Understanding bias

When we are writing, it’s important for us to actively avoid biased language and write with sensitivity. Your audience will most likely be a diverse one that includes people of all genders, races, sexualities, classes, etc. Therefore, your writing should be inclusive of that audience.

What is bias?

Bias is the inclination or prejudices that one individual may have for or against someone or something. Bias can be conscious or unconscious. Unconscious biases may show up in your writing if you are not careful. Therefore, it is important to understand what bias is and how it appears so that we can remove it.

Avoid bias

Since bias is often unconscious the only real way to avoid it is to learn what it looks like. You should...

Stay away from generalizations

It is important to stay away from statements that assume facts about a group of people that may not be true. For example:

• Women do not do math.

This is a biased statement because this is not a fact that is true for all women.

An unbiased statement would be:

• In a survey done in 2022 with women aged 21—35, 35% of responders said that they did not use math in their day-to-day lives. 

This is an unbiased statement because it is backed up by facts. We are, of course, assuming here that the survey was not biased.

Be cautious of comparisons

When comparing two things it can be easy to introduce personal feelings into your writing. Inherently, personal feelings are not based in fact and can often introduce bias. For example:

• Machine Learning engineers are more advanced than Java developers.

This is a biased statement because Machine Learning engineers have been elevated above Java developers with no proof to back the comparison up.

Avoid gendered language

Pronouns

Take a look at the following example:

• Every software developer encounters challenges on his journey.

Here, the pronoun “his” seems to imply that “every software developer” is male, which is untrue and biased. Even if this was not the intention in using only the “his” pronoun, the absence of a feminine pronoun will be obvious and uncomfortable for women reading this sentence.

A common fix for this has previously been to use “his/her” or “he/she” or “s/he.” However, the slash can look awkward and interrupt the flow of your writing, and this fix is no longer used in many style guides, including Educative’s.

Why? Well, there is actually a preexisting, smoother, more inclusive gender neutral pronoun in English:

• Every software developer encounters challenges on their journey.

The pronoun “they/them/their” is useful to both avoid gendered language and to include all genders, as some people use “they” as a singular pronoun for themselves, too. If you are unsure of someone's gender, use the "they/them" pronoun.

Groups of people

When referring to groups of people with nonspecific gender, just use “people” or “individuals.” 

Similarly, instead of using “man” to refer to all humans, i.e., “This is a technological achievement for man,” a more inclusive alternative is “humanity” or “humankind.”

When referring to a group of people, make sure you refer to them by their preferred name. If you are unsure of what their preferred name is, take a few moments to do a Google search. After all, you cannot effectively write for your audience if you are simultaneously offending them.

Occupations

Many occupations, like “software developer,” are already gender-neutral nouns. However, some occupations have been gendered, and we should take care to avoid this.

One common example is “businessman.” Unless we are specifically referring to a man who does business, we should instead use the neutral terms “business person” or “business executive.” If we only use “businessman,” we imply that there are no women in business, which is false and biased.

Here are some other examples:

• Chairman → Chair

• Fireman → Firefighter

• Policeman and policewoman → Police officer

• Congressman → Congressional representative

• Mailman → Mail carrier

Write with sensitivity

To write with sensitivity, is to have an understanding of wording or phrases that may be offensive, present a stereotype, introduce bias, misrepresentation of a group of people, etc. The following tips will make sure that you are able to comb your content for any phrasing or statements that will alienate or cause negative feelings within your audience. 

After you write any sort of document or technical article, it is important to do a "sensitivity read" or your draft. This will make sure that any unconscious or conscious biases that may have been been introduced into your writing are removed.

Use up-to-date terms

When talking about marginalized populations or using slang, it is important to use up-to-date terms with the current social and political climate.

Just because a term is up-to date, does not mean it is appropriate or politically correct. If the word is considered to be a slur or otherwise offensive to a group or region of people, avoid it!

Slang should not be used in Technical Writing.

People-first language

When writing about an individual(s) who are not able-bodied, suffer from mental illness, , it is important to use people-first language. 

To do this, put the individual(s) ability at the forefront of the statement, not their limitations. Avoid using negative words

For example: Instead of "convict," use "incarcerated person."

No matter what, it is extremely important to be conscious of your biases while writing to avoid the continuation of negative feelings and rhetoric around sexism, ageism, racism, stereotypes, etc.