Blog | 14 October 2021
Who is welcome on your website?
Part 3: Tips for writing inclusive texts
Suppose you are the web editor of your organisation, and your mission is to reach as many different readers as possible. Obviously, your organisation doesn't want any visitor to feel forgotten, invisible or discriminated against when they come to your website. But how to do this? And what are the pitfalls?
In this three-part blog series, you'll learn about the Language Consultants' approach to using language to create websites that combat discrimination and promote inclusion. Of course, it's about complying with the Discrimination Act – but not only. Inclusive texts make websites more welcoming to more people, which leads to better democracy and better business. We propose a three-step approach: map, challenge and write.
In this three-part blog series, you will learn how we work with texts to tackle discrimination and promote inclusion. With this third part, we conclude the series by telling you how you can adapt your texts to make them as inclusive as possible. In Part 1, we will tell you how to map your texts and in Part 2, how to challenge yourself and your organisation to write texts that promote inclusion.
Part 3: Tips for writing inclusive texts
Writing inclusive texts is largely about actively choosing what you write about: Which topics, people and groups can appear in your texts? Who gets to speak and be pictured? But it's also about language – how you express yourself in sentences and words. In this blog post, we'll give you some basic tips on how to start working on making your language more inclusive.
Write plain language – it's the foundation of inclusive text
Plain language principles are designed to include as many and as large groups in society as possible. Our main advice to you is therefore to follow the plain language principles in all your texts. The basics of plain language mean that you should adapt texts to the target audience. Choose words that everyone understands and write simple sentences that even those who do not read well can understand. Structure your texts so that they are inviting and easy to read.
Address visitors as "you"
Use 'you' as often as you can. It works well when you're writing texts that are aimed at 'everyone' – like on a website. It also makes it easier for writers to find simple, direct and punchy phrases. By using 'you', you avoid labeling the people you are writing for – 'you' includes everyone.
When is it relevant to categorise people?
It is very rarely relevant to categorise people in a group, but in the context of highlighting an injustice, it may be necessary. Look for value-laden words and epithets in your texts. These could be words like immigrant, wheelchair-bound, female, Muslim, old people, low-skilled, etc. Then look at each individual sentence and ask yourself: is it relevant to include that word in that particular context?
Example:
"The local councilor talked to a group of nice immigrant guys during his visit to the school."
Is it important to include the word 'immigrant' here or to say that they were boys? Why is it important? As soon as we read or hear a value-laden word, it corresponds to our prejudices and we have them confirmed or questioned.
If we choose to remove the categorising words, we mark that it was not the (group of) immigrant boys that the municipal council wanted to talk to, but young people at the school.
However, if it is the group of immigrants that the councilor was interested in, it might be important to highlight this:
"The local council asked a group of immigrant youths about their views on racism at school."
The aim here is to highlight the experiences of the discriminated group, and it can be important to write that.
What words should you choose?
Again, there are no easy answers - a word that many perceive as inclusive may exclude others. The key is to understand what your target audience needs and use the words that suit them. Language and the meaning of words are constantly changing as society does, and it can be difficult to know which words to choose to avoid creating or contributing to stigma and discrimination.
If we continue with the example of migrants, it is value-laden because it implies that someone has 'migrated'. People who are often categorised with this word may be born and raised in Sweden and not migrated at all. In this case, we recommend that you search the official dictionaries. For example, Statistics Sweden recommends foreign-born or person with foreign-born parents.
It is often sufficient to use the words recommended by the National Board of Health and Welfare, Statistics Sweden, the Language Council and other authorities, but sometimes you may need to ask interest groups for advice, such as RFSL or Funktionsrätt Sverige. Also, keep an eye on the social media of interest organisations to get an idea of how the groups themselves want to be referred to.
Test your texts
Invite many people into your work and find out if you have missed any perspectives. Use your colleagues as a first step, but also ask a sample of your intended readers how they perceive your language and approach. People from outside your organisation can provide new perspectives and help you determine how inclusive your text is.
Get inspiration
You and your colleagues do not have to solve all the questions on this complex topic by yourselves. There are many others who have thought long and hard about it, and who are working to get more people actively involved. Make use of it. Once you have mapped and found the gaps you need to fill, there is a lot you can read and be inspired by. Here are some examples:
- Being seen on equal terms – Region Kronoberg
- Who is normal? Norm-critical analysis of the City of Gothenburg's website
- Writing help for equal text in healthcare – Region Västra Götaland
- Images that change the world – Gävle municipality
- For example, 1177 Vårdguiden has writing guidelines
- RFSL's glossary of terms
If you want to learn more about plain language, we recommend the Swedish Language Council's plain language guide.
This was the last part of our blog series. You now have the tools to start working on your texts. If you need a reminder of why you should do it, go back to part 1 and read about mapping your website. Also, go back to Part 2 to read about how and why to challenge your website and how you can do more than just avoid discriminating.
