Foundational DEI concepts and Related terms to broaden your understanding of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.<\/p>\n
Note: This \u201cLiving Language Guide\u201d is a curated glossary of DEI related terms, which sometimes offers multiple and differing definitions for some concepts. This should NOT be interpreted as Boston University\u2019s recommended or mandated terminology nor used as such. <\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Accountability is not simply taking the blame when something goes wrong. It\u2019s not a confession. Accountability is about delivering on a commitment. It\u2019s responsibility to an outcome, not just a set of tasks. It\u2019s taking initiative with thoughtful, strategic follow-through.<\/p>\n Source: Harvard Business Review – The Right Way to Hold People Accountable<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Accountability is about holding organizations responsible for performance against pre-established objectives. As Source: Adapted from “Power, Mutual Accountability and Responsibility in the Practice of International Aid: A Relational Approach”<\/a>, by Rosalind Eyben – IDS Working Paper 305<\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition:<\/strong> Affirmative action can be defined as a public or private program designed to equalize hiring and admissions opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups by taking into consideration these very characteristics which have been used to deny them equal treatment. Such explicit, systemic consideration of these characteristics in determining who obtains a job or a place in an entering class is and has historically been extremely controversial.<\/p>\n Source: The Future of Affirmative Action: A Jurisprudential\/Legal Critique<\/a>, by Myrl L. Duncan<\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Affirmative action exists when an organization deploys resources to make sure that people in designated categories receive fair treatment. A study by American Association Psychological Association explained that “affirmative action occurs when an organization expends energy to make sure there is no discrimination in employment or education and, instead, equal opportunity exists.”<\/p>\n Source: Affirmative Action in Employment<\/a> by Crosby, Faye J; Konrad, Alison M. Diversity Factor 10, no. 2 (Winter 2002): p. 5-9<\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Any action taken by an employer, in compliance with federal law, to promote the employment and advancement of people who have been the traditional targets of discrimination.<\/p>\n Source: Equity Fluent Leaders Glossary of Key Terms (University of Berkeley)<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition:<\/strong> Someone who makes the commitment and effort to recognize their privilege (based on gender, class, race, sexual identity, ability, 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. Allies commit to reducing their own complicity or collusion in oppression of those groups and invest in strengthening their own knowledge and awareness of oppression.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Open Source Leadership Strategies \u201cThe Dynamic System of Power, Privilege, and Oppressions\u201d and Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> A person who is a member of the ‘dominant’ group who works to end oppression in their personal and professional life through support of, and as an advocate with and for, the oppressed population.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Beyond Tolerance: gays, lesbians, and bisexuals on campus<\/a>. Edited by Nancy J. Evans and Vernon A. Wall. Chapter 11.<\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Brown and Ostrove (2013) assert that allies can be distinguished by two characteristics: first, allies have a desire to actively support social justice; to promote the rights of the non-dominant groups and to eliminate social inequalities that the allies benefit from; and second, allies offer support by establishing meaningful relationships with people and communities of the non-dominant group that they wish to ally themselves and to ensure accountability to those people and communities.<\/p>\n Source: Indigenous Allyship: An Overview<\/a>. Office of Aboriginal Initiatives, Wilfrid Laurier University. <\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition: <\/strong>Allyship is about supporting (not leading), working to change unjust and inequitable systems and institutions, and establishing meaningful relationships with underrepresented peoples and communities where one is invested and accountable. Allyship is a means to an end: the reconciliation of historical and contemporary wrongdoings and the rectification of the inequitable colonial systems.<\/p>\n One of the most important things to remember about allyship is that it is a continuous process; it is not a designation that one can earn and hold forevermore.<\/p>\n Source: Indigenous Allyship: An Overview<\/a>. Office of Aboriginal Initiatives, Wilfrid Laurier University.<\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> The action of working to end oppression through support of, and as an advocate with and for, a group other than one\u2019s own.<\/p>\n Source: LGBTQIA Resource Center<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition:<\/strong> Belonging refer to processes of inclusion and exclusion among people in their everyday practice. Belonging is connected with diversity in a broad sense. The term groups of diverse people (and\/or diversity) refer to folks with different social or\/and cultural backgrounds, religions, values, languages, gender, (dis)abilities, or needs. This means that all people are diverse in some way. Participation can be an expression of belonging (being involved in a community, a place, activities and practices) and it can vary according to degree of involvement experienced by folks.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Promoting Diversity and Belonging: Preschool Staff\u2019s Perspective on Inclusive Factors in the Swedish Preschool<\/a>. Education Sciences; Basel Vol. 11, Iss. 3, (2021): 104.<\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Belonging is the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and identity for a member of a certain group. It is when an individual can bring their authentic self to work.<\/p>\n Source: Diversity and Inclusion (Cornell University)<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition: <\/strong>Automatic sorting into categories, or schemas. Inherent process of including and excluding things\/people in categories, schemas that are familiar to us. Judgments, stereotypes, and prejudices that operate automatically and unconsciously, when interacting with others. It is virtually impossible to live in contemporary society and not develop BIAS.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Perception Institute<\/a> Definition:<\/strong> A standard description of implicit biases is that they are unconscious and\/or automatic mental associations made between the members of a social group (or individuals who share a particular characteristic) and one or more attributes (implicit stereotype) or a negative evaluation (implicit prejudice). The term implicit bias is typically used to refer to both implicit stereotypes and implicit prejudices and aims to capture what is most troubling for professionals: the possibility of biased judgment and of the resulting biased behavior.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Interventions designed to reduce implicit prejudices and implicit stereotypes in real world contexts: a systematic review<\/a> – BMC Psychology (May 2019)<\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition:<\/strong> Physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance, and negative attitudes toward oneself and others. It results from performing at a high level until stress and tension, especially from extreme and prolonged physical or mental exertion or an overburdening workload, take their toll. The word was first used in this sense in 1975 by U.S. psychologist Herbert J. Freudenberger (1926\u20131999) in referring to workers in clinics with heavy caseloads. Burnout is most often observed in professionals who work in service-oriented vocations (e.g., social workers, teachers, correctional officers) and experience chronic high levels of stress. It can be particularly acute in therapists or counselors doing trauma work, who feel overwhelmed by the cumulative secondary trauma of witnessing the effects. Burnout is also experienced by athletes when continually exposed to stress associated with performance without commensurate rewards or rest.<\/p>\n Source: American Psychological Association<\/a> – Dictionary of Psychology<\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Emotional exhaustion and interpersonal disengagement.<\/p>\n Source: Physician Wellness Academic Consortium<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Burnout refers to the emotional depletion and loss of motivation that result from prolonged exposure to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is one of the most widely accepted scales and is composed of the three dimensions of exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy. With more than 35 years of research and a solid theoretical foundation, researchers in this field are increasingly dedicating themselves to the development of effective and lasting interventions to reduce job burnout. Successful interventions include the consideration of the individual within the context of the workplace.<\/p>\n Source: Stress and quality of working life<\/a>, by C Maslach, M Leiter, and K Frame. <\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition: <\/strong>Colonization can be defined as some form of invasion, dispossession and subjugation of a people. The invasion need not be military; it can begin\u2014or continue\u2014as geographical intrusion in the form of agricultural, urban or industrial encroachments. The result of such incursion is the dispossession of vast amounts of lands from the original inhabitants. This is often legalized after the fact. The long-term result of such massive dispossession is institutionalized inequality. The colonizer\/colonized relationship is by nature an unequal one that benefits the colonizer at the expense of the colonized.<\/p>\n Ongoing and legacy colonialism impact power relations in most of the world today. For example, white supremacy as a philosophy was developed largely to justify European colonial exploitation of the Global South (including enslaving African peoples, extracting resources from much of Asia and Latin America, and enshrining cultural norms of whiteness as desirable both in colonizing and colonizer nations).<\/p>\n Source: Racial Equity Tools\u00a0<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition: <\/strong>Colonization occurs when an external power forcefully asserts their governing authority over a people \u2014 their lives, lands, and resources. – Dr. Sharon Stein, UBC<\/p>\n There are many forms of colonization we can delve into of course but as educators in a North America anchored institution, The form of colonization that we should be most concerned about in the U.S. and Canadian context is settler colonization. Though the specifics of settler colonialism differ from place to place (Kelley, 2017), according to Glen Coulthard (2014) \u201ca settler-colonial relationship is one characterized by domination; that is a relationship where power \u2014 in this case, interrelated, discursive and non-discursive facets of economic, gendered, racial, and state power \u2014 has been structured into a relatively secure or sedimented set of hierarchical social relations that continue to facilitate the dispossession of Indigenous peoples of their lands and self-determining authority\u201d<\/p>\n It is through processes of settler colonialism that many of us are here today, and all U.S. colleges and universities were built on dispossessed Indigenous lands. We should also be mindful that we have students immigrating from other countries that have deep colonial histories that shape their ideas of power, identity, and the American dream.<\/p>\n Source: So, So you want to decolonize higher education? Necessary conversations for non-Indigenous people<\/a>, by Dr. Sharon Stein<\/small><\/p>\n Definition: <\/strong>Colonialism refers to deliberate practices of domination and power through the subjugation and exploitation of one people over another. This domination extends not only into political and economic control, but centers on very particular constructions and practices of dehumanizing the other, which allows the colonizer to justify or legitimize its actions. The actions of colonialism are made visible in administrative and architectural structures, inasmuch as it manifests in military occupation, the marauding of resources, the dispossession of land, and of course, the control of education.<\/p>\n Source: Love in the time of Decoloniality<\/a>, by Nuraan David (December 2019)<\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition:<\/strong> Decolonization may be defined as the active resistance against colonial powers, and a shifting of power towards political, economic, educational, cultural, psychic independence and power that originate from a colonized nation\u2019s own indigenous culture. This process occurs politically and also applies to personal and societal psychic, cultural, political, agricultural, and educational deconstruction of colonial oppression.<\/p>\n Source: Racial Equity Tools<\/a> (The Movement for Black Lives – M4BL)<\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> This term is typically associated with the mid-twentieth century wave of processes through which subjugated peoples in colonies of occupation sought to attain political independence. It is vital to note that in settler-colonial nation-states like Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, such structural decolonization has never occurred; the same settler government systems imposed upon pre-existing sovereign Indigenous nations and their lands continue to remain in power today. In its most robust sense, therefore, decolonization involves nothing less than the dismantling of colonial power structures, be they political, epistemic, or social, with the ultimate goal of \u201crepatriati[ng] \u2026 Indigenous land and life\u201d<\/p>\n Source: Decolonization is not a metaphor<\/a>, by Tuck& Yang, 2012<\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition: <\/strong>The word \u201cDiaspora\u201d has its origins in the Latin word \u201cdiaspeirein\u201d meaning \u201cdisperse\u201d. Since the late twentieth century, the term Diaspora (Greek \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03c3\u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03b1, a scattering or sowing of seeds) has described people or ethnic groups who have left their traditional ethnic homelands by force and have scattered all over the world. The term is often used in relation to a minority ethnic group or a religious group. Originally, the term Diaspora referred to the populations of Jews exiled from Judea in 586 BC by the Babylonians and in AD 135 by the Romans. Since early modern times, the confessional minorities of Christianity were part of a Diaspora. The term describes the process of dispersal and the dispersed ethnic population.<\/p>\n Today \u2018Diaspora\u2019 refers to, among others, the Jewish Diaspora in the modern sense (Jews who live outside Israel), the Christian Diaspora (Christian minorities in East and South East Asia or Catholics in Northern Europe and Protestants in Southern Europe) ), the Irish Diaspora (Irish refugees due to the Irish Potato Famine and political oppression), the Armenian Diaspora (the dispersal of Armenians after the genocide in 1915-16), the South East Asian Diaspora (the scattered refugees from South East Asia due to several wars such as World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War), the Islamic Diaspora (the Muslim minority in Europe and North America) and the African Diaspora.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Institute for Cultural Diplomacy<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> The dispersion of a group of people who live outside their homeland due to an historical event that caused them to flee or which forcibly removed them from their homelands into new regions: such as, Africans as a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.<\/p>\n Source: University of Washington – Diversity & Social Justice Glossary<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition:<\/strong> Discrimination is the unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, age or sexual orientation. Discrimination is a public health issue. According to the 2015 Stress in America Survey, people who say they have faced discrimination rate their stress levels higher, on average, than those who say they have not experienced discrimination. That\u2019s true across racial and ethnic groups.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Association Psychological Association<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> An act or policy (directly) discriminates if the actor or the policy treats person A differently from B on the basis Source: Discrimination and Social Meaning<\/a> by Deborah Hellman, University of Virginia School of Law.<\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n To “discriminate” against someone means to treat that person differently, or less favorably, for some reason. Discrimination can occur while you are at school, at work, or in a public place, such as a mall or subway station. You can be discriminated against by school friends, teachers, coaches, co-workers, managers, or business owners.<\/p>\n Equal employment opportunity law protects you from discrimination based on Age, Disability, Equal Pay\/Compensation, Genetic Information, Harassment, National Origin, Pregnancy, Race\/Color, Retaliation, Sex, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition:<\/strong> Disempowerment is closely connected to the denial of human rights, which is linked to the loss of autonomy. Some key dimensions of disempowerment include Physical and mental vulnerability; Poor information; Poverty; and Self-excluding behavior and social isolation.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Empowerment and older people: enhancing capabilities in an ageing world<\/a> – un.org<\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> A process by which people are socially excluded because they are denied access to such power and control. Racism, Ethnicization, Religious, Gendered and Social Class discrimination are all sources of community and political disempowerment in that they reduce people’s life chances and the economic and social possibilities open to them (Small, 1994).<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Dictionary of Race, Ethnicity and Culture<\/a>, edited by Guido Bolaffi, Raffaele Bracalenti, Peter Braham and Sandro Gindro, 2003. Page 1901.<\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition:<\/strong> Each individual is unique, and groups of individuals reflect multiple dimensions of identity: race, sex and gender, socio-economic status, sexuality, age, ability, national origin, religious beliefs, cognitive styles, personality, appearance, and much more. Valuing diversity means embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of difference that exist in groups and eliminating interpersonal and institutional biases based on these differences.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center – Living Glossary for Racial Justice, Equity & Inclusion<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Diversity means variety. Diversity refers to difference. People are the same and different. Human diversity includes: country of origin, family and ethnic background, race, sex, age, culture, professional background and training, religious or political beliefs, and personality.<\/p>\n Source: United Nations – Respect for Diversity<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ, encompassing the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from another. While diversity is often used in reference to race, ethnicity, and gender, a broader definition of diversity that also includes age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, and physical appearance. Also is important to consider diversity of thought: ideas, perspectives, and values. It is important to recognize that individuals affiliate with multiple identities.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Independent Sector.org – Why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Matter<\/a> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition:<\/strong> Feeling that you need to protect yourself from unfair treatment and negative attention inside and outside the workplace. The devotion of time and energy consciously preparing to face each day, which you know comes with the potential for large and small acts of bias, exclusion, or discrimination. This requires daily, not occasional, vigilance. Source: Adapted from Catalyst.org – Workplaces that work for women<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> The combination of being on guard to protect against bias, feeling different at work because of gender, race, and\/or ethnicity, and the associated effects on health, well-being, and ability to thrive at work.<\/p>\n Source: Harvard Diversity, Equity, Access, Inclusion & Belonging<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> A state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in certain respects, including civil rights, freedom of speech, property rights, and equal access to certain social goods and services.<\/p>\n Source: Pacific University Oregon<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition:<\/strong> Equality aims to ensure that everyone gets the same things in order to enjoy full, healthy lives. Like equity, equality aims to promote fairness and justice, but it can only work if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same things.<\/p>\n Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Equality is the provision of equal treatment, access, and opportunity to resources and opportunities (Gunn, 2018). Essentially, everyone gets the same thing, regardless of where they come from or what needs they might have.<\/p>\n Source: Equity in Education: Defining Equity, Equality, and Standardization<\/a> by Dr. Laura Latta, M.Ed., Ph.D., Director of Post-Secondary Partnerships & Research <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n Definition:<\/strong> Equity is defined as \u201cthe state, quality or ideal of being just, impartial and fair.\u201d The concept of equity is synonymous with fairness and justice. It is helpful to think of equity as not simply a desired state of affairs or a lofty value. To be achieved and sustained, equity needs to be thought of as a structural and systemic concept.<\/p>\n Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> Equity is the provision of personalized resources needed for all individuals to reach common goals. In other words, the goals and expectations are the same for all students, but the supports needed to achieve those goals depends on the students\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n Source: Equity in Education: Defining Equity, Equality, and Standardization<\/a> by Dr. Laura Latta, M.Ed., Ph.D., Director of Post-Secondary Partnerships & Research<\/small><\/p>\n Definition:<\/strong> The state in which differences in life outcomes are not predicted by one\u2019s race, sex and gender, and other dimensions of identity, with specific emphasis on populations bearing the burden of inequities (e.g., people of color, women, LGBTQIA+ folk). Valuing equity means proactively creating policies, practices, and institutional messages that eliminate unfair differences in outcomes, so all individuals and groups have the means and the latitude necessary to eliminate gaps of opportunity and resources, and thereby, improve the quality of their lives. Equity does not mean equality.<\/p>\n Source: Adapted from Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center – Living Glossary for Racial Justice, Equity & Inclusion<\/a> Definition: <\/strong>The outcome of diversity, inclusion, and anti-oppression wherein all people have fair access, opportunity, resources, and power to thrive with consideration for and elimination of historical and systemic barriers and privileges that cause oppression.Accountability<\/h3>
\ndistinct from traditional financial accountability, the focus is on delivering outcomes rather than the correct allocation of inputs.
\nThus \u2018Accountability denotes the mechanisms through which people entrusted with power are kept under check to make sure that they do not abuse it, and that they carry out their duties effectively\u2019. The World Bank\u2019s Social Development Department describes it as \u2018the obligation of power-holders to account for or take responsibility for their action\u2019 (World Bank 2004: 2)<\/p>\nAffirmative Action<\/h3>
Ally<\/h3>
Allyship<\/h3>
Belonging<\/h3>
Bias<\/h3>
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\n<\/small><\/p>\nBurnout<\/h3>
Colonization<\/h3>
Decolonization<\/h3>
Diaspora<\/h3>
Discrimination<\/h3>
\nof A having or lacking some trait X. Alternatively, a policy (indirectly) discriminates if the policy has a disparate impact on persons with trait X as compared to persons with trait Y.<\/p>\nDisempowerment<\/h3>
Diversity<\/h3>
\n<\/small><\/p>\nEmotional Tax<\/h3>
\nFor Asian, Black, Latinx, and multiracial employees, decades of research tells that exclusion, discrimination, and bias can be daily experiences. These experiences occur both inside and outside the workplace, and they can be sharply painful. Put simply, Emotional tax is when a person lives each day in a constant state of being \u201con guard.\u201d<\/p>\nEquality<\/h3>
\n<\/small><\/p>\nEquity<\/h3>
\n<\/small><\/p>\n