Language impacts people and workplaces every day. Language can make people feel like they belong, or be used to discriminate and advance divisiveness and inequity. Simply put, language matters.
This playbook outlines how anti-Black racism manifests in language and lays out good practices for individuals and organizations to use language in ways that advance racial equity and inclusion.
Interested in going deeper? The “Deeper Dive” addendum (HERE) is for those interested in learning more about the intersections of language, power, race, and anti-Black racism; and for those seeking more nuanced understandings of challenges and opportunities to advance language for racial equity and inclusion.
Interested in more tactical guidance around using inclusive language in your day-to-day life? Our newly launched, research-based Inclusive Language Framework* (HERE) can equip you with an understanding of what inclusive language in everyday communications means, as well as provide you with a process to assess whether certain terms might be harmful in various contexts, and move towards using more inclusive alternatives instead.
Toolkit
Terminology Guide
Use this to identify harmful terms and alternatives, as well as to explore frequently asked questions related to terminology, especially around race and ethnicity.
Inclusive Terms Glossary
Use this to learn about some commonly-used terms that may be harmful, learn why and in which contexts they may be harmful, and find more inclusive alternatives and usage recommendations.
Language Worksheet
Use this individual worksheet to practice applying the practices to your own language.
Guide for having difficult discussions about race & identity
Use this to navigate difficult discussions about race.
Guide for having difficult discussions about race during product development
Use this to navigate difficult discussions about race when they come up in product development.
Case Study: Racial bias in an AI chatbot finance tool
For organizations developing products that use artificial intelligence (e.g., chatbots, automated hiring tools, etc.), use this to practice identifying issues related to language and how to move past them as a team.
* The work on EGAL’s Inclusive Language Framework and Inclusive Terms Glossary was supported by Google. EGAL also formed and collaborated with a working group of academic and community leaders with representation across different identities and expertise.