Municipal guidelines enable inclusive language with a gender star

The city of Lucerne is thus making a contribution to linguistic and actual equality, a fundamental right to which all people are equally entitled, the city council announced on Monday. By updating the existing guidelines, the postulate "Urban communication must include, not exclude" from 2020 has also been implemented.

According to the press release, the updated guidelines now also allow spelling with a gender star. It also provides examples of inclusive forms of address, forms, job advertisements and stereotype-free images and events.

According to the city council, there are texts from the city of Lucerne that must comply with legal regulations. This applies to texts that are published in the systematic collection of laws, such as regulations and ordinances. "For reasons of legal certainty, the gender star may not be used there," writes the City Council. Furthermore, it is not permitted in city council resolutions, reports and motions as well as voting brochures.

With the decision to use the gender star, the city of Lucerne is following the example of the cities of Zurich and Bern, which have already introduced the gender star in administrative communication. The gender star is currently the most common special symbol for gender diversity, writes the city council. The guidelines for inclusive language will be available online from September 1.