Languages around the world are adopting gender inclusive language in an effort to promote gender equality, since previous studies have indicated gender exclusive language to have harmful effects on women. However, previous studies have mostly focused on natural and grammatical gender languages (e.g., English, German). Studies on genderless languages, like Finnish, are needed to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. FINGEL investigates ongoing changes in the use of gender exclusive and inclusive language in Finnish. To better understand these changes, the project also studies related language attitudes and investigates what kind of effects gender exclusive language has for individuals and society at large. By considering different perspectives and by utilizing diverse survey and corpus data, the project produces new, empirically supported knowledge, which can be utilized in policy making. The research is carried out at the University of Helsinki.

2024

2028