Inclusive Communication

Intersectionality is a core concept in inclusivity issues. It refers to the notion that individuals are not neatly defined by one socioeconomic and/or demographic identity, but are rather the product of several intersecting identities.

Most people can occupy several marginalized identities. Respecting this ‘intersectionality’ of marginalized identities simply means understanding that they experience the world differently. Being marginalized means that these individuals don’t have the same privilege (and opportunities) as non-marginalized groups. In some ways, they are impacted negatively by one of their identities. On the other hand, many individuals experience a degree of positive impact or privilege by nature of their identities. In this context, the more marginalized the identities you hold, the less social privilege you may have. Likewise, the fewer marginalized identities you hold, the more privilege you have in society.

In our society, the most privileged individual  is a white, middle class, able-bodied, heterosexual, and cis-gendered male. The further away you are from this privileged position, the more likely you are to experience the negative impact of racism, classism, ableism, homophobia or transphobia, sexism, and other forms of discrimination. For example, if you are a white able-bodied female, you are likely to experience the negative effects of gender bias. However, if you are a woman who is a person of color, you are likely to experience an even more negative impact not only due to gender bias but also due to racial bias.

It’s crucial to not make assumptions about people’s intersecting identities when communicating with them. If you aren’t mindful of these different possible identities your audience might have, then you run the risk of alienating them. Consider what might happen when corresponding with an investor or client: do you really want to insult or alientate them by making assumptions about their potentially hidden, unseen, or marginalized identities?

The goal of inclusive communication isn’t to increase your anxiety and make you second guess yourself whenever you communicate. That’s not an option – you’ll have to communicate with a variety of stakeholders as a professional in a timely manner. The goal of inclusive communication is to build your level of intentionality, mindfulness, and respect for others as a communicator.

So, how do you maintain mindfulness of intersectionality?

• Always predicate everything on the fact that no one person is just one thing. Every person has multiple intersecting identities that might not be immediately visible to you. Set that as your framework for how you would approach any communication, and consider how you can communicate in an identity-conscious (or, at the very least, identity-neutral) way.
• Never make assumptions about someone’s identity. Rather, ask thoughtful questions like “What are your preferred pronouns?” instead of assuming a gender identity that might be invisible to you. Many professionals now add their preferred pronouns to their email signature so as to make this clear to others.
• Remember that the responsibility for learning about inclusivity falls on you. While you can ask some questions an individual or group of individuals about an aspect of their identity, you need to be aware of the stress and emotional labor that this puts on the marginalized group to have to educate people about their identity over and over again.
• Remember to always consider all aspects of inclusive communication. Don’t aim to just be unbiased towards different genders, or to specifically be non-ableist. You cannot be sensitive to some of people’s identities while indifferent to others. Instead, consider all of these identities as you communicate.
• Be open-minded as you learn of all these different identities and how they might impact your business or organization. For example, if you are designing a website, have you made sure that it is accessible to people who are hard of hearing? Do your videos have subtitles? Have you considered individuals who might have a visual impairment? If you are arranging a business meeting in a place where someone with a physical disability might need access to it, are they able to easily access it?
• Write without making assumptions about those you are corresponding with. Though it’s tempting to fall into cognitive patterns of behavior, you are more likely to be corresponding with someone who experiences some form of marginalization rather than someone who does not.

Being a good communicator is not only about being skillful. It’s also about being ethical. Inclusive language is a key component of both academic and business communication. As opposed to employing biased language, which among other things assumes a subject’s gender, ethnicity, race, age, or sexual orientation, inclusive communication allows the writer to structure your use of language to appeal and consider a much broader audience.

Constructing communication in broad terms has the advantage of avoiding exclusive language with which you might upset those you’re trying to convince. Ethical business communication requires the use of inclusive language as it creates goodwill with your audience. Otherwise, without having established goodwill, the relationship with it could be damaged by making wrong assumptions about people’s intersecting identities.

Exclusive language makes your message biased because, in assuming what the intersecting identities of an audience are, it excludes people that do not identify with the assumptions you make of them. To avoid excluding people in the audience, reframe any communication that might make assumptions about people’s race, ethnicity, class, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, and physical/mental abilities.

So, how do you use inclusive language?

• Use neutral language.
• Avoid biased assumptions in general.
• Avoid gender bias in job titles and professions.
• Respect the pronouns that people prefer to be referenced by.
• Avoid bias against immigration status/nationality and age.
• Avoid bias against race, ethnicity, and social class.
• Avoid ableist bias.

Inclusivity is at the core of digital accessibility. Inclusive design that takes into account different ways in which people can engage with content, which need to factor into the decisions of content creators to support different experiences. Here are some tips for making sure that your content is inclusive and that you design for different types of learners.

So, how do I make my digital communication accessible?

• Alternative text: Alt text is a detailed description of a piece of media. It’s used to help those with screen readers navigate a document. Try to include those for any pictures, audio, or video in your documents.
• Header rows in tables: These help people with screen readers (and people in general) understand what kind of information is in a given column.
• Meaningful section names/titled slides: Beyond helping keep your own thoughts organized, screen readers rely on these to be able to make sense of how a presentation is structured.
• Non-text objects (like images) are positioned inline with the text: This helps screen readers properly explain where an image is with respect to the surrounding text.
• Don’t use only red coloring to display a negative number: For those who have difficulty distinguishing colors, using color alone to display negative values can be hard to grasp. Instead, put a minus sign in front of the number, or put it in parenthesis.
• Document access is not restricted: Certain edit protections placed on digital documents can prevent screen readers from working properly. You want the document to be able to be accessed “programmatically”. In the case of Microsoft Office, this setting can be controlled in the document restriction settings.
• Tables have simple structures: Using merged cells, split cells, or other structural changes in a table can make it difficult for screen readers to navigate through tables. If possible, try to avoid using them.

Researching people’s intersecting identities can help you use inclusive language. Whether it is in the academy or industry, addressing or referring to people in a manner that respects their identities will help you build rapport with your audience. Researching supporting inclusive language allows the communicator to connect and persuade audiences.

 So, how do I research a person’s identities?

• Gender: It is always a good practice to look up the website or any resources of the organization in which the person in question works to see if there’s an explicit reference to which pronouns they go by. Email signatures can also specify their pronoun preference. In case this is not available, correspond directly with them to determine their preference. If this is still not possible, then default to neutral terms such as ‘they’, ‘them’, and other pronouns that don’t assume a given gender identity.
• Marital Status: Remember that it’s not appropriate to make assumptions about someone’s life, for instance, whether they’re single, married, have kids, and so forth. It’s not appropriate to just call someone “Mrs.” or “Miss” right out of the gate because this assumes and puts importance on whether they are married or not, respectively. Instead, “Ms.” is a safe way to not get it wrong as it indicates respect for someone who you know they identify as female. It has no connection to a person’s married status. Unless she specifies that she prefers to be referred otherwise, it’s always a good practice to default to “Ms.” However, make sure you know the gender preference of the person, because if the person identifies as non-binary, you may not know what title they prefer to be addressed with. It could be something completely different, and that’s OK; you would still need to find out how they’d like to be addressed.
• Race/Ethnicity: Don’t ever assume that someone who’s not white isn’t originally from the U.S. This is a common mistake and can be very uncomfortable and offensive for a person who was born in the U.S. and has lived here their entire lives. Rather, take the time to get to know the person; over time, relevant details about their past might come up. Otherwise, conduct research on people’s backgrounds or correspond with them to be sure about these details.
• Disability Status: Never make assumptions that people you’re communicating with are able-bodied. Consider the role of accessibility in all your communication, and research how to make all elements of your communication accessible. For example, if you’re ever including any visual or audio materials in your correspondence, make sure that they all have transcripts or captions attached. Always make sure to check that you know whether any physical spaces that you have meetings in are wheelchair accessible.
• Sexual Orientation: Don’t ever assume to know the sexual preference of the person you talk about or correspond with and the gender of their partner. Instead of referring to someone’s spouse as “wife” or “husband,” always use the gender-neutral term “partner.” If you hear the person in question refer to their partner as “spouse,” “wife,” or “husband,” then you can use the same term.