions, workplace norms, and jobseeker expectations as they prioritize more inclusive cultures.
In addition, academics, like the language experts from the Centre for Women’s, Gender, Identity, and Queer History, a department of the University of Oxford, continue to develop insights into the practice of gender-inclusive language.
So, the good news is that unlike other syntax structures (e.g., Romantic languages), English uses neutral word forms that streamline inclusive communication. In comparison, Spanish speakers, for example, must conform to fundamental gender agreement modifiers that complicate inclusive communication.
Increased language awareness can also progressively eliminate gender biases within AI systems. For example, scientists in research at the University of New York (NYU) identified masculine biases in 3 billion web pages.
Lead author April Bailey shared, “A.I. learns from us, and then we learn from it, And we’re kind of in this reciprocal loop.”
As such, normalizing gender-neutral adjectives in documents like JDs feeds AI training data with inclusive content to break the cycle.
THE IMPORTANCE OF GENDER-NEUTRAL ADJECTIVES IN RECRUITMENT
Gender-neutral hiring language makes roles/positions more appealing to a diverse talent pool. Therefore, your hiring managers can better connect with qualified candidates regardless of gender identity.
Using these adjectives alongside epicene nouns (e.g., job titles like “salesperson,” which avoids specific descriptions of male or female identities) can further engage different communities through the inclusivity of non-gendered language.
Advancing DEIB Campaigns
Findings from the Pew Research Center involving 5902 US workers share that 56% of employees value the importance of DEIB at the workplace.
Gender-neutral adjectives can also help advance your company’s DEIB initiatives. In particular, these enable recruiters and employers to avoid exclusionary terms that could discriminate against a candidate’s or team member’s gender identity.
RESOLVING GENDER BIAS IN JDS WITH TRUSTED AI
Ongig’s unique Text Analyzer software empowers HR professionals and recruiters to create gender-neutral JDs at scale. So, this AI-driven solution scans your JD content to reveal a gender bias score. Text Analyzer then determines the score by tracking instances of masculine and feminine words.
The software also suggests gender-neutral replacements and automatically rewrites JDs to boost talent acquisition. Your hiring and recruitment team could also leverage Text Analyzer’s gender bias detectors to target specific communities.
In addition, your team can use the Text Analyzer to include more female-coded words. Thus, increasing your CPA by 26%. The Text Analyzer also enhances JDs by accounting for key sections according to your recruitment campaigns.
For instance, studies show that women are 6.8% more interested in the Salary/Compensation section than men. Thus, it could prove advantageous to include and optimize the specific section when hiring for positions aimed at women applicants.
So, leveraging Text Analyzer’s organized and transparent process enables your company to promote inclusive work cultures and attract more talent. It can also enhance candidate experiences.
Use 100% Gender Neutral Adjectives
If you want to automate gender neutral adjectives, Ongig’s software does that for job descriptions (and other HR content). So, please request a demo for a free gender-neutrality report on your JDs.
This is a guest post from Gem Siocon. Gem is a digital marketer and freelance content writer. She specializes in HR, marketing, and B2B.
