HNY Inclusive Language Guidance > ‘Inclusive language: race and ethnicity’ – video transcript

‘Inclusive language: race and ethnicity’ – video transcript

[ON SCREEN: Inclusive language: race and ethnicity]

We are all unique as individuals.

Everyone has a race, colour, ethnicity and nationality. Our ethnicity is an important part of our identity, just like our abilities and personality.

Race focuses on physical appearance, primarily skin colour. It also includes other inherited genetic traits such as hair colour, eye colour and bone structure.

Ethnicity refers to our cultural identification under international law and how this is articulated.

Heritage refers to our ancestors and what they identified with.

Nationality refers to the place where we were born or where we hold citizenship.

There is ongoing debate around terms like BAME or BME because both terms cluster together people of great ethnicity who have different shared experiences and identities. Alternatives to using these terms are ‘people from ethnically diverse backgrounds’ or ‘people from ethnically minoritised and culturally diverse backgrounds’.

Top tips…

• Avoid referring to someone’s race or ethnicity unless it is relevant to their care, the services they receive or the job they do.
• Avoid generalising ethnic groups as there is significant diversity between all ethnic groups.
• Avoid confusing race and ethnicity. Remember, race describes physical traits.
• Make sure to use capital letters when referencing ethnic groups.

You can find out more in the Humber and North Yorkshire Inclusive Language Guidance.

[ENDS]

This page was last updated on Monday 7 April 2025.