Referential means in German: an experimental study comparing feminine epicene nouns with masculine generic nouns

Abstract We conducted a study on how people refer to gender-neutral, grammatically feminine role or job nouns in German, like “die Lehrkraft” (the teacher [fem.]), and compared it to masculine role or job nouns, like “der Lehrer” (the teacher [masc.]). We found that people use different pronouns depending two factors: the grammatical gender of the nouns and the social gender associated with these nouns, that means how gender-typical these nouns are perceived to be. Our results showed that grammatically masculine role or job nouns were almost always referred to with masculine pronouns. In contrast, grammatically feminine role or job nouns were more often referred to in ways that could apply to any gender. We take this as support that these terms have a gender-neutral interpretation. We conclude that grammatically feminine, gender-neutral role or job nouns are better for being inclusive in German than masculine role or job titles, which tend to have a male bias. This research is important to anyone in the German-speaking community striving for gender equality.