Dhe dispute about gender-appropriate language at Audi goes to the next instance. The car manufacturer, which belongs to the Volkswagen Group, requires its employees to use specific gender forms in written communication. A Volkswagen process manager sued against this, but was defeated by the Ingolstadt district court and has now appealed the verdict. “The procedure has been received here and bears the file number 21 U 5235/22,” said the Munich Higher Regional Court on Thursday. The plaintiff’s lawyer initially did not comment.
The plaintiff sees his general personal rights violated by work instructions with formulations such as “The BSM expert is a qualified specialist”. The district court of Ingolstadt did not agree. The VW employee does not have to actively follow the gender guidelines at Audi, and merely being passively affected is not enough. The presiding judge had declared that he had no right “to be left alone”. Audi sees the language requirements as a sign of equality and an expression of gender diversity.
Gender Guide
Specifically, the plaintiff is concerned with a guideline that Audi introduced last March on gender-appropriate language in internal and external communication in order to “contribute to better visibility of gender diversity”. This refers, for example, to neutral speeches such as “manager” instead of “boss” or to an underscore between the male and female form, for example Audi employees. This notation is called the gender gap. The plaintiff had asked to be “left alone” in written communications using gender language, as his attorney put it in June.
However, Audi welcomed the verdict and said: “It strengthens our decision to have introduced gender-sensitive language in internal and external written communication.” This is the expression of a visible, positive attitude towards diversity and equal opportunities, said the car manufacturer from Ingolstadt With.
