The automotive group Audi is converting its internal and external communication to gender-neutral language.
The guide is heavily discussed on Twitter.
Ingolstadt - “Vorsprung durch Technik”, this striking advertising slogan was designed in 1971 for the upper mid-range sedan NSU Ro 80 and has continued to exist as a kind of guiding principle from Audi ever since.
In the meantime, the automobile manufacturer has even had its slogan protected under trademark law in Europe.
Half a century later, a similar sentence appears from the manufacturer from Ingolstadt: “The head start begins in the head”.
However, this is not a marketing campaign, but the title of a thirteen-page document that aims to ensure more gender-sensitive language at Audi.
Audi: Audians become Audians
As the
Augsburger Allgemeine
reports, the document consists of guidelines for internal and external communication that have been in effect since March 1st.
Accordingly, from now on employees should use terms that bypass the generic masculine or supplement terms with an underscore.
For example, Audi employees become Audi employees.
According to the report, the guideline was created within a year in cooperation with the organization Prout at Work, which, according to its own statements, is committed to a "visible, tangible and tangible public of LGBT * IQ in the workplace".
"Appreciation, openness, responsibility and integrity are the basis of our corporate culture, and we make this clear in our language," said Sabine Maaßen, board member of Audi AG of the newspaper.
The automobile manufacturer is taking a different path than the parent company Volkswagen, which does not yet use gender-neutral language in its public communication, but is currently checking this, according to the
Augsburger Allgemeine
.
Audi: “Gendergaga” discussions on Twitter
The thirteen-page guide generated even more pages of discussion on Twitter.
Under the hashtag “Gendergaga”, which is currently number 1 among the German trends (March 2nd, 2021), things went well.
The reactions are clearly divided into two camps.
Some refer to the guideline as crazy or “gender gaga” and call for a boycott, including many very angry users.
The user @sciencefiles reacts to the decision with the words “Vorsprung durch ideological ass creeping”.
The others complain about what they consider to be a homogeneous group of white, cis-male boomers who would only think of themselves in their criticism: “Welcome to boomer land, where old males are upset about gendering,” says one example the user @moonchildclari.
Occasionally, the moment is used on Twitter to express further criticism of the Audi company.
The user @ serendipity_913 writes “It's cool that Audi wants to change.
It would be even cooler not to design the cars in such a way that women have a higher risk of injury and accidents in them ”.
(live)