Why you should stop saying “guys”
We can all acknowledge that there is a gender gap in the workforce — specifically engineering. Women make up less than 30% of the tech workforce even though they account for ~52% of all humans. Given this gap, it is important to have a culture that supports equalization. Sexism is so ingrained in the English language that we don’t even recognize it. Consider how your daily language centers men: “manmade”, “mankind”, “chairman”, “firemen”. This language is an indicator and a reinforcer of a culture where ‘man’ is primary.
Take the example of saying “good job guys” to a team of mixed genders. If you think “you guys” is gender-neutral try saying “you gals” to a group of men and women. Or try asking a straight man how many “guys” he’s slept with. Calling a group of men ‘ladies’ would be considered a gendered insult so why is it culturally accepted the other way around?
Studies show that masculine words prompt people to think of men. A masculine bias remains even when language/imagery is used in a gender-neutral context. A gender-neutral profile avatar (such as a smiley face) is often perceived to be masculine if the gender is unapparent. The image at the top of this page is a screenshot of Google’s material icons using the search “person”. Look at each icon in the screenshot and ask yourself if you could associate it with being feminine or if it feels inherently masculine.
So when someone says “good job guys” to a mixed team it is subconsciously veiling the women and their presence. In male-dominated fields women already often feel marginalized and the masculine language reinforces this male-centric industry.
Using alternatives to “guys” requires very little effort when referring to a mixed-gender group so WHY NOT replace “you guys” with “you all”, “folks”, or “y’all”?
Although this article is titled “Why you should stop saying ‘guys’.” I don’t expect you to cut it out of your vocabulary entirely. A group of men can still be referred to as ‘guys’, but please be more mindful when referring to a mixed-gendered group - especially in a workplace or professional setting or while celebrating the success of a group. There is no downside of replacing ‘guys’ with another word but there are implications when you use this gendered pronoun in different contexts.
