EXP DE+I Inclusive Language Guide

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D E + I): A resource guide for more inclusive language

Language is a powerful tool As it continues to evolve and shape everyday interactions, the EXP DE+I Committee consolidated a glossary of terms and recommendations to foster more respectful interactions among employees, clients and communities. With an understanding that our firm represents thousands of different backgrounds, perspectives, experiences and voices, and as a firm who has committed to combat biases through the United Nations Global Compact and signatories of other commitments, it is important our language assist in our role as effective trusted advisors, collaborative employees and trustworthy community members. This document promotes language to help reduce and eliminate bias. We encourage all employees to carefully review this document and the associated resources, including the United Nation’s Gender Inclusive Language resource. This document will be updated regularly. With a continued commitment to examining all ways to integrate diverse, equitable and inclusive principles into our workplace and lives, the DE+I Committee believes embracing inclusive language is one of many steps in the right direction.

General terms

The elimination of discrimination and other barriers that contribute to inequitable opportunities to join and be a part of a work group, organization or community.

Access

Accessible

Easily used or accessed by people with disabilities, adapted for use by people with disabilities.

Often now used specifically for a person who is not a member of a marginalized or mistreated group but who expresses or gives support to that group.

Ally, Allies

There is no standard definition, the Middle Eastern racialized group includes people with ancestry from countries or territories such as Jordan, Iran and Palestine; and North African includes people with ancestry from countries such as Algeria, Egypt and Libya. Culture, people and customs related to the continent of Asia. Be aware of the differences in areas, such as South Asia (India, Pakistan, etc.) and East Asia (China, Japan, etc.). Note: Oriental is considered offensive and should not be used as a synonym.

American Arab, Middle Eastern and North African (AMENA)

Asian

Bias

A bias is a preference for or against something or someone whether conscious or unconscious.

Black and African American are not always interchangeable. “African American” should not be used as an umbrella term for people of African ancestry worldwide because it obscures other ethnicities or national origins, such as Nigerian, Kenyan, Jamaican, Bahamian, Puerto Rican, or Panamanian; in these cases, use “Black.” The terms “Negro,” “colored,” and “Afro-American” or “Afro-Canadian” are outdated; therefore, their use is generally inappropriate.

Black and African American

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Culture

The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious or social group.

The unjust and differential treatment of the members of different age, gender, racial, ethnic, religious, national, ability identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic, and other groups at the individual level.

Discrimination

Diversity at EXP

Representing, welcoming and respecting people, perspectives and ideas.

Fair treatment, access and opportunity for all at EXP while identifying and eliminating barriers that have prevented full participation of some groups.

Equity at EXP

Gender Neutral, Inclusive

Not referring to biological sex or gender but only to people in general.

Homophobia

Irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or gay people.

Person who moves to another country usually for permanent residence. They may or may not be citizens. Alien is considered a slur.

Immigrant

Unifying EXP’s workforce in practice, decisions, policies and culture to create equal accessibility to EXP’s resources and opportunities for success.

Inclusion at EXP

Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

An effort to recognize the Indigenous past, present and future of a particular location and to understand our own place within that relationship.

A native or inhabitant of Latin America or a person of Latin American origin living in another country.

Latino, Latina

Stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer. The acronym sometimes includes Asexual, Intersex, Questioning, Ally, Unidentified or Genderqueer. Other variations include L G B T Q I A and L G B T Q I A +. Any of a broad range of medical conditions (such as major depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, or panic disorder) that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning and cause marked distress or disability and that are typically associated with a disruption in normal thinking, feeling, mood, behavior, interpersonal interactions or daily functioning.

LGBTQ+ Acronym

Mental Illness

Brief and commonplace verbal, nonverbal and environmental insults against someone based on their identity. They do not have to be intentional.

Microaggression

Minority

A small group or category within a larger demographic.

Multiracial

Representing various races or a person whose parents are of different races or ethnicities.

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A member of any of the first groups of people living in North America. When in doubt, ask what identity label someone prefers (e.g., Native American, American Indian, First Nation or Indigenous person). Note: Indian is seen as an offensive term.

Native American or Indigenous Person

Relating to or being a person who identifies with or expresses a gender identity that is neither entirely male nor entirely female.

Non-Binary, Nonbinary

Oppression

Unjust or cruel exercise of authority or power.

Umbrella term for anyone who is non-White. Colored is considered offensive although some individuals still prefer it. Ethnic and urban are also considered terms with negative undertones and are not synonymous.

People or Person of Color

An unfair feeling or dislike for another group is prejudice. Prejudice leads to discrimination, the unfair treatment of someone.

Prejudice vs. Discrimination

Linguistic tools used to refer to someone in the third person. Examples are they, them, theirs; ze, hir, hirs; she, her, hers; he, him, his.

Pronouns

At EXP, we believe in equity in the recruitment and retention process. We assess candidates on their qualifications, alignment with our culture and entrepreneurial spirit.

Qualified Candidate at EXP

A belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.

Racism

Refers to an enduring disposition to experience sexual, affectional or romantic attractions. It also encompasses an individual’s sense of personal and social identity based on those attractions, behaviors expressing them and membership in a community of others who share them.

Sexual orientation and Identity

A generalized idea applied to all people in a group, regardless of individual differences. Some may seem positive (i.e., Asian people are good at math), but still have a negative impact on the individual.

Stereotypes

Xenophobia

Fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners.

EXP’s commitment to DE + I At EXP, we value diversity, equity and belonging. We are committed to ensuring our firm better reflects the communities ​we serve through DE+I initiatives. In support of our mission​, we learn to understand one another, our differences and experiences and innovate through collective ideas. We partner together and deliver results that work best for our employees, clients and communities.

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Try to avoid microaggressions The short list of examples below is meant to highlight the importance of trying to identify biases to eliminating microaggressions due to the harmful nature, even if used without intent to discriminate or degrade an individual from a marginalized community. Many of these example terms, phrases and statements can be offensive to individuals, especially to those within marginalized groups, and impact their ability to have a discrimination-free work environment. With a diverse audience of employees, client and community members, understanding the root of the messaging and minimizing use can alleviate potentially negative consequences including damaged client and employee relationships and decreased morale. It is recommended to review the comprehensive list of microaggressions and their ways of showing up, in the resources portion of this document to fully realize their associated meanings and impacts:

“Indian giver”

“When I look at you, I don’t see color.”

“There is only one race, the human race.”

“Powwow”

“You should smile more.”

“That’s so gay.”

“That’s so ghetto.”

Language to promote more inclusion at work

LESS-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE

SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVE

“Terms of endearment”

The individual’s name

Ladies, girls, dudes

Everyone, all, team or y’all, folks

Best man for the job

Best or most qualified person

Master

Leading, main, primary

Slave

Worker, work hard

Businessmen

Business personnel or businesspeople, professionals

Chairman

Chair

Mankind

Humankind, people or humanity

Synthetic, manufactured, artificial, handmade, machine-made, constructed or produced

Man-made

Manpower

Resources, personnel, employees or staff

To man

To operate or to staff

Minorities

Marginalized groups or underrepresented groups

Blocklist, avoid list Include list, preferred list

Blacklist Whitelist

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Examples of potentially non-inclusive terms and alternatives to promote more Inclusivity

POTENTIALLY NON INCLUSIVE TERMS

COMMENTS TO SUPPORT UNDERSTANDING Use person-first or identity-first language as is appropriate for the community or person being discussed. The language used should be selected with the understanding that disabled people’s expressed preferences regarding identification supersede matters of style. Avoid terms that are condescending or patronizing.

ALTERNATIVES

• Special needs • Physically challenged • Mentally challenged • Mentally retarded • Handicapped

• Person with a disability • Person who has a disability • Disabled person

• People with intellectual disabilities • Child with a congenital disability • Child with a birth impairment • Physically disabled person • Person with a physical disability • Person with a mental disorder • Person with a mental illness • Person living with a mental health condition • Person experiencing mental health challenges

• Mentally ill

Many deaf or deaf-blind individuals prefer to be called Deaf or Deafblind (capitalized) rather than “hearing impaired,” “people with hearing loss,” and so forth. Avoid language that uses pictorial metaphors, negative terms that imply restriction and slurs that insult or disparage a particular group. As with other diverse groups, insiders in disability culture may use these terms with one another; it is not appropriate for an outsider (non-disabled person) to use these terms.

• Person with deafness • Person who is deaf • Hearing impaired

• Deaf person

• Wheelchair-bound person

• Wheelchair user • Person in a wheelchair

• Brain damaged

• Person with a traumatic brain injury

• Cripple • Invalid • Nuts • Crazy • Psycho

• Person with a physical disability

• Person with a mental disorder • Person with a mental illness • Person living with a mental illness • People whose incomes are below the federal poverty threshold • People whose self-reported incomes were in the lowest income bracket

Many people find the terms “low-class” and “poor” as pejorative. Use person first language instead. Define income brackets and levels, if possible.

• The poor • Low-class people • Poor people

Resources EXP’s inclusive dictionary draws language directly from the following sources. Do not use this document for any other reasons except the intended educational and informative use outlined in the introduction. If used, please be sure to reach out to the DE+I Committee to be able to cite the information correctly.

• “Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America’s Most Trusted Online Dictionary.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster. com/. • “Gender-Inclusive Communication.” United Nations, United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/gender inclusive-language/guidelines.shtml. • American Psychological Association. (2019, August). Bias-free language. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://apastyle.apa. org/style-grammar-guidelines/bias-free-language. • American Psychological Association. (2021). Equity, diversity, and inclusion. American Psychological Association. Retrieved 2022, from https://www.apa. org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion. • American Psychological Association. (n.d.). APA Dictionary of Psychology. American Psychological Association. Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https:// dictionary.apa.org/browse. • Canadian Museum for Human Rights. “Inclusive

• Fenneld. “What Are Microaggressions? 3 Main Types.” Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, 24 Mar. 2022, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-are microaggressions-and-examples/. • Government of Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada. “Guide on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Terminology.” Glossaries and Vocabularies - TERMIUM Plus® - Resources of the Language Portal of Canada – Canada.ca, 31 Mar. 2022, https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/ en/publications/equite-diversite-inclusion-equity diversity-inclusion-eng. • University of Missouri. (2018). The language of identity - division of inclusion, diversity & equity. Retrieved n.d., from https://diversity.missouri.edu/ wp-content/uploads/2018/07/inclusive-language. pdf.

• https://libguides.pratt.edu. (2023). Race, Ethnicity, and National Origin Terminology Guide, from https://libguides.pratt.edu/c. php?g=1278195&p=9456585.

and Accessible Design Guidelines.” Inclusive and Accessible Design Guidelines, https:// id.humanrights.ca/text-writing-standards-for exhibits/inclusive-language/.

If you have questions regarding inclusive language at EXP, please contact EXP’s DE+I Committee at diversity@exp.com