Research-based ideas
to help kids thrive
The following words will be used to describe race:
The words Black and White will be capitalized when referring to race.
The term Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) will be used to refer to a group of people whose members do not identify as White.
When referring to indigenous peoples, use their community preferred racial and tribal names. Use "Indigenous", "Native American", and "First Nations" except where citing the word "Indian" (e.g. the National Assessment of Educational Progress uses "American Indian/Alaska Native). Cite the individual tribe/band's name where known and where information refers explicitly to the people who are members of that tribe/band.
Your Parenting Mojo will use language preferred by the groups being described. This includes phrasing such as 'people who were enslaved' rather than 'slaves,' to indicate that their status as slaves was not their primary identity.
Following the Commonwealth Disabled People's Forum, we use 'disabled people’ rather than ‘persons with disabilities’, to describe people "with long term physical, psycho-social or mental impairments who are disabled by the barriers in environment, organisation and attitude that in interaction with [their] impairments lead to the denial of [their] full human rights and [their] disablement.” The phrasing 'disabled people' emphasises that people with impairments are disabled by barriers in society and aligns with the Social Model of Disability. It places the onus on society to remove disabling barriers and be fully inclusive of people who have impairments.
The following terms will not be used anywhere in Your Parenting Mojo's podcast or business:
This list is not intended to be a complete list of terms in common usage with origins in racist ideas, but rather those that are most likely to come up given the scope of the podcast and business. You may encounter departures from this policy in materials produced before June 2021. Please use the form on this page (link to anti-racist policy reporting form) to make any suggestions you might have for terms to add to this list.
Your Parenting Mojo will present ideas and concepts in ways that inform the audience of their meaning by using clear language. Professional jargon, acronyms and special terms will be avoided whenever possible. When there is no way to express an idea except to use technical language, the term will be defined. Your Parenting Mojo will also ensure to keep definitions to a minimum to support the ongoing use of clear language.
Your Parenting Mojo welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities, including but not limited to members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, color, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status and structure, housing situation, political belief, religion, language use, health status, body size, and mental and physical ability (including neurodiversity) and education level.
Your Parenting Mojo will use inclusive language whenever possible, and will encourage others to use the same in Your Parenting Mojo's communities. This means referring to "parents" and "caregivers" instead of "Moms" and "Dads" most of the time, not assuming a person's gender identity, sexuality, or relationship status, and not using terms that people who identify within these groups find problematic.
We recognize that white supremacy, colonization, patriarchy, and other oppressional ideologies have created a culture of exclusion that privileges some at the expense of others. We strive to dismantle the privileges of the beneficiaries and their imposed barriers on the historically and systematically marginalized.
Your Parenting Mojo will continuously be open to input regarding terminology and terms used and will stop using terms that become problematic when necessary.
When seeking guests to speak on the podcast or interact with paid members, Your Parenting Mojo will first seek out BIPOC guests whose message is aligned with Your Parenting Mojo's approach. If none can be found, White women will be considered; if none can be found White men will be invited.
Given Your Parenting Mojo's location in the U.S., and use of the English language, and that a great deal of scholarship in English occurs in former British colonies and Europe, the podcast often presents U.S.-based perspectives which may not be relevant to all audiences. Your Parenting Mojo will aim to broaden this perspective by setting a goal of having 50% of the guests on the show be BIPOC in calendar year 2021, with at least two guests outside of the U.S. and Canada.
Your Parenting Mojo will continue to critique the bias that is baked into peer-reviewed research so listeners can understand the relevance of the research results to their lives, including in-person with researchers where possible. Your Parenting Mojo will, where possible, expose the paradigms that underpin the research and that are accepted by the researchers without question.
Your Parenting Mojo has always used scientific research to enhance our understanding of parenting and child development. We aim to use science as a tool, without promoting it above other ways of knowing the world (e.g. Indigenous knowledge).
Your Parenting Mojo will look critically at the concept of Whiteness, both as it affects topics related to parenting and child development, as well as Jen's own role as the interpreter of the research.
Moving forward, Your Parenting Mojo will offer sliding scale pricing for all products, except where doing so is cost prohibitive to Your Parenting Mojo (e.g. a low-cost product where the transaction costs would exceed the revenue generated if sliding scale were used).
When selecting stock photos to feature in public-facing and member-facing forums (blog posts/podcast episodes, social media, discussion posts in communities), Your Parenting Mojo will actively seek out images of BIPOC people. BIPOC will never be depicted in compromising situations (e.g. looking angry). Your Parenting Mojo will attempt to choose images that are diverse and inclusive, and push against the common default images of primarily White people who are typically young, attractive, straight, and non-disabled.
Your Parenting Mojo will purchase goods and services from BIPOC-owned businesses and support BIPOC entrepreneurs. Your Parenting Mojo will commit a minimum of 25% of its annual purchase of goods and services to that of BIPOC-owned businesses and support BIPOC entrepreneurs through purchases and promotion of their goods and services.
Your Parenting Mojo is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without discrimnation based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status. A policy regarding anti-discimination in hiring will be included in all subcontractor contracts.
We take affirmative action to ensure equal opportunity for all applicants and will not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Your Parenting Mojo is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities.
Despite Your Parenting Mojo's best efforts, Jen's status as a White woman who is in the process of learning about her privilege and deconstructing White supremacy means that mistakes will occasionally be made - either a statement in the podcast or a community won't live up to the letter or spirit of these policies, or the need for a policy will have been overlooked. When this occurs, the following process will be followed:
Code of Conduct
Your Parenting Mojo operates a variety of spaces for community members to interact, which will be governed by the following code of conduct:
Code of conduct/anti-harassment policy located here
Statement of support for Black Lives Matter
Your Parenting Mojo stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement calling for an end to police brutality, white supremacy, and accountability for the police officers and white civilians that murdered George Floyd, Ahmaud Aubrey, Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed, Tony McDade, and the other Black Americans who have faced violence while living in a country founded on white supremacy.
Your Parenting Mojo publicly condemns white supremacy and the police murders of people in Black, Indigenous, Latino, and LGBTQ+ communities of color. Your Parenting Mojo is dedicated to creating a society where everyone belongs and where differences and uniqueness are celebrated. This mission demands that we face these oppressions and acknowledge our part in them.
Your Parenting Mojo pledges resources to educating, interrogating, naming, and dismantling our privileges; rooting out anti-Blackness and amplifying Black voices and voices of color. This statement cannot and will not substitute for action that Your Parenting Mojo has taken and will continue to take on dismantling white supremacy.
Your Parenting Mojo recognizes that the Your Parenting Mojo community is a majority white audience. We recognize that the Black population have been doing and living this work for generations and are often called upon to educate their White neighbors. Your Parenting Mojo maintains that it is White people's responsibility to educate themselves and each other.
Your Parenting Mojo welcomes and strives to be inclusive and celebratory of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, nationalities, cultures, religions, socio-economic statuses, physical abilities, neuro-diversities, ages, body sizes, family structures, housing situation, and education levels. We recognize that white supremacy, colonization, patriarchy, and other oppressional ideologies have created a culture of exclusion that privileges some at the expense of others. We strive to dismantle the privileges of the beneficiaries and their imposed barriers on the historically and systematically marginalized.
A review of the policies and data generated as a result of these policies will take place on an annual basis. The review process will involve the gathering of data described on this page by Your Parenting Mojo, a possible survey of Your Parenting Mojo’s listeners, and the convening of a small panel of Your Parenting Mojo listeners to review the results. The outcome of this review will determine the need for policy revision. Results will be communicated to Your Parenting Mojo listeners in summary form.
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Your Parenting Mojo acknowledges the Lisjan Ohlone people, the rightful stewards of the land on which we live and work. While the Lisjan Ohlone people can never be fully compensated for the harms that the legacy of colonialism has wrought, we pay the Shuumi Land Tax as recognition that more than words are needed, and we encourage others to engage meaningfully (including financially) with their local Indigenous communities.