Rather not “walk-in hours” or “Middle East”: UvA presents guide to inclusive language
Prefer “West Asia” to “Middle East”, avoid “blind spot”, and aim for B1-level language in communication within the university. The UvA’s Central Diversity Office (CDO) has published a practical guide to inclusive communication as a resource for staff and students.
Do you sometimes wonder whether your internal news article, job vacancy or email to a colleague is inclusive enough? To help with this, the Central Diversity Office (CDO) will launch the guide Inclusive Language in Practice next week. The guide recommends, among other things, using simple Dutch at B1 level as the standard and reconsidering “non-inclusive” language – such as a “blind spot”, the “Dutch Golden Age” or “manpower”.
According to Marjon Melissen of the CDO, the more than 30-page guide, which will be presented at the Diversity Day Symposium – marking ten years of diversity policy at the UvA – grew out of a growing need among staff: “In the three years I’ve been working at the UvA, I’ve received quite a lot of requests from colleagues asking me to think along with them about inclusive language. About gender-neutral language, for example, or the Dutch term ‘allochtoon’. Of course, we’re happy to offer individual advice, but it’s also useful to have a guide that you can consult yourself.”
Not a rulebook
According to Melissen, the guide is therefore explicitly not a rulebook: “It’s not as though we’re going to follow you around wagging our finger and saying, ‘Hey, you need to change that.’ We want people to have the freedom to choose for themselves what they want to use and what suits them.” The guide is also explicitly meant for communication between staff or communication with external audiences, and is “not intended for academic texts”.
In this context, the diversity office considers it important to explain what the problems with certain words can be. This includes the use of gendered words when gender-neutral alternatives exist (“father and mother” instead of “parents”) and avoiding language that labels or excludes groups of people. This also includes the terms “Middle East” (“Eurocentric and reinforces colonial power relations”), “walk-in hours” (“assumes that everyone arrives on foot and that everyone can walk”) and the term “blind spot”. The guide says: “Most people who use this metaphor are not blind. Therefore, this expression can be considered ableist.”
Isn’t that taking things a bit too far? Melissen: “Three different colleagues have pointed out to me that I was using the term ‘blind spot’. If I say ‘invisible spot’ instead, that’s a small effort for me. But with words like these, it’s also important to remember that this is only advice. So by all means use these words if you want to, but be aware of the effect they may have. As far as we’re concerned, it’s perfectly fine if people don’t follow this advice. Above all, we hope that people will think about it consciously.”
AI support
For those who could use some additional support, the diversity office is also introducing several AI personas within UvA AI Chat – the university’s AI tool. These can help simplify texts to the easy-to-understand B1 level, as well as identify potential sensitivities in texts.
Melissen: “We tested these personas extensively, of course. At one point, I gave the AI a piece of text about the physical accessibility of a building. The information for people who wanted to use the accessible entrance was under the same heading as the information for suppliers. The AI pointed out that this could give the impression that people who need the accessible entrance are not fully welcome through the regular entrance and instead have to come around the back – somewhat hidden away with the suppliers. I hadn’t looked at it that way at all. So that’s also great: even someone who works on this professionally can still learn something from AI.”
The language guide will be presented on Wednesday at the Diversity Day Symposium. You can register for the symposium here.
