What is inclusive language? And why should I care?

When writing, whether professionally or personally, have you ever asked yourself if you are really addressing the full diversity of your target audience? Are you making sure your language is tapping into that economic and social potential?

With recent social movements and a more conscious look at our population, many people and businesses have become aware that our social and business world is indeed very diverse. For many companies, investing in diversity and inclusion has become a business imperative. Every work environment must take into account many different dimensions of diversity - ethnic backgrounds, skin color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical and mental abilities, age, socioeconomic differences, religious beliefs, education, culture, and more.

How we deal with these different dimensions of diversity is commercially relevant for any company. Our customers are not a homogeneous group and respond to marketing messages very differently depending on the diversity dimension. And our existing or potential workforce has different needs depending on their background.

So how do we deal with these complexities as a company? Or as individuals in our business relationships?

Many companies conduct training on diversity or unconscious bias. Unfortunately, science has found (1) that such trainings often have no effect. Sometimes they are even counterproductive because people are pushed into a defensive position. Others use the issue as a political battleground, making learning impossible.

People who dare to draw attention to a more conscious approach to a particular diversity dimension have to expose themselves. This can even be detrimental to their career within the company. Or they may be criticized by colleagues for their commitment.

Therefore, neither training nor individual measures seem to be a good strategy when a company needs to ensure that the dimensions of diversity are taken into account.

Language is what matters

One tool we use every day is language. Language expresses our ideas about life. We use language to describe the world around us, our feelings and our goals.

Words trigger images in our mind's eye. These images are then associated with our own experiences or patterns in life. So it makes a difference which words we use, because they have the power to trigger certain images. This also means that language plays an active role in shaping our views. It is not a mere symptom of our environment, but it shapes reality. Language is not neutral. (If you want to read more about unconscious bias and bias in language, read our blog post.)

Here's a little riddle so you can experience for yourself how words can trigger images and lead you in the wrong direction:

Read this story.

A father and son are driving together in a car and have a ghastly car accident. The father is killed instantly. The son is rushed to the hospital and immediately taken to the operating room. The nurse takes a quick look at him and says that a specialist should be consulted. The person in question comes in, sees the young man on the operating table, and says, "I can't operate on him, he's my son."

Who says this last sentence? (Find the answer at the end of this blog post).

Science has found (2) that the language we use today unfortunately still contains many stereotypes from days long gone. In our business communication, we still transport - mostly unintentionally - very old stereotypes in which slavery was still acceptable, women did not belong in public spaces, and people with physical disabilities were constantly insulted.

But that's a big difference from today's world. We want to communicate in a way that speaks to and engages people from diverse backgrounds. We want to speak a language that fits a diverse and inclusive world. But our own language, based on unconscious biases, plays tricks on us without us realizing it. Both as individuals and as organizations, we remain trapped in the past.

Inclusive language as a solution

If we care about that, we need to care about our language use.

Take the Inuit, for example. They have many words for different kinds of snow because snow has such a big impact on their lives. For them, it's important to call the different types of snow by specific names. They expanded their vocabulary because they cared about something. We should do the same. We should make our language inclusive - showing that we care about the people we now want to include.

And that solution is called inclusive language - a more consciously chosen language that can appeal to everyone. Wikipedia defines inclusive language this way:

"Inclusive language aims to avoid offense and fulfill the ideals of egalitarianism by avoiding expressions that express or imply ideas that are sexist, racist, or otherwise biased, prejudiced, or denigrating to any particular group of people (and sometimes animals as well). (...) Its supporters argue that language is often used to perpetuate and spread prejudice and that creating intention around using inclusive language can help create more productive, safe, and profitable organizations and societies." (3)

If we care about that, we need to take care of our language use.

• Addressing everyone. Many expressions we use to address someone or a group are actually often not inclusive. And unconsciously, these expressions have an impact. Examples:
  
  • Some denominations traditionally belong to "men's world." Behind such words, our brain usually triggers images of men. Like "doctor", "specialist", "user" (4). As these images pop up - unconsciously - in our minds, women or non-binary people cannot see themselves in these roles and unconsciously feel excluded because of the stereotype threat (5).
  • When we address a target audience in a mailing as "Ladies and Gentlemen," we are not being inclusive of people who are non-binary (people whose gender identity does not match the binary view of "man"/"woman").
  • Titles too express an in-group or out-group feeling. If you emphasize the title "professor" every time you talk about that person at an event, it looks like a clear hierarchical sign to someone who is not a professor.
• Include everyone. We must be careful to use language that allows everyone to feel represented and included. So we need to know what words or word combinations deter people from diverse backgrounds. And we need to know what language to use that appeals to all people from diverse backgrounds. So it's up to us to find that vocabulary in terms of all dimensions of diversity: Ethnic background, skin color, gender, sexual identity, sexual orientation, physical and mental abilities, age, socioeconomic differences, religious beliefs, education, culture, and many other dimensions.
• Creating a sense of belonging. Language has the power to create belonging. But it only does so when texts are written with emotionality, closeness, authenticity and at eye level. All of these characteristics of a text ensure that people of all backgrounds feel respectfully addressed and that the human side is in the foreground. In short, when these characteristics are present in a text, it becomes clear that everyone can belong.

Example of non-inclusive vs. inclusive language:

Non-inclusive:
As an independent project manager, you will perform challenging tasks and, together with your equally ambitious colleagues, you will single-mindedly achieve new top performances.

Inclusive:
In project management, you take care of complex tasks, assume responsibility and support a committed team. Together you will reliably achieve the common goals.

Why should I care?

We often observe that communication in business expresses cold, formal, marketing blah-blah and a top-down perspective. Or it neglects large groups of people from diverse backgrounds in the way they are addressed.

Of course, you might ask: Why should I care?

In a business context, diversity and inclusion are extremely important. They lead to more innovation and higher economic performance (6). Moreover, it is an ethical principle: including everyone in the discourse and respecting their background is simply the right thing to do in today's world where everyone has a right to their place. Each individual brings valuable, economically relevant perspectives to the table.

If you don't care, there is an economic cost to your business:

• You will lose potential customers if a marketing campaign does not appeal to everyone.
• If you ignore your language in internal communications, you could lose employees' loyalty. If this happens several times, they will leave the company.
• If you use cold or artificial language on your careers page, your employer brand will not be attractive to many potential talents.

But that's not all. In some countries, companies risk being sued if they don't comply with diversity laws. Or there's always the risk that an employee's tweet or LinkedIn message, while legally unproblematic, can destroy a brand's reputation or employer branding in a second.

And: Diversity and inclusion is a smart strategy because it promotes team innovation and productivity.

Summary

Inclusive language is a business imperative in diverse environments where an inclusive culture needs to be built. Inclusive language lets you speak to everyone, include them in the dialogue, and ensure a sense of belonging. There is an economic cost for companies not to do this. That's why inclusive language is a smart choice for any business.

---

Sources:

(1) Iris Bohnet, “What works - Gender Equality by Design”, page 49 - 54

(2) https://www.witty.works/de/blog/geschlechtsspezifische-formulierungen-in-stellenanzeigen-das-sagt-die-wissenschaft, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597818301092?via%3Dihub and Wenn die Künstliche Intelligenz denkt, dass er die Vernunft und sie das Gefühl hat

(3) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclusive_language

(4) Caroline Criado Perez, “Invisible Women : Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men”, Seite 9

(5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_threat

(6) https://www.bcg.com/publications/2018/how-diverse-leadership-teams-boost-innovation and https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_700953.pdf

Solution to the riddle