Former Army chief David Morrison has today launched a Diversity Council Australia campaign to phase out words which he said are inappropriate for workplaces - such as "guys" when describing a group of men and women.
Introduced with the social media hashtag #WordsAtWork, the campaign features a video where female office workers explain the inappropriate use of words such as "girls", "Abo", "poofter", ball-breaker" and "retard".
In the video, the former Army chief said: "Everyday at work there are hazards you walk past without realising just how dangerous they are."
"I'm talking about the power of words," Mr Morrison said.
"All sorts of people cop it, old labels which don't do us justice for who we are today."
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Mr Morrison highlighted the campaign's goal of creating more inclusive workforces.
"All the campaign is doing is saying look, it's a proven fact that more inclusive [and] more diverse workforces create real diversity of thinking and are more productive, more effective," he told ABC.
"And one of the ways that you can engender that type of environment is being careful about how you speak to other people, talking to them with respect and listening to their views with respect.
"I have now removed (guys) from my lexicon as best I can, I think it's important."
Watch the video:
