Our inclusive language guide focuses on editorial guidance that avoids bias and conveys respect. The key objective of the guide is to offer thoughtful, practical guidance in speaking to and about the diverse range of people that are part of, or have links with, the University. This guidance, like everything in the editorial style guide, is intended for internal and corporate communications. It is not intended for academic contexts. Inclusive language principles We have worked with our communities to outline three overarching principles. 1. Always ask, never assume Our communities are intersecting and global. When we write about people, we never make assumptions, and as far as possible, we ask the person we're writing about how they would prefer to be described. 2. Write for context When we write about a person or people, we find out as much as we can about their context, so that we can fully understand and reflect their lived experience. 3. Write with care and respect Our University culture is one of equality, diversity and inclusion. We write with care, sensitivity, respect and accuracy. How we write inclusively In collaboration with our communities, we have developed topic-based editorial guidance on: disabilitysex, sexuality and genderrace and ethnicity Disability How we write about disability. Sex, sexuality and gender How we write about sex, sexuality and gender. Race and ethnicity How we write about race and ethnicity. How this guide has been developed Our guidance about language has been on the advice of our communities, and our guide is a reflection of this continuing conversation. Where possible, we have referenced our communities’ suggestions for resources or other relevant areas in the University which may provide further context, guidance and help. For an understanding of how this guide was developed, our blog post explains how we facilitated the co-design of this guide with our communities.Inclusive Language Guide: how we co-designed with our community as part of a human-centred Design SystemEquality, Diversity and Inclusion To support your editorial work, you may find it helpful to refer to some of the lived experience of our communities. Read more at Inclusion at Edinburgh This article was published on Friday 11 April 2025
