"Guys."
The ?? ?? ???global term to describe a group of people is thrown around town like it's going out of fashion. "Hey guys," "so guys," "um, guys." Guys, guys and more guys. In almost every context it is considered a gender-neutral term.
This hasn't stopped one man -- Australian of the year, no less -- from saying enough is enough. Using the term "guys" is an inherent gender bias that you need to rid yourself of, according to ex-Army chief David Morrison.
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A new ad campaign by the Diversity Council Australia, for which Morrison is the chairman, has taken aim at the words we use in the workplace. It goes without saying that some of the offensive words mentioned in the ad -- which we won't repeat here -- should never be used in life, let alone the workplace.
"It's a proven fact that more diverse workforces create more diverse thinking and are more productive, more effective," Morrison told the ABC. "One way you can engender that kind of environment is to be careful about how you speak to other people, talking to them with respect and listening to their views with respect."
The campaign calls to attention our use of inappropriate language in the office, with one scene showing a woman calling a party "gay" and another where a group of women are referred to as "girls." All terrible ideas.
Unfortunately, on ABC News Breakfast, Morrison took his mission a step too far. Despite saying the Diversity Council is not trying to be the "language police," he admitted he had stopped using the term "guys" in his everyday conversations and well, you should too. This is despite the majority of people assuming it as a gender-neutral term.
"I have removed that from my lexicon, as best I can. I think it is important," Morrison told the ABC.
"These are little things but a lot of the research done by the diversity council has shown these tap drips of exclusive language, gender-based language, or inappropriate language has as much deleterious or disadvantaged effect as something where you're saying something blatantly inappropriate to another human being."
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and supporter of "hey guys" came to the party not long after. She said analysing the use of words such as "guys" was perhaps a step too far. "I don't think we should try and interfere with the freedom of speech in this country to a point where people are too concerned about day-to-day conversations," she said.
In good news, there is an Australian solution the rest of the world can learn from. Youse good with that?
This is an excellent opportunity to reintroduce "youse" as a good Aussie gender neutral phrase #wordsatwork #bringyouseback
— Juanita Phillips (@Juanita_Phillip) June 1, 2016
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