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INCITS Issues Revised Inclusive Terminology Guidelines for Standards

WASHINGTON – Today, INCITS, a leading U.S. standards organization dedicated to developing information technology standards, released revised INCITS Inclusive Terminology Guidelines. The INCITS Inclusive Terminology Guidelines introduced new best practices for how to use inclusive terminology and incorporate the preferences of different communities and stakeholders into the standards development process. The revised guidelines released today further define and detail use cases for how and when inclusive terminology should be used and offensive terminology can be avoided.

“INCITS led the way with the implementation of its guidelines in 2021. Since then, in partnership with the broader INCITS community and membership, INCITS has continued to refine and broaden the use of inclusive terminology. This updated version of the guidelines provides additional examples, including new use cases for specific potentially offensive words and phrases, that will enable other in the standards development world to more easily adopt INCITS’ inclusive approach,” said Bryce Adelstein Lelbach, HPC Programming Models Architect at NVIDIA and editor for the INCITS Inclusive Terminology Guidelines.

Building on the INCITS Principle of Inclusive Terminology approved in September 2020, and the initial Guidelines issued in July 2021, the revised INCITS Inclusive Terminology Guidelines further define and establish how INCITS documents should be written and updated to ensure clarity and inclusivity while also avoiding terms with negative connotations. INCITS is committed to replacing offensive terms with more inclusive language in its documents. The guidelines are the result of an ongoing effort by INCITS that included surveying best practices from other organizations.

The INCITS Inclusive Terminology Guidelines is a living document. Feedback and suggested improvements to the Guidelines are welcome and should be sent to inclusive@standards.incits.org.

About INCITS: INCITS – the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards – is the central U.S. forum dedicated to creating technology standards for the next generation of innovation.  INCITS members combine their expertise to create the building blocks for globally transformative technologies. From cloud computing to communications, from transportation to health care technologies, INCITS is the place where innovation begins. INCITS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is affiliated with ITI. Visit www.incits.org to learn more.

Press Contact: Jennie Westbrook Courts