Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Glossary
Terms
Ableism
A system of oppression based on social construction of superior and inferior physicality, which is expressed in individual, institutional as well as cultural forms and functions for the benefit of those deemed able-bodied at the expense of those deemed disabled.
Accommodation
A change in the environment or in the way things are customarily done that enables an individual with a disability to have equal opportunity, access and participation.
Achievement Gap
The achievement gap is commonly used shorthand for the racial achievement gap and refers to the widespread disparities that exist between African Americans and Latinos and White and Many Asian students in such educational outcomes as test scores; retention, completion, and college going rates; and placement in special education, gifted, and advanced placement courses.
Adverse Impact
Under the “Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures” of the Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinating Council. “Adverse Impact may be found when a selection process for a particular job or group of jobs results in the selection of members of any racial, ethnic, or sex group at a lower rate than members of other groups. The enforcement agencies will generally regard a selection rate for any group which is less than four-fifths or eighty percent of the rate for the group with the highest selection rate as constituting evidence of adverse impact.”
Affected Class
Any group which continues to suffer the effects of past discriminatory practices. Affected class status must be determined by analysis or court decision.
Affirmative Action
A federal agenda initiated in the 1960s that is designed to counteract historic discrimination faced by ethnic minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups. Institutions with affirmative action programs prioritize inclusion of minority groups in employment, retention, and promotion.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
The 1967 act prohibits employment discrimination against persons 40 years of age or older.
Ageism
A system of oppression based on the social construction of age superiority and inferiority, which is expressed in individual, institutional as well as cultural forms and functions for the benefit of some at the expense of others
Ally
A person who is not a member of a marginalized or disadvantaged group but who expresses or gives support to that group.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Passed by Congress in 1990, this act requires that “reasonable accommodations” be made in public accommodations, including the workplace, for individuals with disabilities.
Anti-Racism
The practice of identifying, challenging, preventing, eliminating, and changing the values, structures, policies, programs, practices, and behaviors that perpetrate racism.
Anti‐Semitism
Hatred of or prejudice against Jews and Judaism. The Anti‐Defamation League divides anti‐Semitic incidents into two categories: “harassment, including threats and assaults directed at individuals and institutions; and vandalism, such as property damage, cemetery desecration or anti‐Semitic graffiti.”
Assimilation
The policy and practice of repression, domination, and erasure by which marginalized cultures are merged into the dominant or mainstream culture.
Asylum
Protection sought in another country for fear of persecution in an individual’s race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group.
Bias
A preference for or tendency toward a particular viewpoint or outcome. Bias stems from the internalization and institutionalization of particular values, beliefs, and assumptions. Not to be confused with bigotry, which is motivated by ill-intent, bias can co-exist unconsciously with good intentions, but nevertheless result in outcomes that are inclined to favor some groups over others.
Bicultural
A person who is bicultural effectively navigates within and between two cultures.
Bigotry
Intolerance of cultures, religions, races, ethnicities, or political beliefs that differ from one’s own
Bilingual
Of or related to proficiency in two distinct languages.
Biracial
Often used to describe a person whose parents belong to two different racial categories. Some critics argue that this usage promotes biologistic concept of race based on blood quantum that denies the socially constructed nature of race. The term should not be used interchangeably with bicultural.
Bisexual
The term “bisexual” is most often used to describe a person whose sexual orientation is to persons of either sex. This term can also be used to describe a person who has both reproductive organs, known as “hermaphrodites.”
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter is a human rights movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people. The movement began with the use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teen Trayvon Martin in February 2012.
Cisgender
From the Latin cis-, meaning “on this side.” A person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex the person had or was identified as having at birth. For example, a person identified as female at birth who identifies as a woman can be said to be a cisgender woman.
Civil Rights
The Civil Rights Movement is known as the events that took place between 1955 and 1965 when minority groups across the United States, primarily in the South, rose up against all forms of institutional racism that perpetuated political, economic, and educational disparities within their communities. It served as the catalyst for the restructuring of institutionalized policies and practices that had legally enforced racial segregation, subjugation, and discrimination.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Prohibits discrimination in programs receiving federal funds. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or national origin in federally-financially assisted programs. Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex (including pregnancy).
Civil Rights Act of 1991
Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by adding the protected category of “disability” and provides for appropriate remedies for intentional discrimination and unlawful harassment in the workplace. The 1991 Act does not affect court-ordered remedies, affirmative action, or conciliation agreements, which are in accordance with the law.
Class
Definitions of class vary across disciplines. A comprehensive working definition by Yeskel and Leondar-Wright is that “class is a relative social ranking based on income, wealth, status, and/or power.”
Classism
A system of oppression based on the social construction of superiority and inferiority based on class, which is expressed in individual, institutional as well as cultural forms and functions for the benefit of the dominant class at the expense to the rest.
Color-Blindness
The claim not to see racial distinctions. Critics of this ideology argue that in the U.S. context the refusal to see race denies an often important aspect of personal and collective identity as well as the socio-historical forces that structure disparate outcomes based on race. Accordingly, one must see race and understand its impact in order to correct the effects of past and present racial oppression.
Covert Racism
Expresses racist ideas, attitudes, or beliefs in subtle, hidden, or secret forms. Often unchallenged, this type of racism doesn’t appear to be racist because it is indirect behavior.
Culture
While the definition of culture varies within and among academic disciplines, a comprehensive definition is that it denotes the way of life of a people, encompassing their ideas, values, beliefs, norms, language, traditions, and artifacts. Intuitional cultures reflect the dominant culture of the society of which they are a part.
Cultural Appropriation
Originally coined to describe the effects of colonialism, cultural appropriation generally entails adopting aspects of a minority culture by someone outside the culture, without sufficient understanding of its context or respect for the meaning and value of the original. Cultural appropriation done in a way that promotes disrespectful cultural or racial stereotypes is considered particularly harmful.
Cultural Competence
“A process of learning that leads to an ability to effectively respond to the challenges and opportunities posed by the presence of social cultural diversity in a defined social system.”
Culture of Poverty
The concept that the conditions of poverty (e.g., unemployment, out‐of‐wedlock births, teen pregnancies, welfare dependency, etc.) creates within individuals and groups a socially pathological state of mind that perpetuates these same conditions and eventually increases the number of dependents on the state. A culture of poverty assumes that there is a social, pathological or cultural deficiency inherent to members of certain groups that make them prone to being poor which may make the phrase offensive.
Deportation
Forced removal of an individual who is not a citizen of the United States when that individual has been found to violate immigration law.
Disability
Disability is socially constructed, defined by the social and functional criteria of a particular society. People are not born “disabled,” but rather labeled so. This understanding is reflected in the definition put forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: “The term ‘disability’ means with respect to an individual (a) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of said individual; (b) a record of such an impairment; (c) being regarded as having such an impairment.”
Discrimination
The practice or act of making distinctions between people on the basis of prejudicial attitudes and beliefs, which leads to the inequitable treatment of individuals or groups.
Disparate Treatment
Refers to the intentional different treatment of individuals and groups on bases prohibited by law. A term of law, disparate treatment triggers punitive liability. Not all different treatment is illegal. The law permits different treatment that is designed to advance equal opportunity and meets specific legal standards. Disparate treatment is only one cause of disparities across social groups, which can often result from unintentional or unconscious bias.
Disparities
Disparities commonly refer to group differences in educational, health, economic, legal, and other outcomes. Disparities highlight the salience of social group membership in structuring privilege and inequality. Disparities stem from intentional discrimination as well as from unconscious bias.
Diversity
The variety of characteristics that all persons possess, that distinguish them as individuals, and that identify them as belonging to a group or groups. Diversity is a concept that includes notions of age, class, culture, disability, ethnicity, family, sex, language, place of origin, race, religion, and sexual orientation as well as other characteristics that vary among people and groups within society.
Diversity v. Inclusion v. Belonging
Diversity typically means proportionate representation across all dimensions of human difference. Inclusion means that everyone is included, visible, heard and 1 considered. Belonging means that everyone is treated and feels like a full member of the larger community, and can thrive.
ESL
(E)nglish as a (S)econd (L)anguage. A term used to describe language learning programs in the U.S. for individuals for whom English is not their first or native language.
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)
The absence of illegal employment discrimination based on race, class, gender, religion, and nationality, as prohibited by a number of legislative acts, and enforced by the courts.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
The EPA provides employers may not pay unequal wages to men and women who perform jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and that are performed under similar working conditions within the same establishment.
Equality
Equal treatment that may or may not result in equitable outcomes.
Equity
Equity is the guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all students, faculty, and staff while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. The principle of equity acknowledges that there are historically underserved and underrepresented populations and that fairness regarding these unbalanced conditions is needed to provide effective opportunities to all groups.
Ethnicity
Ethnicity is a social and political construct used by individuals and communities to define themselves and others. Specifically, ethnicity refers to a person’s cultural background, including his or her language, origin, faith, and heritage. Ethnicity comprises the ideas, beliefs, values, and behaviors that are transmitted from one generation to the next. Ethnicity tends to be perceived in terms of common culture, history, language, or nationality. Ethnicity and ethnic identity are interchangeable terms.
Ethnocentrism
Prejudicial views and different treatment of ethnic groups different from one’s own. Ethnocentrism should not be confused with racism, which is structure on the basis of race and not ethnicity.
Executive Order 11246 and 11375
Issued by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 requires that , as a condition for receiving federal contracts, employers have to draw up written affirmative action plans, with utilization, analysis, goals, and timetables, for assuring equal opportunity in employment for minorities. In 1967 President Johnson’s Executive Order 11375 amended 11246 to include women.
Executive Order 11478
Issued by President Nixon in 1969, forbids discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in federal employment.
Executive Order 11914
Signed by President Ford in 1976, requires HEW’s Office of Civil Rights to coordinate government-wide enforcement of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
The U.S. Department of Labor basic requirements are payment of minimum wage; overtime pay for time worked over 40 hours in a workweek; restrictions on the employment of children.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
The FMLA of 1993 is intended to allow employees to balance their work and family life by taking reasonable unpaid leave for medical reasons, for the birth or adoption of a child; the care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition or for the qualifying exigency leave of a child, spouse, or parent in the military.
Feminism
Refers broadly to an ideology and movement advancing full gender equity. According to scholar/activist Angela Davis, there is general agreement “that feminism in its many versions acknowledges the social impact of gender and involves opposition to misogyny.” While differing in names they call themselves, many who are committed to the ideal of gender equity believe, like Davis herself, that “the most effective versions of feminism acknowledge the various ways gender, class, race, and sexual orientation inform each other.”
Gaslighting
First popularized in the 1944 movie Gas Light, it means a deliberate attempt to undermine a victim’s sense of reality or sanity. In a work context, it usually means behaviors that undermine the success, self-confidence, self-esteem or wellbeing of the target. For people in underrepresented or less powerful groups, it is more likely to occur, with more severe and harmful cumulative effects. Tactics can include withholding (critical information, meeting invitations, silent treatment), isolation (exclusion, causing conflict with coworkers), and discrediting (consistently shooting down the target’s ideas, ignoring or taking credit for them).
Gay
A homosexual. This term was said to originate in Paris during the 1930’s and referred to the male homosexual underground community. The term was reclaimed during the Gay Liberation Movement as a source of pride. “Gay” is commonly used only to refer to homosexual men and not women.
Gay Bashing
Term used to describe forms of harassment and hate crimes directed towards homosexuals, such as verbal and physical threats and assault and vandalism.
Gender
Sexual classification based on the social construction of the categories of “men” and “women.” Gender differs from one’s biological sex (male or female) in that one can assume a gender that is different from one’s biological sex.
Gender Identity
Gender identity is how one thinks about their own gender, whether they think of themselves as a man or a woman, and to what degree they identify with the arbitrary gender roles placed on them by society.
Gender Nonconforming or Gender Non-binary
A way of identifying and/or expressing oneself outside the binary gender categories of male/masculine and female/feminine.
Gender Roles
Society places arbitrary rules and roles, how one is supposed to act, dress, feel, think, relate to others, etc., on each of us based on a person’s sex.
Gentrification
The process whereby a given urban area or neighborhood undergoes a socioeconomic transition from a previously low‐income, working class neighborhood to a middle‐class or affluent neighborhood.
Genocide
The 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide defines genocide “as any of a number of acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measure intended to prevent births within the group, and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
Green Card
Official documentation obtained by immigrants from the United States government that grants legal permission to work within the country.
Harassment
Harassment is a form of illegal discrimination defined as unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, and/or age. Harassment becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. Anti-discrimination laws also prohibit harassment against individuals in retaliation for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participation in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or lawsuit under these laws; or opposing employment practices that they reasonably believe discriminate against individuals, in violation of these laws.
Hate
An intense dislike of, and contempt for, another person or group of people.
Hate/Bias Crime
A hate/bias crime is an offense committed against a person or property which is motivated by the suspect’s hate, prejudice, or bias against an identifiable group based on race, national, or ethnic origin, language, color, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or any other similar factor. Verbal intimidation, assault, and vandalism are the most commonly reported types of hate crimes.
Hegemony
A form of oppression by which those in power naturalize and legitimate their dominance. In contrast to physical force, hegemony flows through the power of taken-for-granted ideas and cultural values, which, when internalized by the masses of people, render them unconscious of the forces that structure their powerlessness.
Heterosexual
An identity term for a female-identified person who is attracted to male-identified people or a male identified person who is attracted to female-identified people.
Homosexual
A person who is primarily attracted to members of what they identify as their own sex or gender. Many people reject the term homosexual because of its history as a term denoting mental illness and abnormality the terms Gay or Lesbian are preferred.
Homophobia
A fear of individuals who are not heterosexual. Homophobia often results in people distancing themselves from and/or psychologically/physically harming people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered. The literal meaning of the word is “fear of same.”
Human Rights
Human Rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status.
Identity Group
A particular group, culture, or community with which an individual identifies or shares a sense of belonging.
Ideology
The way in which a given society “talks and thinks about itself.” Ideology can also be thought of as a shared belief system in which the knowledge shared is considered unquestionable “common sense,” knowledge that seems “obvious and natural” regardless of societal reality.
Illegal Alien
The official term used by the United States Federal Government to refer to citizens of foreign countries whose entry into the United States is prohibited by law, or those who reside in the United States without evidence of legal documentation where permission for entrance has been granted.
Immigrant
A person who voluntarily and/or legally re‐locates to a country different from that in which he or she was born. Ex: An Irishman who migrates to the United States is an emigrant of Ireland and an immigrant to the U.S.
Implicit Bias
Negative associations expressed automatically that people unknowingly hold; also known as unconscious or hidden bias. Many studies have indicated that implicit biases affect individuals’ attitudes and actions, thus creating real world implications, even though individuals may not even be aware that those biases exist within themselves. Notably, implicit biases have been shown to be favored above individuals’ stated commitments to equality and fairness, thereby producing behavior that diverges from the explicit attitudes that people may profess.
Inclusion
Expanding upon efforts that promote diversity on the basis of demographic differences, in the field of organizational management, inclusion refers to intentional policies and practices that promote the full participation and sense of belonging of every employee, customer, or client.
Inclusive Language
Words or phrases that include both women and men if applicable. Inclusive language does not assume or connote the absence of women. Ex: Use of word “police officers instead of “policemen” or “humankind” instead of “mankind.”
Integration
Integration usually refers to active efforts to foster the representation and participation of groups that have historically faced institutional and social exclusion. Their presence in an environment, however, is not necessarily followed by transformation of its culture, norms, or values to reflect their own. Hence, integration should not be confused with empowerment or with equitable outcomes.
Internalized oppression
The process by which a member of a systematically oppressed group internalizes and acts out the negative characteristics attributed to the group.
Intersectionality
The complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, or intersect, and their multiple effects on the same individuals or groups. Also refers to the view that overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination and inequality can more effectively be addressed together.
Institutional Racism
Institutional racism refers specifically to the ways in which institutional policies and practices create different outcomes for different racial groups. The institutional policies may never mention any racial group, but their effect is to create advantages for whites and oppression and disadvantage for people from groups classified as people of color.
Investigation
A detailed inquiry or systematic examination of allegations of discrimination filed under the College’s Equal Employment and Educational Policy and Procedure. The purpose of the investigation is to determine whether the College’s Equal Employment and Education Policies, and/or federal and state Equal Employment and Equal Educational law have been violated, and whether corrective action is necessary.
The Office of Institutional Equity is not an advocate for the complainant or the charged party. During the investigation the Office is a fact finder charged with the responsibility of ensuring compliance with the College’s Equal Employment and educational Policies and federal and state Equal Employment and Equal Educational law.
Investigative Summary
A written summary of the outcome of the investigation conducted by the Office of Institutional Equity pursuant to the allegation(s) of discrimination made by a complainant. The investigative summary includes the Office of Institutional Equity’s finding of fact, a determination of whether there has been a violation of the College’s Equal Employment and Educational Policies, and/or federal and state Equal Employment and Equal Educational law, and whether corrective action is appropriate.
Latinx
Used as a gender-neutral or non-binary alternative to Latino or Latina to describe a person of Latin American origin or descent.
LGBTQ
An abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer.
Marginalization
The experience of groups who are denied political, economic, and social equality in society, and hence, relegated to its margins. It can also refer to an individual who is rendered voiceless or irrelevant in particular social context.
Microaggression
Brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color.
Microaffirmation
A microaffirmation is a small gesture of inclusion, caring or kindness. They include listening, providing comfort and support, being an ally and explicitly valuing the contributions and presence of all. It is particularly helpful for those with greater power or seniority to “model” affirming behavior.
Minority
In the social sciences the term minority may be applied to those groups that are considered protected classes based on historical exclusion and discrimination. For EEO official reporting purposes and for purposes of the work force analysis required in revised Executive Order No. 4, the term “minority” refers to Blacks, Hispanics, Alaskan Natives or American Indians, and Asian or Pacific Islanders. In general usage, it is commonly used to refer to people of color as in “minority community” and “minority students.” Such labels are increasingly disfavored as they naturalize the “minor” politically, economic, and social status to which people of color have been subjected.
Multicultural
Of or pertaining to more than one culture.
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism refers to a society that recognizes values and promotes the contributions of the diverse cultural heritages and ancestries of all its people. A multicultural society is one that continually evolves and is strengthened by the contribution of its diverse peoples.
Naturalization
The U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services define naturalization as “the conferring, by any means, of citizenship upon a person after birth.
Nepotism
The practice of showing favoritism to relatives or close friends of other employees over other applicants applying for positions. Nepotism has been found discriminatory to minorities because the system in crafts/apprenticeships, and so forth, resulted in keeping minorities out of the work force. On the other hand, anti-nepotism rules, i.e., refusing to hire two members of the same family, has also resulted in discrimination, particularly in higher education.
Neurodiversity
When neurological differences are recognized and respected as are any other kind of human differences or variations. These differences can include Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyscalculia, Autistic Spectrum, and Tourette Syndrome.
Nonresident Alien
A person who is not a citizen or national of the United States and who is in this country on a visa or temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.
Oppression
A system of individual, institutional, and cultural beliefs and practices that privilege a dominant group at the expense of the subordinate groups.
Oppressor
A person or group that oppresses people.
Parity
A condition achieved in an organization where the protected class composition of its work force is equal to that in the relevant available labor force. Equality, the ultimate goal of affirmative action programming, is to achieve “parity” in a work force, i.e., women and minorities to be represented in every job category of a work force in the same proportion they are available in the total work force.
Pattern and Practice
Repeated acts of discrimination resulting from formal or informal practices in employment and/or education that are derived from a broad context of social behavior that promotes discrimination.
Person/People of Color
Used primarily in the United States to describe any person who is not white; the term is meant to be inclusive among non-white groups, emphasizing common experiences of racism. (This definition parallels the Communities of Color definition.)
Preferential Treatment
To give an edge to one class of workers or applicant. Most often used today as relates to affirmative action efforts to bring about parity by including women and minorities in the workforce, or in professional schools. Title VII does not require preferential treatment, but it can be ordered under Section 703g. Preferential treatment in the form of special recruitment efforts for minorities and women is required of government contractors for positions in which they have been “under-utilized.”
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
This is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII. Women affected by pregnancy or related conditions must be treated in the same manner as other applicants or employees with similar abilities or limitations. In the hiring process an employer cannot refuse to hire a woman because of her pregnancy related condition as long as she is able to perform the major functions of her job. An employer cannot refuse to hire her because of its prejudices against pregnant workers or the prejudices of co-worker, clients, or customers.
Prejudice
A preconceived idea or judgment toward a group, based on perceived ethnic or ancestral characteristics that result in a belief that members of that group are inferior.
Privilege
Privilege encompasses the many unearned advantages of higher status, such as personal contacts with employers, good childhood health care, inherited money, and speaking the same dialect and accent as people with institutional power.
Probable Cause
A reasonable suspicion, supported by facts, that a law has been violated.
Pronouns
Words to refer to a person after initially using their name. Gendered pronouns include she and he, her and him, hers and his, and herself and himself. "Preferred gender pronouns" (or PGPs) are the pronouns that people ask others to use in reference to themselves. They may be plural gender-neutral pronouns such as they, them, their(s). Or, they may be ze (rather than she or he) or hir (rather than her(s) and him/his). Some people state their pronoun preferences as a form of allyship.
Protected Class
A protected class is a group that has been subjected to the documented past and continuing effects of illegal discrimination and whose civil rights, consequently, require legislative and legal reiteration and re-enforcement. In the U.S. protected classes include members of certain racial and ethnic groups, women, persons over 40, qualifying veterans, and persons with disabilities. The protections for which they are explicitly named frequently misconstrued as “special” rights that are unavailable to other groups. In fact, they are merely an extension of equal protection to them of rights that are guaranteed to all citizens.
Queer
An umbrella term used by people who wish to describe themselves as neither heterosexual nor cisgender.
Quota
A number or percentage particularly of people designated as a targeted minimum for a particular group or organization. A term often used in reference to admission to colleges and universities and organizational hiring practices
Race
Race represents the notion that there are biologically discrete races of human beings that can be ordered in terms of superiority of intelligence, sexuality, or morality. Today, the concept of race is a controversial one, as it is perceived to refer to the genetic, physical characteristics that allegedly are common to certain groups. However, modern science has determined that no such biological distinctions exist among humans that the term serves no useful scientific purpose. The term is now understood as a social construct in which a group sees itself.
The term is controversial among those who assert that there is only one race, the human race, and that traditional notions of racial differences are artificial and arbitrary constructs. Proponents of this view prefer the use of the term “racialized groups” to describe people that would be traditionally referred to as visible minorities. This term reinforces the idea that race, or more properly “racialization,” is something imposed on a person by outside perception.
Race Discrimination
Racial discrimination is any distinction, exclusion, restriction, or preference based on race, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, social-cultural, or any other field of public life.
Racial Justice
The proactive reinforcement of policies, practices, attitudes, and actions that produce equitable power, access, opportunities, treatment, impacts, and outcomes for all
Racialize
To assign human worth and value and structure benefits on the basis of racial taxonomy.
Racism
A set of mistaken assumptions, opinions, and actions resulting from the belief that one group of people categorized by color or ancestry is inherently superior to another. Racism may be present in organizational and institutional policies, programs, and practices, as well as in the attitudes and behaviors of individuals.
Reasonable Accommodation
“A) making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and useable by individuals with disabilities; and (B) job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters, and other accommodations for individuals
Religious Accommodation
The requirement of a contractor to accommodate sincere religious observances and practices of an employee or prospective employee unless the contractor can demonstrate that it is unable to do so without undue hardship on the conduct of its business.
Retaliation
An employer man not fire, demote, harass, or otherwise “retaliate” against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in discrimination proceeding, or otherwise opposing discrimination. The same laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability, as well as wage differences between men and women performing substantially equal work, also prohibit retaliation against individuals who oppose unlawful discrimination or participate in an employment discrimination proceeding.
Reverse Racism
This term was created to imply that dominant groups could be the victims of racism. Racism includes having a certain power in society, power which non-dominant groups do not have. It is a term used consciously or unconsciously to blame and place non-dominant groups back in a targeted position. When dominant groups are discriminated against it is simply “discrimination.”
Safe Space
A place where anyone can relax and be able to fully express, without fear of being made to feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, or unsafe on account of biological sex, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, cultural background, religious affiliation, age, or physical or mental ability.
Sex
The division of a species on the basis of reproductive organs. Sex is not interchangeable with gender, which connotes social definitions of sex role assignments.
Sexism
Behavior and beliefs that rank the sexes (the physical characteristics that define male and female) and genders (cultural and psychological definitions of femininity and masculinity), placing more value on one over the other. As a group in most societies, men have more power and prestige than women.
Sexual Harassment
A form of illegal sex discrimination, sexual harassment is defined as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.”
Sexual Identity
Sexual identity is the consistent and enduring sense of one’s own sexuality and repeated sexual thoughts, feelings, and/or behaviors. Sexual identity is how one thinks of oneself in terms of whom one is sexually and romantically attracted to.
Sexual Orientation
Sexual orientation is defined as a predominant erotic attraction for the same or other sex, or for both sexes in varying degrees. Few, if any, obvious identifiable mannerism exists that distinguish between individuals of different sexual orientations. Sexual orientation is only one small aspect of a person’s being.
Social Justice
The belief that each individual and group in a given society has a right to equal opportunity, fairness, civil liberties and participation in the social education, economic, institutional, and moral freedoms and responsibilities valued by the community.
Stereotypes
A shared idea about the generalized attributes of others with respect to perceived physical or cultural characteristics. These are generalizations about all members of a group. Some stereotypes may seem positive, but they are always negative. It is harmful when individuals are judged according to the perceived norms of their group instead of personal merit.
Structural Racism
The normalization and legitimization of an array of dynamics – historical, cultural, institutional, and interpersonal - that routinely advantage Whites while producing cumulative and chronic adverse outcomes for people of color. Structural racism encompasses the entire system of White domination, diffused, and infused in all aspects of society including its history, culture, politics, economics, and entire social fabric. Structural racism is more difficult to locate in a particular institution because it involves the reinforcing effects of multiple institutions and cultural norms, past and present, continually reproducing old and producing new forms of racism. Structural racism is the most profound and pervasive form of racism all other forms of racism emerge from structural racism.
Systemic Racism
This type of racism is impersonal, unconscious, unintentional, and hidden. The basis of systemic racism is the consequences (not the intent) of seemingly neutral rules, policies, or procedures.
Title IV
Provides for nondiscrimination in education on the basis of race, color, religion, and national origin.
Title VI
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, or national origin in the provision of benefits or services under federally assisted programs and activities including educational institutions. Employment is a factor under VI only where it is a primary objective of the federal assistance.
Title VII
Federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, color, religion, and national origin. Federal financial assistance is not a factor.
Title IX
Federal law prohibiting sex discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Covers both employees and students, as well as athletics, physical education, and counseling. Does not cover curriculum materials. Requires institutional self-evaluation and appointment of Title IX coordinators.
Tokenism
The policy of making only a perfunctory effort or symbolic gesture toward the accomplishment of a goal, such as racial integration; the practice of hiring or appointing a token number of people from underrepresented groups in order to deflect criticism or comply with affirmative action rules.
Tolerance
Recognition and respect of values, beliefs, and behaviors that differ from one’s own.
Transgender
An umbrella term used to describe a person whose gender identity is something other than their Sex Assigned at Birth (SAAB). The SAAB is a person’s first association with gender, typically based on physical sex characteristics.
Transition
The process that people go through as they change their gender expression and/or physical appearance (e.g. through hormones and/or surgery) to align with their gender identity. A transition may occur over a period of time, and may involve coming out to family, friends, coworkers, and others; changing one's name and/or sex designation on legal documents; and/or medical intervention. Some people find the term "transition" offensive and prefer terms such as "gender affirmation". It is best to ask individuals which terms they prefer.
URM
An abbreviation for Under-Represented Minorities. Some institutions have defined sub-groups within larger racial/ethnic minority groups that are particularly under-represented relative to their size. For example, in a given field, Mexican-Americans may be an under-represented minority, even if Hispanic people are otherwise proportionately represented.
White Fragility
Coined by Robin D’Angelo, it is used to describe the privilege that accrues to white people living in a society that protects and insulates them from race-based stress. D’Angelo argues that this builds an expectation of always feeling comfortable and safe, which in turn lowers the ability to tolerate racial stress and triggers a range of defensive reactions.
White Privilege
Refers to the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements, benefits, and choices bestowed on people solely because they are white. Generally white people who experience such privilege do so without being conscious of it.
