In this session, Leila Emery and Joyce Hicks will draw upon their experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to instruct participants on the process of adapting inclusive language best practices in medical communication. After learning about the importance of using inclusive language, participants will hear how the instructors solicited examples of inclusive language from their medical writing and editing colleagues as well as their fellow Diversity and Inclusion Council members, drafted an inclusive language section of their company’s in-house style guide, sought feedback and buy-in on these style guide updates, and began incorporating inclusive language best practices into their daily work. Participants will also hear about the challenges and successes involved in adapting these best practices. Ultimately, participants will come away with a greater understanding of why using inclusive language is crucial in contemporary medical communication and how these best practices can strengthen medical writing and editorial teams.
