On Greeting Neutrally
We often talk about small actions that make a big difference, and #GreetNeutrally is probably the smallest of our actions (in terms of time/cost/effort required) - and its impact is immeasurably good. A simple neutral greeting ensures inclusion of everyone in the group, reduces masculine default bias, and paves the way towards equality.
Here are a few practical ways to incorporate #GreetNeutrally into your life, today and everyday:
At work: “Hi, team” / “Hi, colleagues” / “Hey, folks” / “Hey, everyone” / “Hi, all”
At school: “Hi friends” / “team” / “classmates” / “students” / “pupils” / “all” / “everyone”
At home: “Hey, fam”, “Hey, kids”
With friends: “Hey, friends” / “team” / “people” / whatever other fun, appropriate, non-gendered phrases you and friends are comfortable with!
While greetings are important, gendered language doesn’t end there. There are also lots of titles and descriptors that are unnecessarily gendered, and we benefit from neutralizing those as well! A few examples:
A Chrome Extension for Inclusive Language
“Chairperson” or “Chair” instead of “Chairman”
“Police officer” instead of “Policeman” or “Policewoman”
“Firefighter” instead of “Fireman” or “Firewoman”
And of course, a shameless plug: If you’re looking for a gentle nudge to help you with these language shifts, we have an app for that! Download and install our Chrome extension Not Just Guys today, and it’ll help you advance inclusion in your daily emails and language.