5 things to do to be an inclusive people manager

An inclusive team values each person’s individual differences and lived experiences.

As a people manager, make each of your people feel valued and able to bring their authentic self to work each day.

Use this list of 5 things you can start to do today for your team and organisation.

1. Use inclusive language

Inclusive language is when you use words and terms that respect the diversity of people in your team.

It’s not the easiest thing to do if you’ve learnt to say one thing your whole life. But the point of being inclusive is to try.

One small change in the words you use can have a huge impact on the person it affects.

You can do things like:

Add your gender pronouns to your email signature
Ask people in your team “What kinds of inclusive language do you want me to use?”
Use gender-neutral pronouns in your writing

Find out more about:

Intersectionality is when different parts of a person’s identity may lead to a mix of discrimination and marginalisation.

For example, if a person in your team is a lesbian and African Australian, they may experience a mix of:

There’s no simple definition of how they may experience discrimination.

As a people manager, recognise this complexity.

Understand your team members have many dimensions to their identity and how those dimensions interact.

We all have biases based on our lived experiences.

When it comes to bias, there are 2 types:

Conscious bias, where you can see or know something is a bias and act to change it
Unconscious bias, where you don’t know you’re being biased and don’t know you need to act to change it

Your biases act as filters to the decisions you make.

Speak with the relevant team in your organisation for advice or training on biases.

Read the Queensland Government’s explainer on unconscious bias.

Being inclusive means being aware of and celebrating the diversity of your team members.

This means you see the strengths and talents of those who are different to you.

Encourage your team to talk openly about their differences and what they bring to the team.

When you celebrate a day of significance, you send a message to your people that you care about diversity.

There are many days of significance in the year to mark the diversity of others.

Here’s a list of examples:

You don’t have to make it a big deal. A meaningful group email or morning tea is enough.

If you can get a guest speaker or have a special event then even better, as this shows your commitment to diversity.