Gender-Neutral Language Enforcement

This rule enforces the use of gender-neutral language by flagging gendered pronouns and constructions in text. Its purpose is to promote inclusive writing that doesn't make assumptions about gender or exclude readers based on gender identity. Using gender-neutral language helps make documentation more welcoming and accessible to all readers while avoiding potential bias.

Examples of what gets flagged:

❌ "The user can modify his settings"
❌ "When she clicks the button..."
❌ "The developer should check his/her code"
❌ "S/he must enter credentials"
❌ "(s)he will receive an email"

These should be rewritten using gender-neutral alternatives like:

✅ "Users can modify their settings"
✅ "When you click the button..."
✅ "Developers should check their code"
✅ "They must enter credentials"
✅ "The user will receive an email"

The rule is case-insensitive and will catch these gendered terms whether they appear in lowercase or uppercase text.

Rule Source

This rule comes from: https://github.com/nuclio/nuclio

Rule Definition

# Copyright 2024 The Nuclio Authors.
#
# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
# You may obtain a copy of the License at
#
#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
#
# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
# limitations under the License.
#
extends: existence
message: "Use a gender-neutral pronoun instead of '%s'."
level: error
ignorecase: true
tokens:
  - he/she
  - s/he
  - \(s\)he
  - \bhe\b
  - \bhim\b
  - \bhis\b
  - \bshe\b
  - \bher\b