What is bias-free writing?
Bias-free writing is written communication that:
- is inclusive, fair, and welcoming to all potential readers, irrespective of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, age, health, and similar characteristics
- does not prejudice readers against a particular group of people
- does not make assumptions or generalisations about a particular group of people (‘stereo-typing’)
- avoids using descriptions of people that are not relevant to the context
Using bias-free writing is an important aspect of being a fair and ethical business organisation. It also tends to enhance business communications by making them more clear and direct, and it helps avoid breaking anti-discrimination laws.
Let’s look at some examples of bias in writing and ways to fix them.
A simple rule for bias-free writing is to consider whether personal details need to be included to communicate the message.
| Avoid |
Try
|
| Franklin is the new African-American accountant. |
Franklin is the new accountant.
|
| For someone nearing retirement, she learned to use that new software quickly. |
She learned to use that new software quickly.
|
| Abdul has some of the highest call-centre ratings, even though his Saudi accent is strong. |
Abdul has some of the highest call-centre ratings.
|
| John is one of our most active employees, even though he must use a wheelchair. |
John is one of our most active employees.
|
| Did the cleaning lady bring new trash bags? |
Did the cleaner bring new trash bags?
|
| Do we have enough manpower to finish this project? |
Do we have enough staff to finish this project?
|
Avoiding gender bias
Writing in a non-sexist way requires the ability to recognise sexism in the first place. The next step is to find a way to eliminate any inherent sexism without disrupting the flow of the piece. Here are a few techniques to help avoid bias.
Gendered nouns
The first way to avoid gender bias in your writing is to use gender-neutral words when referring to individuals in various positions:
| Avoid |
Try
|
| businessman, businesswoman |
business executive
|
| chairman, chairwoman |
chairperson
|
| the common man |
the average person
|
| salesman, saleswoman |
salesperson, sales clerk, marketer
|
Gendered pronouns
The next thing to be aware of is your use of gendered pronouns. While some still use ‘he’ as a generic pronoun, this shows a strong bias towards male individuals. Instead you could use “he or she” (“his or her,” etc) as the pronoun for a generic noun:
| Avoid |
Try
|
| Every employee should file his report by the end of the day. |
Every employee should file his or her report by the end of the day.
|
| When filing the report, each employee should make sure he includes yesterday’s data. |
When filing the report, each employee should make sure he or she includes yesterday’s data.
|
Using “he or she” is an okay solution, but it can look messy in large doses: “Every employee should check with his or her supervisor that his or her report was properly filed.” Additionally, many individuals neither identify as male nor female and use ‘they’ as a singular pronoun to refer to themselves. Thus, using “he or she” is often not the best solution. The best solution is often to rephrase the sentence to have a plural subject instead of a singular subject.
| Avoid |
Try
|
| Every employee should file his report by the end of the day. |
All employees should file their reports by the end of the day.
|
| When filing the report, each employee should make sure he or she includes yesterday’s data. |
When filing the report, employees should make sure they include yesterday’s data.
|
| Any author knows that his first draft of a piece won’t be good. |
All authors know that their first drafts won’t be good.
|
Singular they
While ‘they’ is typically treated as a plural pronoun, it can also be used as a singular pronoun (and still be grammatically correct [1]). This is usually when:
- an individual has expressed a desire to be identified with gender-neutral pronouns (they/their/theirs), or
- we don’t know what gender the person identifies as
For example, let’s look at this sentence: “Someone will call you to discuss the issue. He or she will call between 9:00 and 10:00 tomorrow morning.” Only one person will be making the call, but maybe we don’t know exactly who will be making the call. In this situation, the solution could be:
- “Someone will call you to discuss the issue. They will call between 9:00 and 10:00 tomorrow morning”, or
- “Someone will call you to discuss the issue. You can expect the call between 9:00 and 10:00 tomorrow morning.”
Avoiding race and ethnicity bias
When speaking about a racial or ethnic group, deciding which term to use can be difficult because the meaning of particular terms and labels can frequently change. When choosing between terms to refer to a group, it is best to ask a member of that group what they prefer.
As a general rule in a business setting, do not mention a person’s race or ethnicity unless it is directly relevant to the situation.
Avoiding disability bias
As a general rule, avoid using labelled nouns when talking about people with disabilities. Try to use emotionally neutral expressions rather than ones that assign a role, such as ‘victim’.
| Avoid |
Try
|
| the disabled |
people with disabilities
|
| the schizophrenic |
the person diagnosed with schizophrenia
|
| an AIDS victim |
a person with AIDS
|
| a person suffering from epilepsy |
a person with epilepsy
|
Think about an occasion when you have felt unwelcome – whether in a face-to-face group or because of writing or images that you have seen.
- What aspects of the communication made you feel unwelcome?
- How did you react?
- What could the people involved have done differently to make you feel more welcome and included?
- What lessons can you learn from this for making your own writing more inclusive and free from bias?
Write a short reflection about this situation in your learning journal.
Acknowledgements
The content on this page (apart from the reflection activity) was adapted from Word choice and tone, authored by Susan Kendall and provided by Lumen Learning under a CC-BY-4.0 licence. The content is part of the online course Business communication skills for managers.
References
- ↑ The University of Chicago Press. “Grammar & Usage: Singular ‘they’. Chicago Manual of Style, 2017, p. 241
What is bias-free writing?
Bias-free writing is written communication that:
Using bias-free writing is an important aspect of being a fair and ethical business organisation. It also tends to enhance business communications by making them more clear and direct, and it helps avoid breaking anti-discrimination laws.
Let’s look at some examples of bias in writing and ways to fix them.
A simple rule for bias-free writing is to consider whether personal details need to be included to communicate the message.
Avoiding gender bias
Writing in a non-sexist way requires the ability to recognise sexism in the first place. The next step is to find a way to eliminate any inherent sexism without disrupting the flow of the piece. Here are a few techniques to help avoid bias.
Gendered nouns
The first way to avoid gender bias in your writing is to use gender-neutral words when referring to individuals in various positions:
Gendered pronouns
The next thing to be aware of is your use of gendered pronouns. While some still use ‘he’ as a generic pronoun, this shows a strong bias towards male individuals. Instead you could use “he or she” (“his or her,” etc) as the pronoun for a generic noun:
Using “he or she” is an okay solution, but it can look messy in large doses: “Every employee should check with his or her supervisor that his or her report was properly filed.” Additionally, many individuals neither identify as male nor female and use ‘they’ as a singular pronoun to refer to themselves. Thus, using “he or she” is often not the best solution. The best solution is often to rephrase the sentence to have a plural subject instead of a singular subject.
Singular they
While ‘they’ is typically treated as a plural pronoun, it can also be used as a singular pronoun (and still be grammatically correct [1]). This is usually when:
For example, let’s look at this sentence: “Someone will call you to discuss the issue. He or she will call between 9:00 and 10:00 tomorrow morning.” Only one person will be making the call, but maybe we don’t know exactly who will be making the call. In this situation, the solution could be:
Avoiding race and ethnicity bias
When speaking about a racial or ethnic group, deciding which term to use can be difficult because the meaning of particular terms and labels can frequently change. When choosing between terms to refer to a group, it is best to ask a member of that group what they prefer.
As a general rule in a business setting, do not mention a person’s race or ethnicity unless it is directly relevant to the situation.
Avoiding disability bias
As a general rule, avoid using labelled nouns when talking about people with disabilities. Try to use emotionally neutral expressions rather than ones that assign a role, such as ‘victim’.
Reflection
Think about an occasion when you have felt unwelcome – whether in a face-to-face group or because of writing or images that you have seen.
Write a short reflection about this situation in your learning journal.
Acknowledgements
The content on this page (apart from the reflection activity) was adapted from Word choice and tone, authored by Susan Kendall and provided by Lumen Learning under a CC-BY-4.0 licence. The content is part of the online course Business communication skills for managers.
References