Recent experiments have shown that speaking a foreign language can make people think and behave differently. But we don’t have to learn new languages to understand the power they exert over our perceptions of identity and reality. Ultimately, we are what we speak.

Here are 10 principles that could serve as the foundation for a culture of gender-responsive communications at UNDP and other development agencies and actors.

Related publications:

• Speaking gender: 10 communications principles to show you care about gender equality