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Examples of biased language are scattered throughout the English vocabulary. After researching hundreds of bias words (past and present), we found 30+ examples common enough to bring to your attention. Ongig’s Text Analyzer software, which flags these and many more exclusionary words and phrases, provides suggestions for alternatives to such biased words. We share those recommendations below too.
These 30+ biased language examples include:
- gender bias
- age bias
- racial bias
- disability bias
- LGBTQ bias
- ethnicity bias
- former felons bias
- elitism bias
- mental health bias
- religion bias
What is biased language?
But, first, what is biased language?
Biased language is made up of words or phrases that might make certain people or groups feel excluded or underrepresented. A sentence using bias can affect how candidates view your company. ThoughtCo.’s blog Biased Language Definition and Examples Prejudiced, Offensive, and Hurtful Words and Phrases defines biased language as:
“words and phrases that are considered prejudiced, offensive, and hurtful. Biased language includes expressions that demean or exclude people because of age, sex, race, ethnicity, social class, or physical or mental traits.”
You can still find the terms on this list of biased words in job descriptions, social media posts, marketing materials, political speeches, etc. Others have either already been put to rest or are on their way to being removed from day-to-day language. In job descriptions, it’s best to use neutral terms and unbiased language to avoid offending or harming members of a certain group. Read on for some examples of biased language to exclude from your job descriptions.
25+ Biased Language Examples
1. Blacklist
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias
Many terms used every day can contain potential bias. “Blacklist” is biased because it implies Black is bad and White (e.g. “whitelist”) is good. A sentence using bias like “blacklist” might turn off Black candidates.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Mail control and blacklist monitoring.”
Recommended alternative: blocklist
Note: Ongig’s Text Analyzer scans job descriptions (and more) for biased words like “Blacklist” (pictured below), gives bias-free language synonyms to remove bias, and shows a pop-up explaining why people might feel excluded or offended.
2. Brown Bag
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias
The Brown Paper Bag Test (aka “Brown Bag” test) was a form of racial discrimination practiced within the African-American community in the 20th century. The test involved comparing an individual’s skin tone to the color of a brown paper bag. The test was used to gain or be denied entry into certain clubs and organizations. Some people use the term today to describe a working or educational lunch. This is inadvisable given the phrase’s racist origins.
Example of bias in a sentence: “You are expected to attend a weekly brown bag session with your team.”
Recommended alternative: Lunch and Learn Session
Note: You can learn more about the history behind this biased phrase in our blog, The “Brown Paper Bag Test”.
3. Cake Walk
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias
The phrase “cake walk” originated from a pre-US Civil War dance performed by slaves for slave owners on plantation grounds. The dance was first known as the “prize walk”; the prize was an elaborately decorated cake. Hence, “prize walk” is the original source for the phrases “cakewalk” and “takes the cake”. Some people of color find this offensive because of its history related to slavery.
Example of bias in a sentence: “You make managing multiple tasks with tight timelines look like a cakewalk.”
Recommended alternative: an easy task
4. Christmas Days Off
Type of Biased Language: Religion Bias
Christmas is associated with the religion Christianity and some might feel excluded by you mentioning it.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Flexible schedules, paid vacation, and Christmas days off.”
Recommended alternative: holiday days off
5. Colored People
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias/Ethnicity Bias
Describing a person or people as “colored” is considered offensive by many. People of color or POC was an alternative to this biased word. In recent years, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) is more widely used than “people of color.”
Note: Our blog, BIPOC: The Hottest (Controversial) Word in Diversity? , touches on the POC vs Black vs BIPOC controversy.
Recommended alternatives: People of Color, Black, Indigenous, BIPOC
6. Confined to a Wheelchair
Type of Biased Language: Disability Bias
Using “confined to a wheelchair” to describe a population might offend or minimize people who use wheelchairs. People who use wheelchairs may feel that their wheelchair gives them freedom of movement, and it isn’t something they are ‘confined’ to. Using people-first language like “a person who uses a wheelchair” is more inclusive to people using wheelchairs.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Including those confined to a wheelchair.”
Recommended alternative: person who uses a wheelchair, wheelchair user, person with a wheelechair disability
7. Degree from a Top School
Type of Biased Language: Elitism Bias
Using a phrase like this might make someone who did not attend an elite school/program feel excluded.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Degree from a top school with strong academic performance.”
Recommended alternative: a college degree (or four years of work experience)
8. Digital Native
Type of Biased Language: Age Bias
The phrase “digital native” is and example of biased language when used as a descriptor implying a person born or brought up during the age of digital technology. It may feel exclusionary to older people and increase the risk of age discrimination lawsuits. U.S. law protects people older than 40 against age-related discrimination.
Example of bias in a sentence: “A digital native with in-depth knowledge of Product Lifecycle Management.”
Recommended alternative: person passionate about technology, tech-savvy
Note: Ongig’s blog, 6 Ways to Avoid Age Bias in Your Job Descriptions, discusses biased words like “digital native” and “young”.
9. Elderly
Type of Biased Language: Age Bias
The descriptor “elderly” is negatively viewed by some people because it implies frailty. Other similar bias words related to the elderly include “geezer” and “old geezer”. “The elderly” which is used a lot in the medical field, among other places, is offensive to some. A neurologist at the University of Chicago says the word is as offensive as “imbecile” and “idiot”. His views on the word “elderly” are:
“My suggestion that we avoid the term elderly in medicine goes beyond the word itself to encompass all that it connotes: stereotypes, unwarranted impressions, and bias. This is essentially a human rights issue. Medicine is the science and art of individualised communication, evaluation, recommendation, and treatment. Each patient has the right to be treated as an individual, according to medical standards based on their specific age, general condition, and comorbidities. To label everyone above a certain age as elderly and to treat them identically defies this principle, which should be at the heart of medicine.”
Example of bias in a sentence: “Plans and supervises programs that will enrich the lives of the elderly.”
Recommended alternative: Another word for elderly is “older people”
10. English Native Speaker
Type of Biased Language: Ethnicity Bias
Using the terms “English” and “Native” together in phrases like “English native speaker” or “English Fluency Level: native” might make a person who speaks English as a second language feel excluded. This biased phrase is often found in job descriptions, and can easily be replaced by “fluent in English”.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Excellent verbal & written English native speaker.”
Recommended alternative: fluent in English
11. Ex-offenders
Type of Biased Language: Former Felons Bias
Using the term “ex-offender” is derogatory and suggests the idea of a person as a criminal.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Experience working with unemployed, underemployed, displaced workers, noncustodial parents, ex-offenders.”
Recommended alternatives: formerly incarcerated people, returning citizens, parolees
12. Girls/Guys/She/He
Type of Biased Language: LGBTQ Bias
The term “girls” or “guy” might make some people within the LGBTQ community feel excluded when referring to a group of people. Assuming gender in a group is discouraged. A blog on Mashable about accidental transphobic phrases touches on these biased words:
“When looking to be inclusive of all people, we often use the so-called gender catch-all “he or she.” But when making it a goal to be inclusive of all people under the transgender umbrella, it’s important to remember that binary pronouns don’t fit all genders.”
Example of bias in a sentence: “He/She will be a skilled marketing strategist.”
Recommended alternatives: people, teammates, them, they
13. Grandfathered In
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias
“Grandfathered in” or “grandfathered” are considered biased by some and discouraged for their racial undertones. According to Encyclopedia Britannica:
“Grandfather clause — statutory or constitutional device enacted by seven Southern states between 1895 and 1910 to deny suffrage to African Americans. It provided that those who had enjoyed the right to vote prior to 1866 or 1867, and their lineal descendants, would be exempt from recently enacted educational, property, or tax requirements for voting. Because the former slaves had not been granted the franchise until the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, those clauses worked effectively to exclude Black people from the vote but assured the franchise to many impoverished and illiterate whites.”
Example of bias in a sentence: “The group welcomes candidates who are board-certified or grandfathered in.”
Recommended alternative: exempt
14. Gypped/Gipped
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias
“Gyp” or “Gip” has ties to the mistreatment of nomadic Gypsies and is discouraged for its racial undertones. “Gypped” is commonly used as a term to describe being cheated or to have something taken away.
Recommended alternative: cheated
15. Handicapped
Type of Biased Language: Disability Bias
“Handicapped” has been used to describe people with disabilities, but some might feel it minimizes their personhood. Using people-first language like “person with a disability” is more accepted. Another example is the switch from “handicapped parking” to “accessible parking” to be more inclusive.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Genuine care and interest in elderly and handicapped people.”
Recommended alternative: with a disability
Note: We discuss the politically correct terms for people with disabilities in the blog The Top 20 Questions on “Politically Correct” Terms [with Answers!].
16. Homosexuals/Homos
Type of Biased Language: LGBTQ Bias
The terms “homosexual” and “homo” are considered offensive to many people in the LGBTQ community. The Guardian reported that Dictionary.com’s language referring to LGBTQIA people:
“has been revised to change “homosexual” to “gay” and “homosexuality” to “gay sexual orientation”, with the dictionary saying that the changes would put “the focus on people … removing the implication of a medical diagnosis, sickness, or pathology when describing normal human behaviors and ways of being”.”
Recommended alternative: queer person, gay person, LGBTQ+ folks, LGBTQ+ community, queer community
17. Illegal Aliens
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias/Ethnicity Bias
“Illegal aliens” is considered a biased term with ties to both race and ethnicity bias. “Illegal aliens” and its variations (“illegal alien”, “illegal immigrant”, and “illegal worker”) dehumanize the migrant community and should be avoided.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Does not employ illegal aliens.”
Recommended alternative: immigrants, undocumented people
18. Long Time No See
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias/Ethnicity Bias
The phrase “long time no see” has been historically used to mock Chinese pidgin English and Native Americans and is considered offensive by some people. Lifehacker.org posted a list of Seven Words And Phrases With Racist Origins. “Long time no see” made this list. The article said:
“It might be surprising to see these seemingly innocuous phrases on this list, but they’re actually born out of mean-spirited mockery.”
Recommended alternative: it has been a while
19. Mankind
Type of Biased Language: Gender Bias
“Mankind” along with other terms that use the word “man” (e.g. “manmade” and “man the stockroom”) are considered by some to be gender biased language and might make people who are not men feel excluded.
Removing gender biased language and using another word for mankind is more inclusive.
Example of bias in a sentence: “It is our goal and mission to serve mankind.”
Recommended alternatives: Another word for mankind is humankind or humanity.
20. Man Hours
Type of Biased Language: Gender Bias
Similar to “mankind”, the term “man hours” is also considered gender biased language that may offend people who are not men. Words like “people hours” are not biased or sexist language examples, making them more widely accepted and a better man hours synonym. Another man hours synonym listed below is “staff hours.”
Example of bias in a sentence: “Approve all man hours under his/her area of responsibility.”
Recommended alternative: staff hours, people hours, work time
21. Master/Slave
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias
The terms “master” and “slave” are discouraged for discriminatory undertones related to times of slavery. Tech firms are among people who have stopped using “master/slave”. The timeline for removing master-slave bias is detailed in Ongig’s blog. The Story Behind “Master-Slave” Being Excluded by (Most) Tech Firms.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Experience with master/slave architectures.”
Recommended alternative: primary/secondary
22. Peanut Gallery
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias
“Peanut Gallery” is a common phrase that is considered biased language by some people. In the 19th Century, during the Vaudeville era, the peanut gallery was often the cheapest section of seats with the worst view. Peanuts were sold at these shows, people seated in the cheaper seats would sometimes throw peanuts at performers they didn’t enjoy. The peanut gallery was often occupied by Black theatergoers.
“Peanut gallery” suggests to some that those who sat in the cheapest section were ill-informed and gave unwarranted criticism. Vaudeville itself carries some racist history — it featured caricatures of Black people portrayed by white actors in blackface.
500 people per month Google the term “peanut gallery racist” (presumably asking Google if it is or not).
Recommended alternatives: crowd, audience
23. Recent Graduate
Type of Biased Language: Age Bias
The term “recent graduate” if used in the wrong context, is a bias-word against older people.
Using this type of language for hiring in the United States and other countries with age discrimination laws, increases the risk of being sued.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Apply if you are a recent graduate.”
Recommended alternative: a graduate, college graduate
24. Retarded
Type of Biased Language: Mental Health Bias
The term “retarded” is offensive to people who have a mental illness. “Retarded” and its variations were used historically to describe someone with an intellectual disability. The National Center on Disability and Journalism says:
“The terms “mentally retarded,” “retard” and “mental retardation” were once common terms that are now considered outdated and offensive. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed a measure known as “Rosa’s Law” that replaced the term “mental retardation” with intellectual disability in many areas of government, including federal law.”
Example of bias in a sentence: “A minimum of four years’ experience working with retarded individuals.”
Recommended alternative: neurodivergent
25. Sanity Check
Type of Biased Language: Mental Health Bias
“Sanity check” is often used in day-to-day language and unnecessarily references mental health. It denotes that people with mental illnesses are inferior, wrong, or incorrect. A forum on GitHub called Ableist Language in Code: Sanity Check mentions there are less-biased replacements for “sanity check” including:
- Quick check
- Initial check
- Confidence check
- Coherence check
- Soundness check
- Calibration check
- Rationality check
Example of bias in a sentence: “Line edit, copy edit, and sanity check draft content.”
Recommended alternatives: Double-check and re-check are also better alternatives.
26. Spirit Animal
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias/Ethnicity Bias
“Spirit animal” is a phrase used in pop-culture for describing something that represents a person’s inner personality. (e.g. “Rhianna is my spirit animal.”) “Spirit animal” being used in this type of casual manner is offensive to Indigenous groups. This is another one of the examples of biased language that might offend people due to its racial undertones towards Indigenous People, American Indians, and others whose cultures and heritage include spiritual animals, totems, and symbols.
Example of bias in a sentence: “The brand spirit animal, the guardian of values, and the curator of guest experience.”
Recommended alternatives: BFF, friend, soul mate
27. Tribe
Type of Biased Language: Racial Bias/Ethnicity Bias
“Tribe” is thought to have negative racial undertones towards African, Indigenous, and American Indian groups. This bias-word is commonly used in pop-culture to casually describe a group of friends or followers (e.g. “this is my tribe”). But “tribe” may offend certain people if used to describe groups outside of these cultures because it can promote misleading stereotypes.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Ambitious yet humble tribe of warm-hearted consultants.”
Recommended alternatives: friend group, network
28. Bossy
Type of biased language: Sexist language
”Bossy” is a word that often applies to women and girls who exhibit strong leadership qualities. Men and boys are praised for showing these qualities, but women and girls are derided, judged, and punished for doing so. “Bossy” evokes a certain kind of sexism in the workplace: sexism that tolerates women’s accomplishments only if they cloak them in non-threatening feminine energy.
Example of bias in a sentence: “We’re seeking someone who can lead team members and interact with clients without being bossy.”
Recommended alternatives: strong-willed, driven, leadership-oriented
29. Salesman
Type of biased language: Sexist language
One hallmark of systemic and institutional sexism is the way that we use “man” as a gender-neutral signifier. “Salesman” is a commonly used example, but others from job descriptions include:
- Fireman
- Policeman
- Postman
Job titles that include the suffix “man” can turn away qualified female candidates. It can also be a source of discomfort for LGBTQ+ candidates, who may object to the cisheterosexism of the term. For these reasons, it’s best to avoid terms that use “man” as the default.
Example of bias in a sentence: “Head salesman”
Recommended alternatives: salesperson, team member, sales lead
30. Crazy
Type of biased language: Mental health Bias/Ableism
Many people use the word “crazy” without much thought. This word is common in casual language, but it contains unkind and biased implications and therefore doesn’t belong in a professional environment. Both currently and in the past, the word “crazy” has been used to disparage, dismiss, and undermine people with mental illness. This word makes folks with mental illnesses and mental health struggles as out-of-control and dangerous, when in reality, people with mental illnesses are more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.
The word “crazy” includes sexist and racist implications as well, as it is usually reserved for women and/or people of color. For those reasons, and because of the ableism and mental health bias inherent in this word, it’s best to leave it out of professional language and job descriptions.
Example of bias in a sentence: “We’re seeking someone who is crazy about being the best in their field.”
Recommended alternatives: passionate, committed, driven, excited
31. Lame
Type of biased language: Ableism
“Lame” is commonly used to describe something uncool or disappointing. But “lame” has also historically been used to describe some physically disabled people, such as those with limb differences or who require assistance to walk. For many people, using the word to describe someone as uncool also evokes a negative and judgemental view of people with physical disabilities.
Example of bias in a sentence: “At our company, we find conformity lame and ingenuity exciting.”
Recommended alternatives: uncool, disappointing, shameful
34. Moron
Type of biased language: Ableism
Like many commonly-used words that describe a person’s intelligence, “moron” was once used to describe people with intellectual, learning, and developmental disabilities. It was popularized by proponents of eugenics, a dangerous and racist ideology that believed some types of people (mentally ill people, disabled folks, people of color, poor people) shouldn’t be permitted to have children. The eugenics movement was behind forced sterilizations, racist immigration policies, and laws against interracial marriage.
Avoid using “moron” and other words that express a negative bias against people with intellectual, learning, and developmental disabilities.
Recommended alternatives: neurodivergent, disabled
35. Off the reservation
Type of biased language: Racism, ethnocentrism, anti-Indigenous bias
The phrase “off the reservation” refers to the 19th- and 20th-century American policy of forcing Indigenous people to live and work in small communities with other Indigenous people. During the Trail of Tears, the U.S. government forcibly removed hundreds of thousands of indigenous people from their ancestral homelands in the American South. These indigenous people, who were members of many distinct tribes, were forced to walk to reservations in the west, where they were then confined. Thousands of Indigenous Americans died during the journey, during which the government deprived them of food and supplies.
Because so many indigenous people were forced to relocate to reservations during this time, and because indigenous folks were sometimes punished for leaving the reservation, the phrase came to refer to any person who behaves unexpectedly or without reason. But this phrase has always contained offensive, anti-indigenous bias, and it has absolutely no place in a professional setting.
Recommended alternatives: unexpected behavior, going rogue
Other bias examples — linguistic bias definition
Outside of the bias examples above, you might find linguistic bias in your JDs or anytime during the hiring process. But what is linguistic bias?
A linguistic bias is defined as a systematic asymmetry in word choice that reflects the social-category cognitions that are applied to the described group or individual(s). Three types of biases are distinguished in the literature that reveal, and thereby maintain, social-category cognitions and stereotypes.
source: Oxford Dictionary
Here’s an example of linguistic bias related to job titles:
if someone says “This accountant is not boring”, this person most likely assumes that accountants tend to be boring & otherwise, this individual would have said, “This accountant is exciting”.
source: Linguistic biases, Dr. Simon Moss
How can you avoid using biased language and replace it with bias-free language?
This list is only a small sampling of biased words and phrases. Along with the bias source example and resources listed below and in the blogs mentioned in this post, there are loads of links on the internet around biased language examples. If you are unsure, you can always ask a person which words they prefer.
Shout-outs
- Biased Language Definition and Examples Prejudiced, Offensive, and Hurtful Words and Phrases (by Richard Nordquist)
- Basket case: the case against (by David Marsh)
- Twitter Engineers Share List of Terms They’ll Swap Out to Be More Inclusive (by James Crowley)
- The Trouble with Tribe (By Chirs Lowe)
- Common Words and Phrases That Have Seriously Racist Roots (by Adeshina Emmanuel)
- 5 Popular Phrases With Shockingly Racist Meanings (by Elizabeth Enochs)
- These Words You Use Every Day Have Racist/Prejudiced Pasts, And You Had No Idea (by Zoë Triska)
- GLAAD Media Reference Guide
- 5 accidentally transphobic phrases allies use — and what to say instead (by Kate Dupere)
- Terms to Avoid When Writing About Disability (by National Center on Disability and Journalism)
- Seven Words And Phrases With Racist Origins (by Patrick Allan)
- It’s Time Pop Culture Stops Embracing the Term “Spirit Animal” (by Allison Cacich)
- Ableist Language in Code: Sanity Check
- Is ‘elderly’ an offensive and discriminatory term? (by Michael Cook)
- Billie Eilish Apologizes After Video Of Her Mouthing Anti-Asian Slur Resurfaces (by Curtis M. Wong)
Why I Wrote This
Our mission here at Ongig is to transform your job descriptions to attract top-tier and diverse talent. Our Text Analyzer software analyzes every word of your job descriptions to ensure there are no bias words and they are inclusive to everyone. Request a demo to find out if you have any bias examples in your JDs.
