NOTE: Please refer to the Editorial Style Guide for guidance on RISD-specific grammar and style rules for internal and external communications.

Overview

Inclusive communication requires more than avoiding a list of words. It asks us to consider whom our language includes, what assumptions it carries, and whether it accurately reflects the people and communities we are describing.

This guide offers practical guidance for communicating respectfully and accurately across differences in identity and experience. It is not exhaustive, and its recommendations will continue to evolve as language and community preferences change. Whenever possible, use the language people use for themselves, consider the purpose and context of the communication, and avoid treating any community as a monolith.

Additional considerations: This guide supports thoughtful communication. It is not intended to replace institutional policies, legal definitions, accessibility standards, or consultation with the people and communities being represented.

In using this guide to create inclusive, anti-discriminatory communications, it is important to:

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• be conscious of stereotypes, assumptions and biases—including your own—so that you can actively work against them and exclude them from communications of any form.
• consider situation and context in determining whether referencing identity (disability, age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, or sexuality) is germane to your communication; when it is, use definitions, language, and approaches preferred by the person/group involved or widely accepted as inclusive practice.
• avoid reductionist language that could diminish individuals or groups down to a single element of their whole person, or might position an individual or individuals as representative of a larger group.
• recognize the range of English language proficiencies among your audience from limited to advanced; keep content clear and concise and avoid unexplained slang, acronyms, abbreviations, idioms, and cultural references to enable greater access to the communication.
• use “diverse” to describe a group containing meaningful differences, not an individual. When possible, name the specific form of diversity being discussed, such as race, class, gender, sexual orientation, etc. </aside>

With all of this, if the language or framing you have used is questioned or corrected by another person, take that in, apologize if warranted, and learn from it, making efforts to incorporate these new understandings in the future. We’re all learning.

Please find specific guidance on inclusive language as it pertains to the following:

ableism, disability, and neurodiversity

family-inclusive language

formal education and social class

names

nationality