Inclusive communication: What is it and how do you do it?

Around the world, inclusive writing continues to gain momentum. In Quebec, it’s even made its way into TV ads. And while language is an integral part of making communications more inclusive, there’s more to it than that. Here’s the proof.

There are numerous ways to communicate: with words, music, design, photography, video, spoken word, dance, non-verbal communication and more. For a communication piece to be truly inclusive, every element needs to be carefully considered.

• By adopting inclusive writing to make more people visible and eliminate discriminatory words (this also means avoiding editorial slips like “we’re looking for young, dynamic employees,” which discriminates against older people).

• By featuring a diverse range of people (culturally, socially, age, class, education, accent, gender, mobility, sexuality... and more).

• By being aware of our own biases and working to deconstruct the stereotypes they perpetuate. For example, casting people of colour as cab drivers or portraying larger people as lazy reinforces stereotypes.

• By telling different stories. Not only is this good for inclusivity but it’s also good for you: if people who are traditionally overlooked can recognize themselves in your communications, they’re more likely to choose your brand.

• By normalizing marginalized groups. For example, if people who use wheelchairs are only offered roles where their disability is central to the plot, this puts them in a box rather than showing them as people who deserve to be seen beyond their disability.

• By adopting an intersectional approach. This means paying attention to all forms of dominance, oppression and discrimination. For example, when we talk about inclusive writing, we may contrast the needs of gender-diverse people with those of people with reading or vision difficulties. Approaching inclusive writing through an intersectional approach means making choices that take both realities into consideration, without pitting them against each other.

For your inclusive approach to be sincere, it needs to go beyond what’s perceptible to the public. Your workplace, internal policies and hiring processes (among other things) need to be inclusive too.

Imagine an organization whose ads feature employees in wheelchairs but whose head office isn’t accessible to them. This is what we call a performative approach or social washing. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to make sure your approach is sincere:

• Does your organization have internal policies that promote respect and inclusion for everyone? Does its communication policy match the rest of its actions? 
• Is each step inclusive? This means everything from the brief, strategy, meetings, creative and production to the media strategy. 
• Do you work with people from a variety of backgrounds? For example, if you’re developing an advertising campaign aimed at the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, can you include members of this community in your thinking and, above all, pay them what they’re worth?
• Do you value the process itself? Valuing the inclusivity process over the outcome means understanding that communicating inclusively isn’t always visible. In other words: place as much, if not more, importance on the process than on the final product. 

The Fonds de solidarité FTQ’s mission is to contribute to Quebec’s economic growth while enabling all workers to enjoy a comfortable retirement. Choosing a diverse cast for its ads allows the Fonds to represent its network of workers, investors, entrepreneurs and people with varied backgrounds and profiles. In other words, it doesn’t seek to showcase diversity to look good or ease its conscience, but rather to accurately reflect its extensive network. That’s why its inclusive approach can be considered genuine rather than performative.

By adapting your communications to a target audience. This is why an organization that targets the general population may not make the same choices as one with a very specific audience. 

• Want to appoint a woman to your board of directors? Make sure you aren’t using male-coded language in your job descriptions. You may not realize it, but words such as “assertive,” “competitive” and “strong” can give the impression that you’re looking to recruit men and may dissuade women from applying.