Open Letter on the Government Declaration of the Bavarian State Government under Markus Söder of December 5, 2023

In his „Government Program of the Future „1, Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder announced: „For Bavaria, one thing is certain: with us, there will be no mandatory way to adjust language to gender justice. We will even prohibit it in schools and administrations.“

The planned ban on inclusive language clearly contradicts the rights guaranteed in the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany and the General Equal Treatment Act. At least since the Personal Status Act (PstG) § 22 para. 3 from 2018, it has also been expressly decided in law that there are more than two genders. That is why we emphasize, in line with Germany’s constitution (e.g. Article 2 & 3) to express ourselves, in all spheres of societal interaction, in a way that does justice to all genders. This is the only way that language can take gender diversity into account. There are various linguistic solutions for this, which have already been successfully implemented in many areas of the society and are appreciated by many people. The German language was and is alive. It is part and parcel of our changing democratic society, which includes rather than excludes. A ban is a step backwards and contradicts our constitutionally enshrined principles of equality. We call on Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder to give schools, universities and administrations the freedom to employ language in a way that secures equal treatment for all. 

  1. https://www.bayern.de/damit-bayern-stark-und-stabil-bleibt-regierungsprogramm-der-zukunft/?seite=5468 (German) ↩︎

Update

Statement on the cabinet decision of the Bavarian State Government of March 19, 2024 regarding gender-appropriate language (German)


To sign this open letter, please return to the German version and the signature form.