Anthony's Dilemma: Importance of Inclusive Language
Inclusive language is important when communicating in class forums because it avoids stereotyping and hierarchy among social classes thus making it a crucial part of business etiquette. Being mindful on how you phrase your word and interact with your colleagues not only would say much about you in terms of eloquence but of your social manners and efficacy in terms of interpersonal relationship which is important in any business.
The problem with Anthony’s letter was it is very sexiest. It uses words such as “guys”, “good old boys”, “any man”, and “business lady” that made the letter’s audience exclusively for men when in fact, Anthony have a female classmate. It also sounded very unprofessional and unstructured with the very casual tone of the letter. To avoid making the same mistakes again, Anthony should ensure to polish his letter ensuring that it is formally structured and uses inclusive language.
Some tips that could help polish Anthony’s letter and avoid making the same mistakes is to rather than using “hi guys!” for a salutation, Anthony could use “Dear colleagues”. This way, not only will his letter sound more formal, it would also de-gender it making it more inclusive of both sexes. Moreover, since he is giving out advice to business professionals like himself, he should rethink of using masculine pronouns. Again, the best option is to make it gender-neutral by making it a plural indefinite pronoun or he could use both male and female expressions if it is more appropriate.
Another thing that Anthony should steer clear of is to avoid making false assumptions that all managers are men. By stating “all the managers and their wives…” Anthony made three stereotyping already: that job position of managers are only reserved for men, that men are the head of the families, and that wives only takes care of the children. To steer clear of such prejudices, better make use of both their names when addressing them, if the women’s names are unknown, just say “spouse”.
And lastly, since the letter’s audience are business colleagues, Anthony should address each people in a professional manner by their position. He can’t use “business lady”, or “good old boys”. Rather, Anthony should use “business (etiquette) coach” or “managers” in reference to their position as a sign of respect and professionalism.
