Harald Lesch goes on the trail of gender research. Is the call for “gender-neutral” language really just ideology or is there something to it scientifically after all? Because research shows: language shapes the way we perceive reality. These are indications that gender-neutral language can actually contribute to less discrimination and more equality.

And it’s not just our language that is male-dominated. Especially in technology, gender blindness can have deadly consequences for women. Women are almost twice as likely as men to be seriously injured in a traffic accident. The reason: cars are still predominantly designed for the “male model” in terms of safety technology.

Also in medical research, too little attention has been paid to gender-related diversity. For example, more and more studies show that men have a significantly higher risk of dying from viral diseases – including Covid-19.
Whether in language, traffic safety or medical research – in many areas, the “gender” factor plays a much more important role than previously assumed. In his new episode, Harald Lesch explores the question of what reasons there are to take the “sex” or “gender” factor into account much more than has been the case to date.

WRITER & DIRECTOR: Jakob Kneser     CAMERA: Martin Göbel, Marc Riemer, Steffen Bohn, Scott Lakey     EDITOR: Alina Krischke     SOUND: Marcel Timm, Christoph Mohr, Nic Jones     COMMISSIONING EDITOR: Christina Schrader (ZDF), Christiane Götz-Sobel (ZDF)