Impactful Inclusion Toolkit

ACTIVITY 20Lead Change One Word at a Time

“Those whose business it is to open doors, so often mistake and shut them.”

—George MacDonald

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Speaking is part of everyday life. Our choice of words exemplifies beliefs, values, and feelings. How others interpret our language not only opens the door to better relationships and strengthened connections but also, by contrast, creates barriers and negatively impacts someone's sense of belonging. When language is used for good, we can envision a tomorrow that won't be like yesterday as we use words to change minds and lives, motivate others to action, and demonstrate acceptance. The terms we deploy express what is in our hearts and form how others experience us in conversation. They can encourage and empower those who have been historically marginalized or disenfranchised to triumph over adversity. On the other hand, the words and phrases we unconsciously choose and combine can unwittingly reflect our stereotypical views and biases. Our biases hide in the shadows. When used carelessly, our words can express feelings of our own superiority or our beliefs of the inferiority of certain groups or types of people. For example, a simple statement like “Women are just as good as men in data science” subtly perpetuates the speaker's sexist view that men are better at data science than women. While the intention was to convey that both men and women are equal in their abilities, the sentence structure compares women to men and implies that ...