Bias Education and Support Resources

Westminster Resources

• Counseling Center
• Office of Human Resources
• Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
• Student Engagement and Belonging
• Disability Services
• Interfaith and Spirituality
• Center for Veterans and Military Services

Achieving Bias-Free Communication

• Be aware of words, images, and situations that suggest all or most of a group are the same. Stereotypes often lead to assumptions that are unsupportable and offensive.
• Avoid qualifiers that reinforce stereotypes. A qualifier is added information that suggests an exception to what is expected.
• Identify people by characteristics only when relevant. Few situations require such identification.
• Be aware of language that has questionable racial, ethnic, class, or sexual orientation connotations. While a word or phrase may not be personally offensive to you, it may be to others.
• Avoid patronizing language and tokenism toward any group.
• Substitute substantive information for ethnic clichés.
• Review language, images, and other forms of communication to make sure all groups are fairly represented.