Forbidden words in diverse and inclusive companies
The routine office language can be harmful and prevent companies to get a truly inclusive culture. We need to make a list of forbidden words and find neutral alternatives to biased expressions, four researchers advise. “To create a truly inclusive culture, it’s critical that you take a hard look at how people in all areas of your company are using language”, the authors write presenting their research in the Harvard Business Review.
”To create a truly inclusive culture, it’s critical that you take a hard look at how people in all areas of your company are using language”, the researchers write and present four ways companies can secure that they use a language that promotes diversity and inclusion.
One example is gender-biased terms that favour male involvement and symbolize male dominance are common in the workplace, despite the availability of gender-neutral alternatives, they say recommending not to use for instance “chairman” when “chair” says what needs to be said.
”Until very recently, few would have raised an eyebrow if “blacklisted” was used to describe a rejection while “whitelisted” was used to describe approval.”
Their four recommendations to make sure the company useses a language that is diverse:
1. Review job postings to ensure language neutrality.
Job postings often contain non-neutral language that attracts certain types of applicants and repels others. For example, simply using the word “competitive” has been shown to deter more women than men from applying for a job.
Make sure recruiters and hiring managers slow down and pay attention to the language they use when drafting job postings, with an eye toward removing non-neutral terms. To help with this review process, new artificial intelligence products are becoming available, and Google is already offering their everyday users help with gender-neutral language by suggesting alternatives to gendered terms.
2. Create a list of words that are forbidden in product development.
Maintain an evolving list of barred words for the product development cycle, including terms like “the elderly,” “manhours,” “bugger,” or “crazy,” with consideration also given to catchphrases that reinforce unhelpful stereotypes. Then, create checkpoints in the product cycle to regularly screen for those terms and phrases to catch them early.
3. Create a guide to inclusive language.
Adapting to the use of inclusive language offers us a chance to grow and become better communicators. It also helps leaders and employees become better allies. Pair internal company guidance that includes practical, accessible tips that can be put into immediate action (for example, an inclusive vocabulary reference guide) with straightforward tools, such as the “inclusive language” feature available in Microsoft Office, which suggests neutral alternatives to biased language used in professional communications. These guides and tools should be used in tandem with one another, be easily accessible to employees, and allow for input and co-creation across the organization.
4. Leverage the messenger effect.
Choose ambassadors who are highly visible in the company to support your inclusive language initiatives. These may be colleagues who are at the top of the organization or those who have ample soft power. Having a visible person take an action makes others much more likely to follow suit.
”As you craft your company’s inclusive language plans, be aware that best practices are constantly changing. An approach that is inspired and informed by people across all levels of the organization can help you stay current with the latest language evolutions and preferences. It will also put you on the right foot to get ahead and lead in this important movement”, the researchers write.
The four are: Odessa S. Hamilton is a TII behavioral science researcher at the LSE. Lindsay Kohler is an applied behavioral scientist who holds an MSc in behavioral science from the LSE Elle Bradley Cox is an editorial consultant at employee engagement consultancy, scarlettabbott. Grace Lordan is an associate professor in behavioral science at the LSE.
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