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From the St George’s, University of London anti-racism statement of commitment Section 4 – commitments and responsibilities
St George’s, University of London is committed to providing and supporting a work and study environment that:
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is inclusive of staff and students from different ethnicities, which include not only their background but also family, culture, history and beliefs;
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recognises and embraces the value and benefits of cultural diversity;
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promotes respect and fair and equitable treatment for all staff, students and others associated with the University; and
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is free from unlawful discrimination.
Recommendations
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Where possible, use specific labels that identify a person or group’s nation or region of origin.
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Capitalise the proper names of nationalities when terms are derived from country names. Polish, American, Asian and European take capitalis because they are derived from the names of continents.
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Capitalise “Black” when referring to an individual’s culture or race. “Black” is capitalised as it reflects a shared sense of identity and community.
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Use “white” rather than “Caucasian.” Leave “white” lower case, as it does not refer to a shared culture.
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Do not use ‘non-white’ or ‘non-black’. Defining a group by what it is not is confusing, and defining a group in relation to the white majority centres the white majority.
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Avoid BAME and BME. These acronyms exclude certain groups (e.g. white minorities, people of a mixed ethnicity) and erase separate identities.
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Terms such as “multiracial,” “biracial,” “multi-ethnic,” and so on are lower case. Do not use, “mixed race people”, use “people of a mixed ethnicity” instead.
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Ensure that headlines, images, captions, and graphics used in communications and messaging are depicting people in a fair and responsible way, avoiding tokenism.
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Be careful with images accompanying pieces on diversity. Who appears in the image and would this person or people be happy to represent the issue under discussion?
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Avoid singling out specific cultures or drawing undue attention to ethnic or racial background. When references are relevant and necessary, find the appropriate, accepted terminology and use the language the individual or group prefers.
Capitalise a religious title when it precedes a name. Use lowercase for a religious title when it stands alone, when it follows the name or when it is used as a job description. For example:
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While enjoying their weekly 18 holes, Father Santos, Rabbi Gottesman and Imam Abdullah discussed the fact that, together, they were the setup for a joke.
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A priest, a rabbi and an imam were playing golf …
Adapted from Queen’s University style guide
Sex refers to a set of biological attributes associated with physical and physiological features including chromosomes, gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy.
Gender refers to socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions, and identities of girls, women, boys, men, and gender-diverse people. It impacts how people perceive themselves and each other, how they act and interact, and the distribution of power and resources.
Gender identity is a component of gender that describes a person’s psychological sense of their gender and applies to all individuals. It is not confined to a binary (girl/woman, boy/man), nor is it static. It is not limited to transgender or gender-nonconforming individuals. A person’s gender identity may be the same as or different from their birth-assigned sex.
Gender expression is how a person expresses or presents their gender, which can include behaviour and outward appearance such as dress, hair, makeup, body language, and voice. Common ways of expressing gender are a person’s selected name and pronoun.
Transgender people’s gender and/or gender expression differs from their assigned sex and/or the societal and cultural expectation of their assigned sex at birth: male, female, or intersex. Transgender is sometimes shortened to “trans” (e.g., “trans man,” “trans woman”).
Gender nonconforming refers to an individual’s behaviour and/or appearance not conforming to prevailing gender social and cultural behaviours.
Cisgender refers to a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth.
Recommendations
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Use a person’s chosen name and pronouns when referring to them. This can include she/her/hers, he/him/his, or they/them/their.
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Use inclusive, gender-neutral terms wherever possible. When communicating with larger audiences, use “people”, “colleagues” or “students,” instead of “ladies and gentlemen.”
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Most occupations/roles need not be gender-defined.
a) Use:
i) Chair, not chairman/chairwoman
ii) Spokesperson, not spokesman/spokeswoman
iii) Rephrase sentences that use the masculine pronoun as a generic pronoun, for example, ‘when a professor accepts his position’ could be rephrased, ‘when a professor accepts their position’.
LGBTQ+ is a respectful and collective term to refer to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community. Do not use queer unless reporting the way that an individual/community self-identifies.
Recommendations
Be as specific as possible when referring to an individual’s sexual orientation. For example, someone who is attracted to men, women, or people of any gender may self-identify as “queer”, “pansexual” or “bisexual.” If in doubt, use the umbrella term LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and more).
From the St George’s digital accessibility training course
We use the term 'disabled people' rather than 'people with disabilities' as this highlights that it is the person who is being disabled by their environment.
A wheelchair user accessing a building via a ramp is no more disabled than a person doing so on foot. Gov.uk has produced further guidance on inclusive language.
Terminology
According to the Equality Act 2010, a person has a disability if:
a) they have a physical or mental impairment, and
b) the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Vision:
Deaf:
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deaf (lower case “d”) is a medical term referring to people with little or no functional hearing.
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Deaf (upper case “D”) is a sociological term that refers to individual(s) who are medically deaf or hard of hearing who identify with and participate in the culture, society, and language of the Deaf community.
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A person with total hearing loss is deaf.
Neurodiversity:
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This term refers to the idea that each person’s brain operates differently.
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It promotes the idea that there is not one “normal” or “healthy” type of brain or mind, or one “right” style of neurocognitive functioning.
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For example, “neurodivergent person” can be used as a way of describing people on the autism spectrum, with ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia etc...
Recommendations
Refer to a disability only when it’s relevant to a story or when the diagnosis comes from a reputable source such as a healthcare professional.
When referring to an individual’s disability, always ask for their preference. Only make mention of the individual’s disability when relevant and necessary.
Capitalise a group name when stressing the fact that they are a cultural community (e.g., Deaf culture); however, when referring only to the disability itself, lower case should be used (eg, a person who is deaf).
Emphasis can either be put on ‘person first’ eg, ‘staff with disabilities’ or ‘identity first’ eg, ‘disabled members of staff.’ It is best to check with the individuals or groups where possible to find out their preference as there are no hard and fast rules here.
Terminology
People with mental health issues emphasises a person-centred approach and acknowledges that a person is not defined by their psychiatric diagnosis.
People with a mental illness is a term referring to individuals who require medical treatment.
Recommendations
Mental illnesses can often be a taboo subject in our society. We must make a concerted effort to minimise the stigma associated with mental health issues with the language we use.
Mental health/illness is a broad term and does not reflect what an individual is dealing with. When possible, be specific or use the term “mental illnesses” or “mental health issues.”
A mental health diagnosis should not be considered negative, and there is a need to stay hopeful and empathetic.
When describing certain individuals or populations, use concepts such as “living with a mental illness,” “person with a mental illness,” or “person living with a mental health issue.” Use “person first-” and person-centred language.
Ensure that when referring to mental health issues, diagnosis does not equate to someone’s identity. For example, state “they have schizophrenia,” rather than “they are schizophrenic.”
When possible, use descriptive language and set the context. Rather than “Mary is a schizophrenic,” use “Mary is a person with schizophrenia. Mary’s experience includes hearing voices. She also sometimes has fears that make her reluctant to join groups of people.”
Ageism is discrimination against older people that results in negative and inaccurate stereotypes. Ageism is a combination of three elements: (1) prejudicial attitudes towards older people, old age, and the ageing process; (2) discriminatory practices against older people; and (3) institutional practices and policies that perpetuate stereotypes about older people.
Recommendations
Employ more neutral (older people or older adults) and inclusive (“we” and “us”) terms.
Talk affirmatively about changing demographics: “As people live longer and healthier lives ....”
Provide a specific age range (e.g., older adults aged 70 to 80) when describing a population.