Editoral Guidelines

Includr, a media hub for all things inclusion, provides a much-needed perspective from expert voices on how to foster more equitable relationships as the foundation of personal and professional success. Includr aims to provide people with better access to tools, to enable a better understanding of how inclusion dynamics influence our lives, and to share guidance on how to actively promote inclusion — starting at work.

The purpose of the following editorial guidelines is to provide Includr contributors clear guidance about what to aspire to — as well as avoid. It is also our aim to give Includr readers a clear understanding of what to expect from this platform.

As Includr grows, we encourage every Includr stakeholder to dialogue with colleagues and managers about how we can create a platform that is more inclusive, more relevant, and more impactful.

We believe social inclusion is a tangible practice everyone can incorporate into their daily lives. A common problem is that not everyone is aware of the biases and barriers that influence behavior or how to integrate inclusive practices into their workplace. Includr.org gathers evidence-based solutions and insights from social inclusion experts to create a media hub of practical action tools and resources that people can adopt to transform their workplaces and enhance their relationships. The result of this work is a diverse body of practical knowledge on social inclusion that changes the world–one relationship, one practice at a time.

These guidelines are intended to provide transparency and invite accountability. For all Includr content and practices, we welcome feedback on how to make our content more inclusive.


Commitment to Accuracy and Transparency

The bulk of Includr content will focus on surfacing research and data-driven thinking around promoting inclusion. All Includr content will clearly designate research, primary sources, and expert thinking that comprise source material. Further, all sources will be cited. We demand accuracy and transparency from our contributing writers and review their cited claims. Includr maintains data integrity: content avoids generalizations and extrapolating research findings. In the interest of creating inclusive spaces, we have community management guidelines to set boundaries for behavior on our social platforms.


Commitment to Accessibility 

Includr creates digital content for all audiences to enjoy. IncludrPod, Includr videos, and social media videos will include transcripts or subtitles, and images will include alt text.


Commitment to Diverse Audiences and Acknowledging Bias

Our intention is to create content that is accessible and relevant to a diverse audience that isn’t always served by or reflected in mainstream media. Includr’s audience spans across sectors, with varying genders, races, cultures, identities, and abilities. Therefore, our content aims to speak to a range of needs and interests. We are specifically interested in elevating content that provides tools for people from communities and backgrounds who have been historically excluded to navigate the workplace, and content that guides workplace powerholders to create more inclusive cultures. To that end, Includr will enact processes that surface potential sources of bias, acknowledge bias when possible and appropriate, and ensure Includr content is sensitive and relevant to a broad audience.


Commitment to Representation and Amplifying Voices

We are committed to building a diverse team of contributors and collaborators. Includr aims to amplify the voices of those who know firsthand how we can become more inclusive and who have been largely excluded from decision-making conversations about how to collectively better workplaces so everyone has the chance to thrive. We actively solicit pitches from historically excluded groups, including, but not limited to, women, BIPOC, individuals with disabilities, neurodiverse people, and members of LGBTQIA+ communities. We are happy to provide necessary adjustments, which include, but are not limited to, extended deadlines.

We develop Includr content in collaboration with expert contributors and advisors. We greenlight content that aligns with these editorial guidelines and our editorial calendar and will work with contributors to ensure that all contributions meet, or exceed, our required standards of submission. Includr encourages contributors to pitch and explore the topics they have training, education, and/or expertise in, and are excited about. On occasion, we also seek out contributors to develop specific content.

Includr first prioritizes contributors with inclusion expertise who can speak to their own lived experiences. We believe that the journey towards deep inclusion means that we must amplify the voices of those most impacted and closest to the issue at hand. In addition, we believe there is value in hearing from trusted, influential allies leveraging their platforms and relationships to drive impactful conversations about workplace inclusion. We operate on the basis that everyone needs to participate to make deep inclusion a reality.

When contributors speak to an issue beyond their lived experience, we expect that they feature voices from the impacted community so that their content still centers the voices of those most affected. In other words, allied voices outside a community or identity are valuable, but they must consult and include voices from the community they are writing about.


Commitment to Inclusive Language

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Includr content has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to hate speech and bigoted language — coded or otherwise. In the pursuit of a more equitable and just society, it is important that Includr contributors use language that disrupts oppressive systems. This shift involves using language to describe specific conditions based on systemic oppressions rather than defining groups of people. Language is ever-evolving, and the most inclusive language may vary from person to person. As such, language choices rest with writers with lived experience; we respect what they think is best within these parameters.


Conflicts of Interest, Activism, and Disclosures

Includr is funded by the Andrew Nikou Foundation (ANF) and supported by partnerships and grants from ANF partners. Includr will disclose any funded partnerships or advertising arrangements on the website or on a content-level basis for specific sponsored content. Contributors are financially compensated, with exceptions for partnered content. Many contributors operate their own firms and offer DEI services. While we first feature guidance that is widely actionable, many contributors offer their own DEI services and might direct readers to these services as an example. Contributors will make such examples transparent.


Corrections, Updates, and Deletions

Inclusion is a continuous journey. While we aim to get it right the first time, there may be instances when we miss something. If any published content requires a correction, Includr will correct factual errors or typos that could cause audiences to misunderstand the content as soon as possible after it is identified. We will also note corrections to any previously published documents.

Includr reserves the right to have the final say in the publication of articles, in all instances.