Inclusive language can best be described as language that doesn’t leave anyone out. For example, gender-specific words such as ‘mankind’ are extremely common. You could replace this with ‘society’,  ‘population’,  ‘communities’,  ‘humankind’ and many other words depending on your context. Common non-inclusive gendered language or phrases include the use of pronouns such he/she or him/her. Simply replacing these with them/they or even ‘we’ make the language inclusive.  

Language and expressions to avoid including anything that references the following attributes:  

  • gender  

  • culture  

  • religion  

  • able-body/mind or otherwise  

  • ethnicity  

  • lifestyle  

  • sexual preference  

  • age  

Using inclusive language broadens your audience and makes all readers feel valued, included and empowered.  

Some examples you could use:  

  • Folks  

  • Peeps  

  • Team  

  • Party people  

  • Pals  

  • Fam  

There are also heaps of others just a net search away!  


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