“[Gender is not] synonymous with sex. Gender refers to a person’s social identity while sex refers to biological characteristics. Not all people fall under one of two categories for sex or gender … so avoid references to both, either or opposite sexes or genders as a way to encompass all people.” —AP Stylebook, March 24, 2017

In many cases, the problem of the awkward and binary his/her and he/she constructions can be avoided by casting the sentence in the plural. He or she can access his or her transcript becomes They can access their transcripts. Use the same standards for men and women when deciding whether to mention personal appearance or marital and family status. Never use “s/he.”

Helpful techniques on achieving gender-neutral language are available in the Chicago Manual of Style, Section 5.225.

New in 2017:
Making a Case for the Singular ‘They’ (AP Stylebook, March 24, 2017)
Stylebooks finally embrace the single ‘they’ (Columbia Journalism Review, March 27, 2017)

Also see Word List and Usage A–Z in the appendix:
A: actor, actress
C: chair
F: freshman, freshmen
G: gay
H: he/she, his/her; he and she, his and her
L: lesbian, LGBT, LGBTQ
P: -persons
S: sculptor; spokesman, spokesperson
T: trangender, transsexual

Updated April 27, 2017