Whether we like it or not, our communication and the words we use have an impact on others.

Since I started working in recruitment, I've tried to use inclusive language as much as possible. But, honestly? I'm never quite sure how to go about it.

For example, in my interview comments, I was always referring to "candidate" to avoid gender pronouns. Until a former colleague (👋 mention Petros) enlightened me: the English language offers gender-neutral phrasing such as "they" and "them." My interview comments have become much shorter 😄 and I've become a bit more aware of inclusive communication.

A few months ago, we started team discussions on how to make folk a more inclusive place to work. We all agreed that the main goal is to bring awareness to everyone and foster mindfulness.

The team at folk raised many questions about various topics related to D&I, including pronouns and inclusive communication: "How do I know which pronouns to use?", "Is it okay to ask someone else for their pronouns?", "Why do some people share their pronouns on platforms like Linkedin or Slack?"

These were all questions I didn't have an answer to yet. So I started asking for references, reading a lot of articles and papers on the subject, and this is what I learned: https://sourcer-recruiter-lets-have-some-fun.notion.site/A-journey-towards-inclusive-communication-efc24c56f3b0450584179d3647e8ef1e

<aside> 💁 The section below is part of our internal People documentation at folk.

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folk, as a company, provides a foundation for each team member to build a team experience. It's up to each and every one of us to make that experience our own and bring it to life on a daily basis.

As we began to discuss Diversity and Inclusion as a team, the most important aspect mentioned was that of raising everyone's awareness. The intent is for each and every one of us to be fully aware of our impact when we bring folk's team experience to life through our actions.

Whether we like it or not, our communication, and the words we use, have an impact on others. So ultimately they have an impact on the overall team experience we’re building all together at folk.

Why is it important to care about inclusive communication?

We tend to forget that whether we intend to or not, language is a powerful tool to build inclusion (or on the contrary, exclusion).

Caring about inclusive wording and pronouns might seem small but think of it this way: just like our names, pronouns are part of our identity and they carry meaning.

A simple greeting like “Hey guys!” or "Welcome ladies and gentlemen!” shows how frequently we refer to gender on a daily basis.

An ordinary task like filling out an HR form for onboarding purposes presenting only male and female options can be a challenging experience for non-binary individuals. Which option should they pick?

For non-binary individuals, and people who don't fall neatly into the male or female categories, these experiences can be excluding.

Let's take a look at some concrete examples and related numbers:

• using non-inclusive wording in job interviews or job descriptions can result in applicants feeling excluded and finding the organization less attractive.
  • “56% of Millennials have “ruled out ever working for a particular organization because of its values or standard of conduct.”
  • 72% of allies say that they are more likely to accept a job at an LGBTQ-inclusive company than a non-inclusive company.” [Source]
• a company's culture will always have an impact on the overall brand:
  • “the Center for Talent Innovation finds that 71% of LGBT individuals and 82% of allies are more likely to purchase from companies that support LGBTQ equality” [Source]

How to use more inclusive communication?