Planting seeds of belonging with Inclusive language
Small steps we can take on Juneteenth and Pride month.
Hi! Welcome to Radical Change Makers. Every week, I write about topics that I have learned about or want to learn about hoping that my learning can help you accelerate yours. My hope is that my learnings and mistakes might help you improve your career, thought leadership, leadership, financial life, etc., Today’s post shares about replacing non-inclusive words with inclusive words

Diversity, Inclusion, Equity & Belonging starts with simple actions. It doesn’t have to mean complex strategies or programs. It can start with simple actions. Today, let’s start by paying attention to the words we use. Our words can be inclusive or exclusive to people with different dimensions of diversity. We can take simple stems like replacing some words in our dictionary with better ones. Inclusive language is not just the right thing to do. It is also the smart thing to do as it helps build more diverse happy teams that build better products that are inclusive as well. Here are some simple words that you can stop using and instead use more inclusive words when you speak or write.
Blacklist/whitelist → blocklist/ safe list or allow list/deny list
Master/Slave → primary/replica
Minorities → underrepresented groups
Blind spots → gaps/weaknesses
Hey guys - Hello everybody
Fall on deaf ears - ignoring the issue
Mother/Father - Parents
Parents → caregiver
son/daughter - children
He/She - They
Normal - typical
Disabled - People with disabilities
Victims → survivors
Elderly → older people
Older → experienced
Master/ slave → primary/secondary
Policeman/Chairman or similar professional title → police officer/chairperson etc.,
Best man for the job → best person for the job
Husband/wife → spouse/partner
Latino/Latina → Latinx
There are several terms that should just not be used because of the history related to them. Before you use any term, we have to be conscious of the context in which they were used. For ex, the following terms all have a heavy meaning reflecting the oppression of black people, and should not be used.
Peanut gallery
Sold down the river
Urban/inner city
Cakewalk
This is just a small list. And I might not have got the words right. If I miss stated anything, please teach me by responding to me or leaving a comment. What non-inclusive words can we replace in our language with inclusive words that help everybody feel like they belong? Please add to the list here
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