Evaluating IANR Web Materials for Inclusive Excellence

Websites are the official face that IANR presents to both those inside IANR and to the world. Websites help to tell our story about who we are, what we see as important, the outcomes we value and what we are working toward. They are not merely neutral respositories of information. They communicate to the conscious and subconscious minds messages about us.

The following is a guide for evaluating your website for inclusive excellence. The six standards are presented along with how the standard might be operationalized.

Standard #1 The commitment to equity, access, inclusion and belongingness is easily accessible and clearly stated

  • The unit's commitment to inclusive excellence is explicitly and clearly stated. This should include a statement of the value placed on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
  • Take it up a notch: There is a message, statement, quote or similar from the leader that unequivocally indicates their commitment to inclusive excellence.
  • It is clear what a commitment to inclusive excellence means for the unit and the profession as a whole.
  • Content on the site indicates how attention to inclusive excellence leads to improved outcomes and impacts.
  • Take it up a notch: The commitment to inclusive excellence is evident throughout the pages of the website, not only in locations specifically devoted to inclusive excellence. It is evident to the viewer that principles related to inclusive excellence are relevant to and present in everything the unit does.

Standard #2It is clear that action is being taken

  • It is apparent though the website that the unit is sponsoring/has sponsored events and initiatives designed to encourage inclusion and belongingness.
  • If the unit has a group and/or individual who has responsibilities for culture and climate, this is evident on the website.

Standard #3 Women and individuals from minoritized groups are shown as active contributors to the unit

  • Images, descriptions, and/or stories show women and individuals from minoritized groups in active roles in the unit and in the profession.
  • Images, stories, descriptions, etc. reflect women and individuals from minoritized groups actively using the tools of the profession. They are shown conducting research, engaged in Extension programming and/or teaching, rather than shown or presented in passive ways such as an individual looking at the camera or sitting in a meeting.

Standard #4 The visuals (e.g., pictures, graphics) and other imagery are inclusive of all forms of diversity

  • People of diverse backgrounds are able to see people with similar attributes as them in pictures and visuals.
  • Taken as a whole, pictures and other visuals reflect the diversity that exists within the unit. (The visuals should accurately reflect the reality of the diversity that exists.)
  • Images, descriptions, and/or stories depict women and individuals from minoritized groups in active roles in the unit and in the profession, and/or having made important contributions to the unit and profession.

Standard #5 The organization of the website makes it easy to navigate to information about inclusive excellence

  • A statement or page describing the unit's commitment to inclusive excellence is no more than one click away from the home page. Getting there from the drop down menu is ok.
  • The page that describes the unit (labeled “About” or similar) includes language that reflects the unit’s commitment to inclusive excellence.
  • The unit’s website includes a link to the IANR page about equity and inclusion (https://ianr.unl.edu/belonging-in-IANR)
  • Links to professional association pages that describe commitments to inclusive excellence and professional ethics. Limit the number of links to only those with particular relevance to the unit. Long lists of links tend to be overwhelming and counterproductive. Be sure to include short descriptions of what will be found by following the link.
  • There are links to organizations and/or resources for women and minorities in the profession. (See commentary in previous bullet point).
  • The site uses multiple presentation strategies (e.g., text, video, graphics) to tell the story of the unit.
  • Take it up a notch: Attention to the unit’s culture/climate and inclusive excellence is present on the homepage.
  • Take it up a notch: Someone with a physical disability is able to navigate the website.

Standard #6Content throughout the website is written using inclusive language.

  • While there are many things that could be done to ensure that the language is inclusive, start with making sure the text is not unintentionally gender-coded as masculine. The following style guides may be helpful in determining how to craft the message so that it is not unintentionally gendered:
    • A useful style guide from Northern Illinois University can be found at https://www.niu.edu/writingtutorial/style/bias-free-language.shtml
    • While gender decoder software (see http://gender-decoder.katmatfield.com/) is used to determine gender-coding in job advertisements, it can also be used to evaluate the gender-coding of web site text. Research findings indicate that in the United States women, individuals who identify as gender non-binary and transgender, and individuals from minoritized racial/ethnic groups do not respond as well to masculine-coded language as they do to feminine-coded language.
  • Take it up a notch: Many of the professions represented in IANR have procedures, policies and ways of doing and talking about things that are steeped in traditions and customs based on people in these professions being White males. Take it up a notch by carefully examining the policies, procedures and practices represented and described on the website that don't account for how things need to be different to achieve inclusiveness and belongingness in response to changing demographics.

DEI Web Page Template

While a separate web page may not be necessary to communicate the commitment to inclusive excellence, it is often helpful. You may want to consider using https://ianrmedia.unl.edu/template/dei as template for creating an inclusive excellence web page for your unit.

Sources Informing this Guide

Darstaru, A. (May 20, 2020). Design Stereotypes: What Defines Feminine Design and Masculine Design
(retrieved May 2021 from https://blog.creatopy.com/masculine-design-feminine-design/

Dunbar, N. (July 30, 2020). How to Incorporate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into Content Marketing
(retrieved May 2021 from https://www.clearvoice.com/blog/accessible-content/)

Burack, C., & Franks, S. E., (2006). Evaluating STEM department websites for diversity. Proceedings of the 2006 WEPANConference.
(retrieved May 2021 from https://journals.psu.edu/wepan/article/view/58443/58131

Burack, C. (2004). Gender Equity Website Evaluation Rubric.
(retrieved May 2021 from https://www.k-state.edu/kawse/advance/publications/docs/website-rubric.pdf)

Catlin, K. (2021). Better Allies. Second Edition (Audible). (see also https://betterallies.com/language/

Diversity Inc. Who has the best website for diversity, February 27, 2013
(retrieved May 2021 from https://www.diversityinc.com/ask-diversityinc-who-has-the-best-website-for-diversity/) 

Guo, B. & Mantin, J. Project Inkblot Guide: How to Begin Designing for Diversity
(retrieved May 2021 from https://thecreativeindependent.com/guides/how-to-begin-designing-for-diversity/

Northern Illinois University. Bias-free Language
(retrieved June 2021 from https://www.niu.edu/writingtutorial/style/bias-free-language.shtml

Velardi, O. What is gender neutral design? Here's how and when to use it.
(retrieved May 2021 from https://visme.co/blog/feminine-design-masculine-design/)