Writing for Business Success/Effective business writing/Bias free writing

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.

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 ). 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:
 * 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
 * "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'.

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.