How Our Words Create Change
It’s no accident that two of the 10 genEquality activations relate to language. Language plays such an important role in our existence; it informs and affects everything from our morning routines to our evolution as a species. Among other things, language shapes and preserves many of the beliefs that we hold dear. Given its central, ever-present role in our lives, language is also a critical tool for creating change.
As we approach the end of the calendar year - aka the time of performance reviews and many social gatherings - we wanted to share some resources and tip to help you navigate it all while advancing gender equality!
Want to ensure your performance evaluation process is as unbiased as possible? Check out this HBR article that outlines the concrete steps you can take to improve your process: 1) Create a rubric, 2) Create better-defined prompts, 3) Run a consistency check.
Writing a letter of recommendation? The University of Arizona’s Commission on the Status of Women has compiled a helpful guide in writing the best (read: least biased) recommendation letter possible.
Wondering what words you should, or shouldn’t, use in providing feedback to others? Here’s one comedian’s guide to gendered adjective use (from TheCooperReview).
Wondering what adjectives you should rethink when addressing a woman? The Telegraph has a few ideas.