On International Women's Day Charles Sturt University (CSU) academics are calling on people to reassess their use of gendered language to counter insidious sexism.

Dr Andreia Schineanu from CSU's School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Wagga Wagga said 8 March 2016, International Women's Day, is the perfect time to speak out about the important issue of gender equality.

"Because words are expressions of our thoughts, they can be used to reinforce reality even when it is sexist," she said.

"For example it makes a difference if I think of myself as the 'girlie' a plumber once called me or the 'woman' I actually am.

"One of the most insidious ways sexism is maintained and reinforced is through our language. Most sexist language arises from the assumption that everyone and everything is male such as 'mankind' or 'he' when we don't know the gender and words that refer to persons occupying a position: chairman, postman and fireman. We also have 'manpower', 'manmade' bridges and 'manning' the barracks."

"These kinds of words show and reinforce a gender unequal society in which 'man' is privileged over woman. While it's not a new idea to rethink this underlying gender stereotype it is still worth highlighting as it persists and the truth is it indicates that a woman is still considered 'less' in our society."

Dr Schineanu said gender equality referred to women and men having equal value in all aspects of life and therefore being treated equally.

"Unfortunately, while things have improved, the reality for women today is that their worth in society is tied to their physical attractiveness and they are sexualised in the media," she said.

"Women continue to be mainly responsible for domestic duties even when they work outside the home, are discriminated against because of their pregnancies or children, and experience significantly more violence in the home than men. Women also earn less than men and experience social and cultural norms that restrict their access to services and their ability to participate in leadership and business roles.

"While we need to make many changes to achieve gender equality, our language is one small but impactful thing we can work on right now. It is easier to start saying 'chairperson' instead of 'chairman' or 'humankind' instead of 'mankind', than to change the wage gap tomorrow.

"Today on International Women's Day I call on people to think next time before they speak, and realise that even a small change when said enough times by enough people will improve women's value in our society and will be a small step towards closing the gender inequality gap."