Inclusive Lexicon Project

Silicon Labs believes diversity, equity, and inclusion are key to building a smarter, more connected world. Embracing diversity, encouraging open and respectful communication, and rejecting discrimination make us better innovators and more accountable global citizens. We strive to foster an inclusive environment for everyone – regardless of their race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

Unfortunately in the tech industry, the offensive terms "master/slave" and "blacklist/whitelist" have become standard and are frequently used to describe software components in documentation and APIs. In an effort to build a more inclusive environment for all of our stakeholders, Silicon Labs is taking steps to replace those offensive terms with more inclusive language. 

Starting in Q1 2021, we are replacing the words "master/slave" and "blacklist/"whitelist" with "main/secondary" and "deny list/allow list" in our corporate lexicon. Wherever possible, new content (webpages, documentation, code, communication, etc.) will be developed using our inclusive terms and legacy content will be updated to replace offensive terms. 

We realize that this will be an ongoing process and that many of the standards bodies we work with have not yet taken steps to replace these terms. To that end, we will work closely with those organizations to try to address this issue and create a more inclusive environment for all.