CEITEC – Central European Institute of Technology
Masaryk University
Kamenice 753/5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
www.ceitec.eu
Sensitive and Respectful Communication at CEITEC MU
Standards and recommendations for internal and external communication in English aimed for all
employees of the institute
CEITEC has long been committed to the principles of equal opportunities. This handbook is one
of the practical tools we use to improve our internal culture and our working environment.
Language is a reflection of the attitudes, behaviours and norms within a society. It also shapes
people’s attitudes as to what is ‘normal’ and acceptable.
Let's cultivate our communication together so that it does not exclude anyone and so that
it contributes to the creation of a better scientific environment. Research shows that women,
as well as people from other under-represented groups, are very often "invisible" in the scientific
environment and their contribution to research and innovation activities is undervalued. By using
sensitive communication, we will contribute to a realistic representation of the scientific
environment in its diversity.
More sensitive use of language can contribute to breaking down cultural stereotypes,
unintended prejudices, and in the long run can attract more girls and women to science
and keep them there, as well as help our foreign colleagues, both female and male, feel
comfortable at CEITEC MU.
The topic of sensitive communication (and equal opportunities in general) is now receiving a lot
of attention from the European Commission. An active policy and plan to promote equal
opportunities even forms a mandatory prerequisite for Horizon Europe projects, and bonus ratings
are available in other schemes. In terms of practical aspects, the use of sensitive language
can also help in the evaluation of your grant applications and other documents addressed
to the EU institutions and grant providers.
Research also shows that the use of sensitive communication contributes in the area of
recruitment. The language of an advertisement has great power to influence whether or
not a prospective candidate applies. Our experience with editing advertisements at CEITEC
MU shows that the use of sensitive language is appreciated by both female and male candidates.
Last but not least, it's something we can start using right away and it doesn't cost us anything.
General Principles and Recommendations
Whether you are writing a grant application, a team event invitation or a work email, we
recommend that you follow the standards and recommendations below. Using gender-sensitive
communication is largely about experience; we may grope and our language may feel machinelike
at first, but this will certainly improve with practice. In general, it is recommended that when
communicating, we remember to address everyone involved in the communication in a
balanced way.
If you are unsure whether your text contains gender stereotypes or unconscious preconceptions,
try the "Flip it to test it" exercise described in the box below. As well as being self-reflective, this
exercise is very entertaining at times 
TIP – Flip it to test it
Try to modify your prepared text (or pictures) by substituting women for men and vice versa. If
you don't like something about this and find it strange, then the text probably contains
stereotypes or unconscious biases.
Let's try to avoid the generic masculine - let's play with language
A generic masculine noun is a masculine noun “intended” to refer collectively to both men and
women.
» Avoiding stereotypes: Avoid gendered pronouns (he or she) when the person’s gender is
unknown.
» If the group we are writing or talking about includes both women and men, let's try to
avoid generic masculine.
Every man => Every person, Mankind => Humankind, Spokesman => Spokesperson
Let's contribute to better visibility of under-represented groups
» Let's contribute to better visibility of under-represented groups – in science, often women.
An example might be addressing or introducing women first, followed by men.
» You should be aware of the word order of your phrases and make sure that you are not
always putting the male version first.
Let's also communicate visually
» Similarly, the accompanying pictorial material can contribute to better visibility of an
under-represented group (for example, 21% of women in the position of research group
leaders), or to show the real situation (for example, at CEITEC MU, 46% of women are
employed in scientific positions).
Let's be consistent in addressing – a.k.a. “Honourable Professor, dear Amanda”
» Let's avoid the practice where men are addressed by titles and referred to by adjectives
such as esteemed or honourable, while women are addressed by first names,
automatically asked to prepare minutes or make coffee, even though it is not in their job
description.
Professional expertise takes precedence over gender / Avoid irrelevant
information about gender
» The term “woman” denotes sexuality. In gender-sensitive communication, it is not
important to draw attention to gender/sexuality. Instead of “women use the university
nursery”, it is appropriate to use, for example, “parents of young children” or “employees”.
» We recommend specifying the qualification or position according to the specific context,
e.g. director, lawyer, professor (in the feminine forms, if appropriate).
Let’s speak English
» CEITEC MU is proud to have a high proportion of scientists from abroad. It is important
to always communicate in English (or bilingually) if there is even one person among the
recipients of the communication who does not speak Czech. This applies both to written
communication (including e.g. minutes of meetings) and to verbal communication at
meetings or other gatherings.
Extra Tips and Recommendations For External Communication
» Let's shatter stereotypes – scientist = a white man in a white coat? This is related to
the visual side of communication. The aim is to present the most varied reflection of
reality, i.e. men and women, in different clothes, different ages, nationalities, different
environments.
» It's not just about focusing on women and promoting them at all costs! Campaigns
should have a broader focus - for example, support for caregivers of young children
(parents), presentation of different perspectives on scientific careers, the topic of
transparent working conditions, the contribution of team diversity to innovation potential,
work-life balance, mental health in science, etc.
» Let’s open equal opportunities topics both with women and men. Let's talk about
topics such as work-life balance, burnout prevention, psychological difficulties in
the academic environment, sexism, etc. Let’s not close our eyes to these topics. Let's ask
different people about these topics, regardless of their sex and gender, because equal
opportunities are everybody's business and persistent stereotypes harm not only women
but also men.
» Let's use women's surnames strictly in their original form (don't add the Czech
suffix “-ová” to foreign surnames). This not only shows respect, but also improves
their traceability in Internet texts and thus the readability of your presentations.
» Let's monitor the representation of our people. Women make up almost half of all
employees in scientific positions, so they should also be given sufficient space in external
communication. As a first step, gender-segregated data should be monitored (e.g. the
number of press releases that show a mixed group, only female scientists or only male
scientists) and then evaluated and compared with reality. For example, if we have 21%
of women as research group leaders, we cannot expect every second press release
depicting this group to feature a woman. On the other hand, if we have more than half
female PhD students, it is reasonable to expect that they will be portrayed at an
appropriate rate.
» Tips for social media. When using “emoji”, we should again take into account the
diversity of gender and/or ethnicity – while respecting the reality of CEITEC MU. It is not
the goal to pretend that we are more diverse than we actually are, but if we have different
groups of people working for us, let's try to represent them also in social media.
This handbook has been prepared using the texts “Rady pro obce, instituce i jednotlivé osoby: Jak lépe
komunikovat a propagovat vlastní i týmovou práci” (dvice for municipalities, institutions and individuals: how
to better communicate and promote your own and team work) (J. Valdrová, 2020) and “„Příručka pro užívání
genderově sensitivního jazyka v komunikaci TA ČR” (Handbook for the use of gender-sensitive language in
the communication of the TACR) (2016).
We would like to thank Jana Valdrová, an expert in gender-sensitive communication, and Marcel Kraus, one
of the initiators and authors of the handbook for the use of gender-sensitive communication within the TACR,
for their training and consultation.
Last but not least, we would like to express our gratitude to Timea Crofona and Pavla Rypáčková from the
National Contact Centre for Gender and Science at the Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences of
the Czech Republic for their consultation and revision of this handbook.