Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Guiding Definitions and Principles:
Language is dynamic and definitions, like humans, constantly shift, morph, and evolve to reflect society and culture change and are deserving of being recognized, validated, and challenged to help us find ways to engage our curiosity, build empathy, and be intentional with practicing inclusive language to respect all humans with language that dignifies all humans. Words matter. The definitions below have been lifted from various resources that specialize in DEI interventions and strategies and are considered authorities and/or subject matter experts on racial justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Advocate: someone with privilege and power willing to take steps to protect, publicly support, and dismantle systems against a marginalized group of people. (Allies and Advocates)
- Ally: Someone who makes the commitment and effort to recognize their privilege (based on gender, class, race, sexual Identity, etc.) and works in solidarity with oppressed groups in the struggle for justice. Allies understand that it is in their own interest to end all forms of oppression, even those from which they may benefit in concrete ways. (Shared Understandings, The Trevor Project)
- Allyship: the lifelong practice of self-reflection and action, which involves reevaluating beliefs, working in solidarity with marginalized individuals and groups, and building relationships based upon the ability of social privilege to support the marginalized group. Allyship involves two types of behaviors: (1) Supportive behaviors – being present for and listening to the struggles of marginalized groups and providing support; and (2) Advocacy behaviors – educating peers, confronting discriminatory attitudes and behaviors, and advocating for better policies and resources to support marginalized groups. (Standford: Setting the Frame: Privilege, Power and Allyship, Allyship – NIH.gov
- Belonging: feeling valued, respected, supported, and empowered in your professional, educational, and personal endeavors.
- BIPOC: An acronym that stands for Black, Indigenous and People of Color. It is based on the recognition of collective experiences of systemic racism and meant to emphasize the hardships faced by Black and Indigenous people in the United States and Canda and is also meant to acknowledge that not all People of Color face the same levels of injustice.
- Cultural competence: the ability of an individual or organization to understand how inequity can be (and has been) perpetuated through socialized behaviors and using that knowledge to disrupt inequitable practices; the ability to function effectively and empathically as an individual and/or as an organization within the context of the cultural beliefs, behaviors, and needs presented by another's culture.
- Diversity Includes all the ways in which people differ, and it encompasses all the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from another. It is all-inclusive and recognizes everyone and every group as part of the diversity that should be valued. A broad definition includes not only race ethnicity, and gender--the groups that most often come to mind when the term: diversity" is used—but also age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, and physical appearance. It also involves different ideas, perspectives, and values. (UC Berkley Center for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity, “Glossary of Terms")
- Employee Resource Groups (Caucus or Affinity): an intentionally created space for those who share an identity to convene for learning, support, and connections. Caucuses based on racial identity are often comprised, respectively, of people of color, white people, people who hold multiracial identities, or people who share specific or ethnic identifies.
- Equality: fair treatment of all by providing the same resources or opportunities to individuals. Treating individuals the same does not result in proportional fairness and ignores that barriers for underserved and underrepresented populations exist.
- Equity: fair treatment for all. The principle of equity acknowledges that there are historically underserved and underrepresented populations. It strives to ensure access, opportunity, and advancement for these populations. Its goal is to identify and eliminate the barriers that have prevented their full, equal participation.
Equity vs. Equality: The difference between equality and equity must be emphasized. Although both promote fairness, equality achieves this through treating everyone the same, regardless of need and circumstances. Equity achieves this through treating people differently dependent on need, circumstance and consideration of historical and systemic inequities.
- Inclusion: creating a culture that is welcoming to all people regardless of race, gender, age, class, ability, sexual orientation, and religion. Everyone is valued, respected, and able to reach their full potential.
- Inclusive leadership: leadership that values team members, invites diverse perspectives, and creates an atmosphere where people feel their opinions and contributions improve the organization's well-being.
- Institutional racism: occurs within institutions. It involves unjust polices, practices, procedures, and outcomes that work better for white people than people of color, whether intentional or not.
- LGBTQIA+: an acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or questioning, Intersex, Asexual, and the + represents the totality of possibilities that exist beyond all acronyms. This acronym has become the new standard over recent years.
- Marginalization: also referred to social exclusion, occurs when certain groups of people get denied access to areas of society (e.g., financial, education, health, housing, justice system, opportunities, funding).
- Racial inequity: from infant mortality to life expectancy, race predicts how well you will do.
- Racial Justice: Policies, practices, and procedures to ensure equitable outcomes for BIPOC.
- Systemic inequalities: specific policies, standards, and practices, as well as attitudes and prejudices combined to create institutionalized and even structural problems of inequality that differently provide opportunities and resources to some groups while restriction access to those same resources for other groups.
- Structural racism: racial inequities across institutions, policies, social structures, history, and culture
- Trauma-informed: an approach that recognizes and responds to the impact of trauma on people's lives.
- Trauma-informed practices: emphasizes safety, empowerment, and control for the individual emphasizes safety, empowerment, and control for the individual
