6 Principles of Inclusive Communication 

By: Gabrielle Camilli

Whether you are designing building interiors or planning a new roadway, our work as members of the AEC industry affects everyone in the communities that we serve. To effectively communicate with these communities and understand their needs, our language needs to address each individual within these audiences appropriately no matter their race, gender, occupation, or background. Often, people within our industry must translate technical Jargon into layman’s terms to effectively communicate our message to non-industry professionals. This same thought process and level of intention should occur when selecting our words to use with clients, colleagues, prospective employees, and community members alike.  Language is incredibly nuanced and ever-changing, but with research, intention, active listening, and the following principles in mind, you can help ensure that your messaging is inclusive to all.

1. Put People First: We, as humans, are more than our descriptors; it can be incredibly hurtful to be reduced to a single characteristic. When referring to an individual in which a descriptor is necessary, the golden rule is to put the person first. For example, instead of saying “disabled person,” one would say “person with a disability.”
   
2. Use Gender-Neutral Language: Using “guys” to address your team immediately suggests that you are only directing your message towards the males in the group. Even as a female, I have struggled with removing this saying from my vernacular. While this word choice may not come off outright offensive, gendered language such as this reinforces the historical gender inequities that have long been ingrained in our industry and society. A quick fix to this is to utilize gender-neutral language instead, substituting “guys” for “you all.”  Additionally, gendered terms, or language that has a bias towards gender, such as  “tradesman,” “journeyman,” and “jack of all trades,” are still consistently used in job descriptions even though these words not so subtly convey the message to applicants that the ideal candidate is a specific gender. To encourage applicants from all backgrounds, we recommend replacing the above-gendered terms with gender-neutral terms. You can even utilize a gender decoder to analyze the bias that may lay in your job descriptions. Lastly, it is best not to make assumptions regarding gender and other diversity categories, especially around pronouns. Rather than referring to someone as she, he, her, or him, refer to them by their name or as “they” or “them” until they have made their preferred pronouns clear.
3. Be Cognizant of Offensive Idioms: Idioms or colloquialisms are phrases that commonly stem from specific regions or cultures. As someone with some southern heritage, idioms like “y’all,” “hold your horses” and “pretty as a peach” have been built into my vernacular through my ancestry. While colloquialisms can be used to express one’s heritage and build rapport with individuals from similar backgrounds, they, unfortunately, can also preserve and promote historical racial, ethnic, and gender-based prejudices.  For example, offensive idioms like “peanut gallery,” “blackball,” and “long time no see,” while still prevalent, have dogmatic roots hidden in the historical origins of the phrases that can isolate the audience you are trying to communicate with, regardless of your intent.
   Furthermore, idioms in one culture can have an entirely different meaning in another culture, sometimes even an offensive meaning. When disseminating vital information to larger groups of individuals with varied backgrounds, it is best to avoid using these sayings all together to ensure that your message is translated and digested as intended.
4. Avoid Using Heavily Gender-Coded Terms in Job Ads: Gender-coded language refers to phrases and terms that are statistically likely to change the gender makeup of your talent pool. Unfortunately for hiring managers, these terms aren’t as apparent as the gendered examples I provided earlier, such as “journeyman.” Rather, these terms are words or phrases that prompt masculine or feminine gender themes. Studies suggest that when job descriptions include a disproportionate amount of gender-coded language, specifically masculine coded words, female applicants decrease. Terms like “strong”, “competitive,” “Rockstar,” “ninja,” “dominant;” while all apply to both genders, are considered to be masculine coded and can decrease females’ anticipated sense of belongingness when used in job ads, thus decreasing the number of female applicants. Luckily, there are a lot of great resources available to the public to ensure that the language you are using in job postings or everyday written correspondence is inclusive to all. The American Psychological Association has an extensive library of research, tips, and tools to reference when vetting your job advertisements.
5. Don’t Diminish the Gravity of Mental Illnesses: When we use terms like OCD, ADD, and bipolar disorder as commonplace descriptors, we diminish and underplay the seriousness of these mental illnesses and the impacts that they have on people’s lives. In the United States alone, nearly one out of five U.S. adults live with a mental illness; meaning that potentially 20% of your colleagues, clients, and communities suffer from them whether they are public about it or not. So the next time when you find yourself cleaning your desk in the morning, avoid making a comment such as “wow, I’m so OCD sometimes” as you never know who in the room may have personal ties to this mental illness.
6. Practice Active Listening: Restating and summarizing what the other individual just said to ensure that you understood their message correctly, not only is a great way to indicate to someone that you value their opinion, but it also is a great tool to use to ensure your address and correct misinterpretations as they arise. Pausing, summarizing, confirming the meaning and intention of the message, and responding are four great steps to keep in mind when communicating with those with whom we may not correspond regularly. 

Just as we have learned to check for spelling and grammar before sending out written correspondence, practicing checking for bias is a great measure to undertake to ensure that our words align with our intentions. While this task may seem daunting, it is important to keep in mind that perfection is not expected and mistakes are. Exclusionary language and offensive idioms have been reinforced in us all for decades through the books we read, the movies we watch, the literature we study, and the social media we consume; it is only natural that mistakes and mishaps will occur. While perfection is unlikely in this area, with awareness, intentionality, and a willingness to adjust, we can better our ability to effectively communicate across cultures, professions, and backgrounds.