Language Matters: Our editorial service promotes fairness and inclusivity.

Editorial services on job adverts are part of our premium packages.

First impressions are lasting impressions.

The first thing a candidate will notice about you is your language. A potential employee can infer from your word choice whether or not you care about fostering an inclusive workplace culture. This explains why we think it's important to speak inclusively when hiring, promoting, and assisting a diverse team.

Your company’s identity is reflected in its language. We advocate showing inclusion rather than telling it. Making editorial changes to be more inclusive does more for your job ad than just saying we are inclusive employers.

The language services we provide as part of our premium packages ensure that there is no exclusionary subtext in your job descriptions. Such subtexts result from normative power relations and unconscious biases. It may be difficult to see oneself, but that’s where our editing service comes into play: we bring it out. We engage in discourse analysis that digs beneath what might be overtly exclusionary rhetoric, probing deeper into the implicit assumptions behind your job descriptions.

We scrutinize the text for any hidden hints of exclusion which could be deterring candidates from applying for vacancies within your organization. For example, one job description may contain the following sentence:

We are looking for a level-headed employee who can stay calm in a fast-paced environment.

This sentence should be rewritten as it omits those individuals who perform well but don’t think they’re “calm” or “level-headed” due to mental health reasons or neurodivergence. Because this means if not then it ends up meaning you want someone from a certain group by default which makes sense if you want your message to exclude some specific persons before even meeting them face-to-face on interview dates.

Likewise, studies have revealed that when women read the word “competitive”, they are dissuaded from applying at higher rates than men do so. Ditching “competitive” and “level-headed” might sound simple, but these are just two examples. It is usually the case that seemingly innocuous job descriptions can still be further edited to render them truly inclusive. We offer specialist editorial support in this regard as part of our premium package.

Paying attention to language requires staying attentive to how your communication replicates and sustains patterns of structural power. However, this is not just about societal implications. Your colleagues’ personal well-being is at risk here. A social burden that is unfair, uncomfortable and uncharted but needs to be removed from all organizations.

Demonstrations of real change.

A research carried out by McKinsey revealed that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.

If a company’s communication does not actively welcome its employees across all diversity dimensions, they may have the urge to hide or downplay their differences while at job place. This indicates that the wellbeing of your colleagues will be compromised besides them working below their full potential.

There are instances where hierarchical structures are re-instances, albeit unintentionally through our written and spoken languages. Therefore, it is important when recruiting a diverse workforce to invest in inclusive communication. Exclusionary language does not only turn people off your company, it also makes sure that you employees do not feel welcome or supported within their working environment; therefore investing time into using inclusive language in your communication builds trust and enhances productivity.

How it works.

We attempt neutrality which isn’t as simple as it sounds like. Writing inclusively isn’t only about avoiding exclusionary terms either. It consists of feeling the words by putting yourself into another person’s shoes who has different values than yours while reading them; hence necessitating active reconstruction of everyday phrases with contained exclusions.

Such analysis must look beyond the writing at societal structures involved in all forms of discourse.

Determining whether or not language includes people requires careful consideration and an adaptable grasp on shifting terminology. We proofread for clients using the services of a diversity & inclusion expert schooled in discourse analysis for edits/remedies

Job descriptions and beyond.

Once you sign up as a premium user here, you will be able to send us any job descriptions that you feel need some more inclusivity and our specialist will go through them before giving her remarks and corrections. She makes them strategically sound while ensuring they are reader friendly. She also provides explanations as to why she has made the changes she suggests.

We do not see diversity and inclusion as a tick-box exercise. This is about making sure that every person feels recognized as an individual and not captured within harmful societal stereotypes.