Exploring perceptions of inclusivity through gender-inclusive language in university settings: A qualitative study among academic staff and gender-diverse students

Abstract

Gender-inclusive language has increasingly been recognised as a key dimension of equity and inclusion in higher education. However, limited research has explored how such language is understood, experienced, and enacted within everyday university teaching contexts, particularly from the perspectives of both academic staff and gender-diverse students. Guided by Gender Minority Stress Theory (GMST), this qualitative study examines how gender-inclusive language shapes experiences of safety, belonging, and participation in a university setting in Aotearoa New Zealand. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with academic staff, and focus groups and individual interviews with gender-diverse students at the University of Waikato. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed to explore participants’ perceptions and practices related to gender-inclusive language in teaching and institutional contexts. The findings suggest that while many staff members express commitment to inclusive language, its implementation is uneven and often constrained by institutional structures and pedagogical norms. Gender-diverse students’ accounts highlight both affirming experiences and ongoing instances of misrecognition and minority stress, illustrating the gap between institutional intentions and lived realities.

Through the lens of GMST, the study demonstrates that gender-inclusive language functions as both a protective factor and a potential stressor. By bringing student and staff perspectives into dialogue, the research underscores the need for inclusion to be understood not merely as individual practice but as a collective and institutionally supported responsibility. The study foregrounds language as a critical site of inclusion and exclusion and offers practical recommendations for teaching practice and institutional policy, suggesting that sustainable inclusion requires structurally embedded approaches that move beyond symbolic commitments towards transformative change in university cultures and practices.