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A banner image of an African woman holding a tablet and an Asian woman standing beside her, both smiling at the camera.

General Principles of Inclusive Communication

Inclusive Communication

Inclusive communication means sharing information and ideas to understand and be respectful of people's unique circumstances. It shows an awareness of how our choices in terminology and how we choose to deliver these impact the receiver and the perpetuation of biases, exclusion, or discrimination.

What's on this page

Why Is Inclusive Communication Important?
Defining Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
General Principles For Reducing Bias
Principles for Inclusive Written Communication
Tips for Inclusive Audio, Visual, and Print Communication
Resouces

Why Is Inclusive Communication Important?

A photo of people placing their hands on top of each other's hands to show solidarity.

As diversity continues to characterize the School's internal and external environments, the need for effective communication in such diversity becomes increasingly important.

Communication is a basic aspect of human existence and, therefore, organizational effectiveness. Engaging in inclusive communication is an important tool in embedding the School's EDI values in all our systems and practices and our daily lives.

Intent

This material is meant as a resource for educational purposes and offers an invitation for personal reflection in one’s communication. It presents general principles and tips for inclusive communication and language that is generally considered respectful and mindful of diverse groups. It affirms the School’s commitment to establishing a learning environment where everyone, regardless of background, feels valued.

Defining Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

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Diversity

"is about people and their demographic differences, backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, knowledge, abilities, ideas and more."

- Kepinkski & Nielsen, 2020, p. 42

Equality vs Equity

"Equity is about fairness, while equality is about sameness." 

- Government Alliance on Race and Equity, as cited in Davis, 2022, p. 17

"Equality is concerned with treating everyone the same, while equity offers the opportunity for assistance so that everyone has a just and fair chance to be successful." 

- Davis, 2022, p. 17

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Inclusion

"is about ensuring that diversity is welcomed, used, and applied in collaboration, solving tasks, and making decisions..." 

- Kepinkski & Nielsen, 2020.

 
"Diversity is the 'who', equity is the 'how', and inclusion is the 'what'." - Davis, 2022, p. 19

General Principles For Reducing Bias

Focus on the person, not the characteristic.

This means being mindful of the relevance of mentioning characteristics like gender, sexual orientation, religion, racial group, or ability. Does the gender of your coworker make a difference to the conversation? If not, simply saying “my coworker” will do. (Sosa, 2020;Gantman, 2021).Sosa also recommends the following:

Use plain language.

Using plain language in conversations or in written communication aims at being easy to read, understand, and use. Idioms, jargon, and acronyms can exclude those who may not have specialized knowledge of a particular subject and impede effective communication.

Refrain from trivializing mental health diagnoses.

Using terms like OCD to describe everyday behaviors trivializes the impact of someone’s real, lived experiences with a mental disorder. For instance, your coworker who is keen on being organized might not have OCD.

Use gender neutral language.

Avoid word choices that could be interpreted as discriminatory, biased, or demeaning by implying that one sex is the norm. Using words that encompass all genders rather than those that include only two genders is preferred. Using gender-fair language helps reduce gender stereotyping and contributes to achieving gender equality.

Avoid using and subscribing to stereotypes.

Stereotyping might be based on age, race, gender, etc., such as in the phrase, “you complain like an old woman.” This could be interpreted as not only sexist, but also demeaning, implying that there is something negative in the behavior. Try to better understand why you choose the descriptors you do and4reflect on known alternatives.

Be aware that there may not be universal consensus about terminology. 

Ask if you aren’t sure. Taking the time to find out how a person self-identifies rather than making assumptions is beneficial in communication. Most people are happy to walk you through language that makes them feel properly acknowledged and respected. Care enough to learn how groups self-identify. (NASAA, n.d.).

Be mindful.

Striving to be inclusive in communication requires being mindful. Accept that you are human. If you make mistakes, apologize and be open to listening to others and learning from their perspective.

General Principles for Inclusive Written Communication

The following general guidelines are from the American Psychological Association (APA) and emphasize the good practice of writing (and/or talking) about people with respect.

Describe at the appropriate level of specificity.

In referring to a person or persons, choose words that are accurate, clear, and free from bias. Focus on relevant characteristics. If it is not necessary to include certain characteristics as descriptors, do not include them. It is good practice to ask, “is this descriptor necessary in the communication”? However, it is also good practice to ensure that the precise and appropriate amount of information you want to write about is included.

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"Words, as any person who's ever been harassed, bullied, or stuck with a hurtful label can attest, have power." - JR Thorpe, Journalist

The APA (2020) provides the following examples of specificity by topic:

  • Age: When writing about age, exact ages or age ranges (e.g., 15–18 years old, 65–80 years old) are more specific than broad categories (e.g., under 18 years old, over 65 years old). Also include the age mean and median in addition to the range of ages to increase the specificity of the reporting.
  • Gender: When writing about gender identity, descriptors with modifiers (e.g., cisgender women, transgender women)are more specific than descriptors without modifiers (e.g., women) or general nongendered terms (e.g., people, individuals).
  • Specific Groups: When writing about people who took part in research, terms that indicate the context of the research (e.g., patients, participants, clients) are more specific than general terms (e.g., people, children, women).
  • Race: When writing about racial or ethnic groups, the nation or region of origin (e.g., Chinese Americans, Mexican Americans) is more specific than a generalized origin (e.g., Asian Americans, Latin Americans). Attention should also be given to the spelling and capitalization of racial and ethnic terms, which are designated by proper nouns (use “Black” and “White” instead of “black” and “white” but do not use colours to refer to other human groups as doing so is pejorative).
  • Sexual Orientation: When writing about sexual orientation, the names of people’s orientations (e.g., lesbians, gay men, bisexual people, straight people) are more specific than broad group labels (e.g., gay).
  • Socioeconomic Status: When writing about socioeconomic status, income ranges or specific designations (e.g., below the federal poverty threshold for a family of four) are more specific than general labels (e.g., low income).

Be sensitive to labels.

Respect the language people use to describe themselves. If possible, ask the subjects in your study which designations or terminologies they use and/or consult resource persons or subject matter experts. Be aware that even individuals within the same groups sometimes disagree about terminology or labels they use.

Acknowledge people’s humanity.

Choose labels with sensitivity. Avoid using adjectives as nouns to label people (e.g., “the gays,” “the poor”) or labels that equate people with their condition (e.g., “the learning disabled,” “drug users”). Instead, use adjectival forms (e.g., gay men, older adults) or nouns with descriptive phrases (e.g., people living in poverty, people who use drugs). When writing about disability, person-first language (e.g., “a person with paraplegia” rather than “a paraplegic”), identity-first language (e.g., “an autistic person” rather than “a person with autism”), or both may be acceptable.

Avoid false hierarchies.

Consider that there is a tendency for readers to construe that the order of social group presentation suggests that the first-mentioned group is the norm or standard and that later mentioned groups are deviant. Thus, the phrases “men and women” and “White Americans and racial  minorities” subtly reflect the perceived dominance of men and white people over other groups. When presenting group data, placing socially dominant groups such as men and White people on the left side of a graph or at the top of a table may also be interpreted that these groups are the universal standard. 

Avoid putting groups in order of social dominance by default; instead, consider options such as  alphabetical order or sample size order (APA, 2020).

Be aware that language is a powerful tool that could inspire and motivate but also demean, oppress, and divide. 

Language can influence how people feel, think, live their lives, and experience the world. Choose your words carefully because the words you choose can affect the message and have consequences. 

There is no place for uninformed, prejudicial, and discriminatory language in an environment that is committed to fostering respect, safety, and a sense of belonging. This includes slurs and derogatory language. 

Be mindful that some words may have meanings that may be disrespectful to some groups or are historically offensive. As language is always evolving, and, in some cases, there might be differing opinions about what words are derogatory and what are acceptable, it is good practice to seek continual learning about terminology.

Tips for Inclusive Audio, Visual, and Print Communication

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Be mindful in using images.

Be mindful of the message within a picture. For example, is there an obvious power dynamic present? Avoid stereotypes and don’t leave room for interpretations that were not intended but nonetheless could offend, hurt, or upset people. (Gantman, 2021).

Milne (2021) suggests “using reflective imagery”. If a person doesn't feel represented in images that might be featured in communications, the individual might not see the value in the messaging.

Use photos in communication when appropriate and necessary.

In some instances, it might be worthwhile to use photos of real staff members instead of stock images. It is much easier for people to personally connect with a communication when they see fellow members.

In work settings, employers should generally avoid using real employees when speaking about sensitive subjects such as mental health, leaves of absence and disabilities unless the communication is purposefully meant to add real-life stories that have been explicitly approved by the individual in the picture.

Use colors with a racial equity awareness.

Make choices that do not reinforce gender or racial stereotypes. The following illustration is from Stone Soup Creative (2020). Colours assigned to a variety of ethnic groups seem to pit white students against nonwhite students, and the blue colour assigned to the white student population “pops” while the grey hues fade into the background.

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"Inclusive language...is a powerful vehicle that carries the essence of respect, equality, and empathy, weaving a corporate culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued." - Raul Krauthausen, Author

Make digital, audio, visual, and all content accessible to as many people as possible.

Colour vision deficiency (CVD) or colour blindness affects around 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women worldwide. Most people with CVD can see things just as clearly as the rest of the population, but have the inability to distinguish certain colours. CVD can manifest in a number of ways, with the most common types being red-green colour blindness (deuteranopia),blue-yellow colour blindness(tritanopia), and total colour blindness. For instance, someone with red-green colour blindness may have difficulties indistinguishing between reds and greens and an individual with tritanopia may be unable to perceive blue hues along with a reduced sensitivity to yellow tones. 

Being aware that colour is not perceived by everybody in the same way allows one to adopt a more considerate and thoughtful perspective, ensuring that the design is accessible to everyone, regardless of their visual capabilities (Lett, 2025). 

More tips on how to design for better colour accessibility are in this article:

Designing for Colour Blindness: Tips for Inclusive Design

As much as possible, videos should have options for captions to accommodate viewers whose first language is not English or who require visual or hearing assistance. Transcripts or the text version of the video content are also helpful. Transcripts should contain additional descriptions, explanations, or comments that may be beneficial, such as indications of silence, music, tone, etc.(Coppola, 2020).

Audio description is essential for blind or low vision users as audio subtitles may not be enough. It is an alternative audio track that describes the visual content and will be essential for those who cannot see what is happening on the screen (Calvello, 2020).

Include written descriptions of all images (in print or digital) to help readers capture information.

 
"The only disability is when people cannot see human potential." - Debra Ruh, Global Disability Inclusion Strategist

Use the Accessibility Checker in emails.

For instance, in Outlook, this is under “Review”:

Consider screen reader user accessibility. 

A screen reader is a form of assistive technology that renders text and image content as speech or braille output. It is essential to people who are blind, and are useful to people who are visually impaired, or have a learning disability. Microsoft (n.d.) provides useful tips in this resource:

Make Your Word Documents Accessible to People with Disabilities

Consider accessibility for websites and onscreen media.

Design websites and onscreen media with people with diverse abilities in mind. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes access to information and communications technologies, including the World Wide Web, as a basic human right.

Consider accessibility when making presentations. 

Respect participants’ needs and be open to any accessibility issues. Recording the sessions, for example, may be important if there is someone with a physical disability who cannot take notes and who might need to have it recorded. (EOWG, 2021).

Consider accessibility for print communication.

The following tips are helpful (Malone, 2021):

  • Glossy paper makes reading difficult 
  • Heavy books could be split up or ring binders, which are easier to open, might be a more appropriate form 
  • Minimum text size of 12 point for clear print, ideally 14 point(for large print, minimum text size of 16 point, ideally 18 point)
  • Legible sans-serif typeface such as Arial or Helvetica 
  • Text is ideally left aligned 
  • Good contrast between text and background

Consider attendees' accessibility when planning the schedule of presentations or meetings. 

For working caregivers, for example, who might need to drive and/or pick up children from school, a presentation or meeting scheduled around such times is an accessibility concern. Considerate scheduling is also important around what might be considered busy times for intended participants, generally around work deadlines (i.e., quarter-ends, year-ends, etc.).

More resources could be found on the Web Accessibility Initiative (2021):

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is an effort to improve the accessibility of the World Wide Web for people with disabilities. Several groups comprise the W3C and work on standards, guidelines, reports, education materials and other resources that relate to different components of web accessibility.

 
"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better."- Maya Angelou, Civil Rights Activist, Poet

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