'It’s important to remember that people live in the countries you are describing. Avoid demeaning language—because if you don’t you may inadvertently harm readers and perpetuate prejudice.' This week's ScienceWorkingLife:
. I was fascinated by the findings because they were relevant to my research in public health. But I also felt a sting of annoyance. The researchers stated they’d done their work in “developing countries”—a hierarchical term that, to me, is a slight to many parts of the world, including my native country, Kenya. It wasn’t an isolated incident: I repeatedly come across this kind of label in the academic literature and in discussions about global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eventually, I decided I had to say something. I wrote a letter to the local newspaper. It was cathartic to get things off my chest, but I never expected it to be published. My fellow students were generally indifferent when I made these points. One, also from Africa, thought I was making too much trouble. “Our goal is to finish class and get our degrees, not to poke holes in terms that have already been decided,” he told me. But several professors appreciated my perspective. I felt that I might be making a difference.
That began to change when I coedited a textbook with three thoughtful colleagues. I expressed my discomfort with the standard terms and proposed as an alternative “areas with limited resources.” The others agreed, so we included it in our guidelines for contributors. I was glad the resulting textbook was devoid of terms I dislike. But more recently, I have realized that even my own term is simplistic and rarely justifiable, and that it is often better to avoid these categorizations altogether.
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