“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

—George Santayana

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Commonly used language in business has an inherent built-in bias toward masculinity and privilege, as business systems and structures were designed by and for the benefit of the majority culture. Our perceptions are shaped by what we see and hear, and the words we hear every day inform our reality. An article on HuffPost.com shares, “Language is very powerful. Language does not describe reality. Language creates the reality that it describes.” Think about that. When we continually hear words and phrases, they consciously or unconsciously shape how we see things. Remnants of ideals from centuries ago remain in workplaces of today. Today, it's hard for many to fathom a time when women were considered property, not allowed to vote, or earn a paycheck. Though that time has passed, male chauvinism is alive and well in the workplace as women are objectified and receive less pay than men for equal work, signaling that women are less valuable. The marginalization of Black people was designed with intention with laws like Jim Crow, which legalized racial segregation and denied Black people the right to vote, hold jobs, and acquire an education, signifying that Black people are not worthy of equal rights based on skin color. Acts of anti-Blackness persist with the killings and beatings of unarmed Black men and women as individuals hold unfounded beliefs that Black people have inherently violent natures and should be feared. African American women are referred to as “angry Black women” for speaking their minds in the workplace. Black men are admonished by colleagues and bosses to be “less assertive” for displaying the same behavior as their White counterparts. Many hiring managers feel that they are “lowering the bar” when considering Black candidates. These beliefs are rooted in our history.

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned Chinese immigrants from acquiring land, marrying non-Asians, testifying in legal proceedings, obtaining citizenship, and receiving legal protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Anti-Asian sentiments have persisted throughout the decades from American automobile makers unfairly blaming Japanese car manufacturers for their demise in the early 2000s to the breakout of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and most recently covid-19 in 2020. Despite being characterized as the “model minority,” people of Asian descent continue to experience hate crimes at an alarming rate as well as anti-Asian bias and discrimination in the workplace. Though they comprise 7 percent of the population in the United States according to a report by The New York Times, they remain underrepresented in senior leadership roles within American companies, media, and politics.

The oppression of Native Americans began when Christopher Columbus arrived in North America in 1492. A post on the site california-mexicocenter.org states,

The oppressors believed that it was their right to oppress in the name of building for themselves a new world called the United States of America.

After decades of civil and human rights movements and changes in legislation, the demographics of the workforce have shifted to include women and other historically marginalized groups. However, offensive terminology created by men of days past persist. The workforce of today is plagued with derogatory language so commonplace that it's considered acceptable. No matter your industry, more than likely there is widely accepted jargon that has the potential to divide us. Consider male/female components, blacklist/whitelist, segregation, blackout, or slave/master in the tech industry. The common use of these terms perpetuates racism and sexism and thus is a contributing factor to the industry being less appealing to women and people of color. The technology industry struggles to attract and retain women, Latinx, and Black populations. Several tech giants have moved to replace such terms with pin/socket, accept/reject, separation/division, restrict/downtime, and primary/secondary, respectively. The real estate industry uses the terms master bedroom and master bathroom when describing the largest bedroom and private bath in a house. The word master has a strong association with slavery. As more of us awaken to the importance of inclusive language, many realtors are now replacing the word master with primary. According to an article on TheFederalist.com,

Consider the practice of blind résumé reviews in human resources. While the point is to create more equitable hiring practices, the term can be offensive to individuals who navigate this world without eyesight. It's insensitive to compare viewing a résumé with blocked out information to the lived experience of a person who is blind. Similarly thoughtless are references to rambling conversations as “speaking Chinese,” “opening the kimono” as a means of requesting that someone reveal information, gathering the team for a “pow-wow” as a means to call a quick meeting, or an individual with the least amount of authority as the “low man on the totem pole.” While these terms may be as common as “conversations about the weather” for most people, they are insensitive and derogatory to African Americans, individuals with disabilities, Asian Americans, and Native Americans.

Let's not make the mistake of lulling ourselves into believing that words are being used without malice and no one cares about their hidden origins. As we work toward creating a more inclusive and racially aware society, altering language may seem like a superficial fix. When we get in to the habit of questioning whether the jargon of our industry includes or excludes, we are not making superficial gestures but foundational actions for building inclusion and belonging. The little things add up. Champions of inclusion accept responsibility for our words, consider their impact, and respond with humility when we make a mistake.

Actions

Action Accelerators

• Ted.com: What It Takes to Be Racially Literate, TEDWomen 2017: www.ted.com/talks/priya_vulchi_and_winona_guo_what_it_takes_to_be_racially_literate?referrer=playlist-talks_to_help_you_understand_r&autoplay=true
• Today.com: “These 11 everyday words and phrases have racist and offensive backgrounds,” by Christopher Cicchiello: www.today.com/tmrw/everyday-words-phrases-racist-offensive-backgrounds-t187422
• JDsupra.com: “Racist Language and Origins I Didn't Always Know,” by Gina Rubel: www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/racist-language-and-origins-i-didn-t-35616
• FastCompany.com: “The Problematic Origins of Common Business Jargon,” by Lydia Dishman: www.fastcompany.com/90239290/six-business-phrases-that-have-racist-origins

Sources Cited