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Mansfield DEI committee recommends inclusive language and readability changes for town communications
Summary
The Mansfield Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee reviewed departmental communications on Oct. 15, 2024 and recommended a set of inclusive-language and accessibility changes — including using singular 'they,' removing gendered job titles and improving readability and town-seal legibility — and voted to approve corrected minutes from Aug. 20, 2024.
The Mansfield Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee met Oct. 15, 2024 at Town Hall to review sample communications from municipal departments and to develop recommendations aimed at making town materials more inclusive and accessible. Jocelyn LeMaire, the town's director of human resources, said the samples were distributed to committee members by email and in a printed binder ahead of the discussion.
In a line-by-line review, committee members recommended several concrete changes to town materials. They urged the use of singular 'they' instead of 'he/she' unless a person's pronouns are known, replacing gendered job titles such as 'chairman' with 'Chair' or 'Chairperson,' and changing 'his/her' to 'their.' Members also suggested rephrasing age descriptions (for example, 'over 60 years of age' rather than 'I am older') and removing gendered phrases like '14 Man crew.'
The committee raised readability and accessibility issues: use left-justified text rather than double justification; choose a single standard font and size for department templates; avoid crowded pages and excessive italics; do not hyphenate phone numbers or words that impede reading; and ensure color contrast and font legibility for people with visual impairments. Members also recommended producing digital materials in formats compatible with screen readers and pairing QR codes with traditional links.
Several members recommended reviewing the town seal for legibility and cultural sensitivity, noting that color-to-black-and-white reproduction can render the seal unreadable. Committee member Nicole Burch asked whether the seal might be considered offensive and suggested the committee include guidance about when and how the seal should appear in town communications.
Committee member Penesis cautioned that some formal language changes may be constrained by legal or constitutional considerations when addressing married couples, saying, according to the meeting record, that 'no legal substitute can be used to replace the husband and wife.' LeMaire said she would forward the committee's examples to the DEI consultant for review before the committee meets again.
The committee approved one procedural item: a motion to approve the Aug. 20, 2024 meeting minutes with the discussed textual corrections (motion recorded as passing 11–0, with Penesis and Murphy noted in the minutes). The body also set possible next meeting dates of Nov. 4 or Nov. 13; staff member Nancy Griffin will confirm room availability and notify members.
The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn at 7:06 PM (Archer/Penesis), recorded as passing 12–0.
Next steps: staff will send the discussed sample materials to the DEI consultant for feedback; the committee will reconvene after room availability is confirmed.
