Jemison and Lee "DEIA in the Scholarly Landscape, Session Four: Inclusive Language"

This presentation was provided by Racquel Jemison, PhD. of The American Chemical Society, and Chelsea Lee of The American Psychological for the fourth session of NISO's 2024 Training Series "DEIA in the Scholarly Landscape." Session Four: 'Inclusive Language' was held June 27, 2024.

1. DEIA in the Scholarly Landscape: A 2024 NISO Training Series Session 4: Inclusive Language Speakers: Chelsea Lee, American Psychological Association Racquel Jemison, PhD, American Chemical Society Moderator: Steph Pollock, American Psychological Association June 27, 2024

2. About our speakers and contributors Chelsea Lee Instructional Lead, APA Style American Psychological Association Racquel Jemison, PhD Assistant Director American Chemical Society Sabrina Ashwell Chemical & Engineering News American Chemical Society

3. Agenda Context Landscape of Inclusive Language Insights from the American Psychological Association Insights from the American Chemical Society Q&A Breakout session

4. Context

5. Today’s Context

6. Different Audiences

7. Common Advice Choose words that treat people with dignity and respect. Call people what they want to be called/language they see themselves in. Recognize differences and multiple perspectives. Language changes, requiring updates over time. Context and specificity matter.

8. Landscape of Inclusive Language

9. What It Means to Use Inclusive Language Many terms refer to the same idea: inclusive language bias-free language conscious language Inclusive language means … considering the impact of language recognizing that people may have different reactions to language because of their specific context supporting communication so people recognize themselves/minimize hurt

10. Role of Inclusive Language Guides Necessary resources, but not ends in themselves Implementation must happen in concert with changes in practice and policy Don’t include all topics May become outdated due to natural evolution of language May be misinterpreted Not just “find and replace” Opportunity for learning and growth

11. Flexibility of Inclusive Language Inclusive language expands possibilities, has flexibility built in No one “right answer” Not about policing language Okay to have multiple terms Okay for people to disagree or to prefer one term vs. another Can be helpful to explain your choices Examples of multiple terms LGBTQ, LBGTQ+, 2SIALGBTQ, LGBTQSIA BIPOC, people of color, BAME Latino, Latina, Latinx, Latine

12. Insights from APA

13. APA’s Inclusive Language Resources Inclusive Language Guide (ILG): 1 st ed. 2021, 2 nd ed. 2023 https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion/language-guidelines Bias-Free Language Guidelines: 7 th ed. 2020 https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/bias-free-language Journal Article Reporting Standards for Race, Ethnicity, and Culture (JARS-REC): 2023 https://apastyle.apa.org/jars/race-ethnicity-culture Accessibility of APA Style: 2020 https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/accessibility

14. Topics Covered in APA Resources Topic ILG Bias-free language guidelines JARS-REC Accessibility of APA Style age ✓ ✓ disability ✓ ✓ gender ✓ ✓ race and ethnicity ✓ ✓ ✓ sexual orientation ✓ ✓ socioeconomic status ✓ ✓ microaggressions in conversation ✓ body size and weight stigma ✓ pregnancy ✓ neurodiversity ✓ accessible typography ✓ accessible headings ✓ accessible presentation of URLs ✓ accessible use of color ✓

15. Journal Article Reporting Standards for Race, Ethnicity, and Culture (JARS-REC) Best practices for writing about race, ethnicity, and culture in psychological science Informs decisions about perspective and collaboration sample description, data collection, and analysis citations generalizability and interpretation Relevant even if you do not believe your research explicitly involves race

16. Perspective Implications Don’t reinforce idea that White participants are “default” or “normative” research sample Consider resilience- and strengths-based theoretical frameworks rather than deficits-based ones

17. Word Choice Implications Use precise terminology for racial, ethnic, and cultural groups congruent with local usage and that resonates with the sample participants (e.g., Latino/a/x/e) Capitalize racial and ethnic groups (e.g., Black, White, Hispanic)

18. Citation Implications Critique existing literature based on whether marginalized groups have been included Intentionally cite work from underrepresented scholars Their work may be adjacent to your discipline: African American and African Diaspora studies Chicano studies queer theory women’s/gender studies etc.

19. Interpretive Implications Describe limits of generalizability Also: generalizability is not always the point Interpret group differences carefully Consider intersectionality (e.g., SES) Describe how your work can address systemic oppression and challenge system-justifying beliefs and practices

20. ILG Outreach Efforts APA staff working group to foster adoption of ILG Goals: elevate integration of ILG to ensure principles are acknowledged and actively implemented introduce ILG to new audiences encourage systemic inclusion of ILG principles within organizational practices, educational curricula, and policy frameworks

21. Evaluating the Work Thus Far Most feedback is query-focused ex: how to use specific terminology 91% of web traffic from United States and Canada 116,175 page views since 2021 ILG is linked to/adopted by educational institutions state governments federal agencies such as Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA) nonprofit associations such as the National Association of Social Workers Implementation (ongoing) consists of outreach to inclusive language professionals to have conversations about opportunities, challenges, and strategies

22. Insights from ACS

23. ACS Inclusivity Style Guide ACS Inclusivity Style Guide ( www.acs.org/inclusivityguide ) An educational resource to help with decision-making around communication Framing narratives and wording Formatting for accessibility Image selection Included as an open-access chapter in the ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication

24. Topics Body size Narratives, framing, and sentence structure Job descriptions Data visualization Disabilities, disorders, and other health conditions Diversity and inclusion in images Accessibility And more topics...

25. Accessibility Recent expansion on accessibility section Deeper dives on types of assistive technologies, more sub-topics Serves as a launch point for a staff-facing year of learning on the topics of Accessibility and Equity Increased learning on concepts such as color contrast and making documents and web pages accessible

26. Implementation & Training Use across ACS member volunteers Women Chemists Committee used the guide in updating award eligibility language Adoption among some Divisions and Local Sections in their language to promote events and hold discussions Required resource for C&EN writers and editors Acknowledging instances of limited data Thoughtful framing Increased explanation of word choice Required resource for ACS Staff (surveys, forms, and census) Increased communication and agreement on surveying and form language across membership, committees, and more

27. Guide Resources Printable tip sheets Transcribed video to navigate the web page Practice sheets Change log

28. Impact and Usage Guide was launched in late 2021 Updated at least 1-2 times per year First Quarter, 2024 usage Over 11,000 views Nearly 7,500 visits 55% of visits from the US Most frequent access from the Philippines, Canada, India, United Kingdom, and China Increased international usage over the past year (up from 36% in 2023) Awards from Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) 2022 Bronze award for Microsite Category of D&I Initiatives  2022 SIIA Impact Award for a team of 150-plus employees Mentions in Conscious Language Toolkit (Crystal Shelley/Rabbit with a Red Pen) Conscious Style Guide by Karen Yin (upcoming book)

29. More write-ups and articles on the guide Six-piece feature on all  Inclusivity Style Guide tip sheets Lessons after a year of implementing the ACS Inclusivity Style Guide

30. Q&A

31. Breakout Rooms

32. Thank you Contact us: Chelsea Lee: [email protected] APA Style questions: [email protected] ILG questions, comments, and feedback: [email protected] Racquel Jemison: [email protected] ISG questions, comments, and feedback: [email protected]