Inclusive, Accessible Tech: Bias-Free Language in Code and Configurations

Anne Gentle, Developer Experience Manager
API the Docs
October 12, 2022
Bias-Free Language in Code and Configurations
Inclusive, Accessible Tech:

© 2022 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 2
© 2022 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
The presentation today will touch
on sensitive topics, including
language that may be harmful to
some audience members.
We will be sharing our efforts to
remove this language from our
products, content and culture at
Cisco.
If at any point you feel
uncomfortable, please feel free to
exit the session, and reach out
directly with questions, or requests
for more information in a format
that works for you.

Hi!
I’m Anne Gentle, a Developer Experience
Manager at Cisco.
We make Cisco APIs better for developers.
We treat docs like code for over 1000 code
repositories for multiple products and platforms
at Cisco.
I play tennis, kayak, hike, paddleboard, and
work in Austin, Texas.

Social Justice Journey
Overview
Policy to Practice
Code and Config Examples
Resources and Questions

Power an Inclusive
Future for All
We must help bridge gaps of
inequity by using our technology,
extended ecosystem, and the
expertise of our teams, while
creating more opportunities
for more people, and acting
responsibly to drive change.
- Chuck Robbins

Cisco’s Social
Justice Actions
1. Influence Ecosystem
2. Increase Representation
3. Expand Pay Parity
4. Increase Board Diversity
5. Deliver Anti-Discrimination Legislation
6. Connect Leaders and Employees
7. Supplier Engagement
8. Commit to HBCUs
9. Support Black-Owned Companies
10. Diversify Partner Ecosystem
11. Invest in Innovation
12. Human Rights in Technology Solutions

Human Rights by Design
Advise & Train Product Teams on
Human Rights throughout the
Product Development Lifecycle
Accessibility by Design
Advise & Train Product Teams on
Accessibility throughout the Product
Development Lifecycle
Inclusive Naming
• Implement Cisco’s Inclusive Language Policy
• Build Employee Awareness about Inclusive Language
• Drive Compliance across Cisco’s Functions
• Engage Community and share Best Practices
• Embed a Culture of Belonging via Governance Models
Social Justice in Product Development

Policy to Practice

Policies on Inclusive Language
Goal: Promote and facilitate replacing harmful and exclusionary language in tech
Term
Recommended
Replacements
master / slave
primary/secondary
or
primary/subordinate
or
control/data (for clustering)
whitelist /
blacklist
permit (list)/block (list)
or
allow (list)/block (list)

Word Lists as API
Contracts
• Version-locked; users
know which version to
expect the change.
• Documents the dates to
expect the change.
• Backwards compatibility
means no breaking
changes due to a word
change.
• Communicates a roadmap
for future word changes.

Driving compliance requires that we know what
compliance means
input output
Internal Code
APIs, GUI, CLI, etc. Logfiles, telemetry,
etc.
Product
documentation
Automated checks in CI/CD

Category #1
Variable names
or comments that
are internal to
code. No impact
to customers and
no external
visibility.
Asset Categories
Category #2
CLI (config, show),
API, or schema
use. Deprecate
the old use and
create a new one
with a text alias.
This is complex
and customer-
facing; new and
old must work.
Category #3
Logs, telemetry,
monitoring:
Support old and
new (don’t break
customer scripts).
Deprecate the old
but cutover to
new.
Category #4
Documentation
changes: Simple
cases are easy to
do. Complex cases
(like documenting
a CLI) must follow
product changes.
Code and Configuration Examples

https://github.com/CiscoDevNet search for “slave”
Category 1 example

How to Take Inventory
https://github.com/cisco-open/inclusive-language

https://github.com/cisco-open/inclusive-language

Thanks Python and GitHub! Excel inventory

API Example:
API field name
changes
Firepower Management Center
REST API v7.1
Field Names (returned JSON)
Category 2 example

Example:
DevNet Associate
Fundamentals Course
Category 4 example

Visual Studio Code:
AlexJS Linter
Extension

Mitigation Example:
Ruleset for “woke”
linter and
Jenkins job

Looking Forward:
New Terms and Impact on Code vs. Culture
Goal: Centralized governance for policy and language decisions
Begin New
term
Culture
or Code?
Engineering Change
Process
General
tool/documentation
update
End
Questions that keep us up at night:
1. Governance structure – Which terms are critical enough to justify a company-wide
change in code, and why? And How?
2. US vs. Global intake process – Why wouldn’t we include global terms in our policy?
3. Scale - How do we meet all language needs for all roles?

Inclusive Language Resources
Inclusive Naming Initiative
Language recommendation lists
https://inclusivenaming.org/word-lists/
Example Public Policy on Inclusive Naming
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/
social-justice/inclusive-language-policy.html
Inventory Tools and Example Ruleset
https://github.com/cisco-open/
inclusive-language

What can you do to advance Inclusive Language?
Take an inventory of your engineering assets (code,
log files, telemetry data, standards).
Take a moment to reflect on your own use of language.
Consider what you can do in your role, and with your
unique skills, to advance this work.
Take a Linux Foundation training on inclusive speaking
(LFC101) and inclusive open source practices (LFC102)

Q & A

Inclusive, Accessible Tech: Bias-Free Language in Code and Configurations

Inclusive, Accessible Tech: Bias-Free Language in Code and Configurations

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