The Language of Diversity
Language can be as diverse as people. Words can mean different things to different audiences. As such, we have created this introductory glossary of commonly used terms to better equip the campus community with practical tools to promote inclusive excellence through language. This comprehensive list of terms is not meant to be exhaustive, but it is our hope these working definitions will serve as a reference in developing a common shared understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion terminology. Just like people, language is continually evolving, and words are just as powerful as the people who use them.
Bias – The independent and interdependent process of assessing or evaluating things based upon associative attributes, attitudes, and actions
Blind Spot Bias – the inability to recognize personal biases yet recognizing biases in others
Dialogue – engaging in respectful communication where individuals are able to freely share information about one’s thoughts, perspectives and experiences
Discrimination – behavior that treats people unequally because of their group membership(s)
Diversity – the wide variety of shared and different personal and group characteristics among human beings; recognizing individual difference
Equality – the belief that everyone should be treated the same
Equity – accounting for each person’s individual history, experiences and needs in an effort to treat everyone equally and fairly
Feminism – the idea that women and men should have social, political and economic equality
Implicit Bias – the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner
Inclusion – the breaking down of barriers and building of bridges to purposefully define and shape a culture
Inclusive Language – Respectfully acknowledging, recognizing, and implementing the use of terminology that aligns with an individual's request for how you identify and/or address them
Intercultural – the interaction of groups from different racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds
Interfaith – a relation that involves or occurs between persons of different faiths or non-faiths
Intersectionality – the overlap and interconnectedness of various social identities (race, gender, social class, sexual orientation, religion/worldview, etc.)
Oppression – systemic discrimination resulting from institutional power and privilege where one membership group benefits at the expense of another
Pluralism – the co-existence and active engagement of members of diverse religious and non-religious belief systems
Prejudice – an opinion, prejudgment or attitude about a group or individual group members before having guaranteed and adequate knowledge to do so
Privilege – an inherited, unearned advantage based on membership in an identity group
Social Identity – involves the ways in which individuals are categorized based on group membership
Social Justice – the concept that all people should have access to resources and the exercise of rights
Spheres of Influence – areas where we can influence change on personal, interpersonal, community and societal levels
Stereotype – an exaggerated belief, image or distorted truth about a person or group