CAR Input Question - Gender-Neutral and Inclusive Language

At WSC 2026, conference participants will spend time discussing this issue. To help inform the discussion, please spend some time at your CAR workshop discussing this question, and provide us with your feedback by 1 April 2026.

For the purposes of these questions, we intend to focus on gender-neutral language in NA literature as described in the CAR essay—changes in the language that describes people (members and potential members), not language that describes a Higher Power. These changes in wording—from “men and women” to “people,” for instance—don’t change the meaning of the message in our literature; they allow more people to identify with it. Issues of the wording of our Steps and Traditions are for a future discussion.

The complete essay can be found in the Conference Agenda Report (CAR) at na.org/conference.

For a workshop outline on this topic and information on the other Issue Discussion Topics this cycle, visit na.org/idt/current-issue-discussion-topics/.