Definitions 

Equity

Essentially, this term means to be fair and impartial, however, it is expanded to mean the recognition that ‘fair and impartial’ is not always just or fair for everyone. Therefore, equity in this context is uniquely rooted in human rights and anti-oppression practices which recognize that people are not the same and have unique needs, and thereby may need to be differing practices to ‘level the playing field’. 

Diversity

Diversity is the representation of people with different backgrounds in the organization. Diversity can refer to a myriad of identities, including those that intersect. Diversity posits that a workplace the exhibits employees with a wide range of characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, indigeneity, religion, age, ethnicity, disability, education and thinking styles as well as geographical origin creates a workplace that is rich in culture, perspectives and attitudes to allow the organization to thrive. The implication through diversity is that it will lead to inclusion and belonging, where people feel they can bring their full and unique selves to the roles they undertake. 

Inclusion

The intentional inclusion of people from all walks of life into spaces. This also refers to spaces that have commonly or historically exclusionist in nature. A way of looking at the world to see who is being systemically excluded and taking action. Higher education spaces like McMaster have a commitment to greater inclusion in their strategic framework. Inclusion ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute to and influence all levels of the workplace. Inclusion has been posited as not just being asked to the party, but asked to dance! Inclusion implies with it a level of safety whereby people feel trust, acceptance, respect and support, whereby they are able to engage and feel valued, fulfilled and authentic in their work environment. Inclusion is a continuous process that requires thoughtfulness, attention and review on a regular basis to ensure that voices are being heard at the figurative table, especially those that do not form those of the status quo. 

Accessibility

Entails removing the physical, systemic and attitudinal barriers that persons with disability face. Accessibility 

Equity Seeking Groups

Refers to people who have been historically marginalized by systemic oppression and colonialism. McMaster recognizes the following equity seeking groups: Women, Racialized People, Indigenous People, and the LGBTQ community. These people collectively are referred to as World Majority Peoples. 

Racism 

It is the system of social, economic, and cultural oppression, exclusion, and erasure that creates visible and invisible hierarchies between people who are racialized and not racialized. 

Racialized Persons: 

People who are affected by the system of racism. These people have been constructed by the dominant group as ‘different’ based on the concept of race. 

Dominant Group: 

A term used for those who control most of society’s capital, resources, and assets or who have the ability to set or maintain society’s norms or values. Anyone belonging to or inheriting from this group. 

Settler Colonialism: 

Colonization where the colonizers never leave and impose their way of living and being on the Indigenous persons therein. E.g. Here in Canadian society and most of the Western hemisphere 

Ableism: 

Is the inherent believes, attitudes and practices that assume the superiority of able-bodied people over those who live with a disability. 

Nothing About Us Without Us: 

A slogan developed by the Disabled People’s Movement that means people should not be making decisions for disabled people without their direct involvement. This has often expanded to working with all equity seeking communities. 

People/Person with Disability: 

Describing a person with a disability. This language that is thought to be more respectful because it emphasizes the person first, and then the disability. E.g. Instead of wheelchair user, person who uses a wheelchair. 

Anti-Racism: 

A commitment to dismantling the injustice of racism in society at all levels. Anti-racism implies more than not being personally racist, but a commitment to working towards the dismantling of racism inherent in systems and processes. Anti-racism is a commitment to ensuring that people who are racialized are treated with dignity and respect, allowing their voices to be heard. 

Anti-Black Racism: 

Is the specific practice of violence, indifference, punitive or exclusionary treatment of those born of African descent. Anti-Black racism is pervasive in all aspects of Western society as it is inextricable from the building and creation of the North American and Caribbean nation states. To dismantle it, we much first acknowledge the many ways in which language, social systems and attitudes support an ideology that views Blacks as inferior or less than white counterparts. 

Feminism: 

The movement and perspective that women are equal to all others in society. This movement was started and is maintained by women advocating for the rights of women and all women-identifying persons. 

Allyship: 

Allyship, as described active, consistent, and arduous practice of unlearning and reevaluating in which a person of privilege seeks to operate in solidarity with a marginalized group. It is the process of standing in solidarity with groups to use one’s own place of privilege and power to support and amplify the voices of marginalized groups who exercise agency in their own right. 

The Personal is Political: 

A term coined by second wave feminism that champions that all political impacts affect or are affected by personal issue for women and for all. It is a way of seeing social justice movements as not just of the political sphere, but also one of personal impact. 

Homophobia 

Encompasses a range of negative attitudes, feelings, prejudices and responses toward those who identify as loving or attracted to the same sex. This includes those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. 

Transphobia 

Is the specific targeted hatred of those who live or desire to live a sex/gender different to the one assigned to them at birth, aligning more closely with their gender identity. 

Cisgender 

Describes a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex assigned to them at birth. The use of this term advocates that there is not one dominant view of gender and in particular distinguishes gender from sexuality. 

Heteronormative

The assumption that the human norm is opposite sex attraction. This centers the view that heterosexuality is the normative design of human beings. Often this viewpoint leads to discrimination of people who are attracted to the same sex or gender. 

Heterosexism

The oppression of those who do not comply with heteronormativity. This creates privileges that can be afforded to those who ascribe to heterosexual identity and exclude those who do not. Up until recently, marriage was a privilege of this ism, by allowing only heterosexual couples to marry, financial, social and cultural privileges were allowed to this segment of society, excluding others who are not married, such as those who choose to be single, or are in homosexual or queer partnerships. 

Decolonization 

The process of freeing a nation-state from the effects, impacts and rule of colonialism. More specifically, this refers to the desire for Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island reclaiming their rights to Land Back, sovereignty to live and govern as they define and the rejection of the Indian Act as a colonial impact on the lives of Indigenous people. 

Indigenous Sovereignty

Refers to the right of Indigenous people to determine their own autonomy and government in these lands referred to as Turtle Island/ Canada/US. The right to self-determination is imbedded into this concept and refers to how Indigenous people are sovereign in this land, separate and apart from the ruling forces of colonialism. 

Truth and Reconciliation

A shared responsibility for all persons living on traditional, ceded or unceded lands, those lands bound up in colonialism to recognize and atone for the impacts of settler colonialism an its impact on Indigenous Peoples. Inherent in this is a call to action to dismantle relationships that have been contributed to the genocide of Indigenous people and the erasure of their culture. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was a first step to acknowledge the impact of Residential schools systems on the Indigenous community as a form of organized indoctrination and genocide. As important, is the responsibility for each person to educate themselves on the history of the impact of colonialism of Indigenous people from past to present and make concrete efforts to action the 94 calls to action recommended by the Commission. 

Social Determinants of Health

The SDOH refers to a specific group of social and economic factors within the broader determinants of health. These relate to an individual's place in society, such as income, education or employment. Experiences of discrimination, racism and historical trauma are important social determinants of health for certain groups such as Indigenous Peoples, LGBTQ and Black Canadians. These include: income and social status; employment and working conditions; education and literacy; childhood experience; physical environments; social supports and coping skills; race and racism; healthy behaviors; access to health services; biology and genetic endowment; gender and culture. The Social Determinants of Health can greatly factor into someone’s experience of access, freedom or oppression. 

Xenophobia

The dislike and/ or targeted hatred of those from foreign countries. The underlying ideology is that those who are not ‘from here’ are not welcome. This ideology is a false narrative, as many countries are places of continuous immigration via colonization. That is, Canada is a nation-state that belongs to Indigenous people and, therefore, is built on an economy of immigrants. 

Egalitarian

A society that purports all people to be equal. We strive for an egalitarian society, but we are committed to dismantling and eradicating many oppressions to realize this goal. 

Intersectionality

A sociological framework was first theorized and championed by Kimberle Crenshaw to demonstrate how groups' and individuals' social and political identities can cross at differing points and result in unique discrimination or privilege experiences. Examples include gender, sex, race, ethnicity, physical appearance, ability/disability, religion, sexuality, height, age and weight can all come together and create crossroads upon which further discrimination or privilege may be experienced. The experience of intersectionality may be empowering or oppressive. 

Pronouns

How one is referred to in the third person. It is an essential identifier in conversations related to gender identity in discussion or writing. Examples include she/her, she/they, him/his, and he/they. 

Environmental Justice

It is a social movement to address environmental injustice, which occurs at a higher rate in poor and marginalized communities. This movement seeks to address the harm of ecological racism. It is a commitment to undoing harm that consumerism and industry enacts on the environment and often affects people who are poor, racialized, and living in the global South. It stems from a commitment to mitigate or undo the harms done to the environment to which the exposure is inequitably distributed. 

Sustainability

Is the collective desire and social movement for people to co-exist on the Earth for a long time to come. Using an analysis which focuses on solving environmental problems including climate change, loss of biodiversity, air and water pollution and overuse of natural resources, sustainability is a movement that can guide decision and policy at the global and local levels. The goal to preserve the Earth and implement Seventh Generation praxis is a concept developed by First Nations peoples and adapted by environmentalists to ensure that the decisions we make now have positive effects on the world and its inhabitants seven generations into the future. This often requires an analysis of the impacts of environmental racism, the impact of consumerism, the cost of war and the impact of “first world’ lifestyle on the rest of the planet. The goal is to live in such a way that we will have a planet left to pass on to the next generation. 

Microaggressions

Subtle, stunning, often automatic nonverbal exchanges of which are put downs of persons of African descent. (as defined by Dr. Chester Pierce, who coined the term). The wider application allows for the same to apply to any persons from equity seeking groups. The expanded version (offered by Derald Wing Sue) is defined as brief and commonplace daily verbal behavioural or environmental indignities whether intentional or unintentional that communication hostile, derogatory or negative racial slights or insults towards BIPOC – Black Indigenous People of colour – people or communities 

Erasure

The lack of acknowledgment, disregard, denial or omission of the contributions of a people. Indigenous history denial, anti-Black racism and anti-Semitic behaviour are all demonstrated examples of erasure whereby the racist entity seeks to dismiss and deny the history and experience of people who are seeking equity in a manner that is pervasive and pathological. This behaviour seeks to deny the personhood of those being erased. 

Unconscious Bias

Also referred to as implicit bias is a prejudice or stereotype one may hold toward certain groups of people without knowing it. We live in a society where many mundane and pervasive stereotypes exist. Unconscious bias can be picked up from attitudinal biases we learned growing up and can impact how we affect others. They may not always match our conscious beliefs or values. Unlearning our biases is key to confronting unconscious bias. 

Neurodiversity

A term used to describe the variation in human beings' cognitive and nervous systems. The idea that there is no one ‘right way’ for the brain to function and it acknowledges that there are many different ways people think, learn and behave, all valid, ‘normal’ and valuable. 

Nonbinary

Society often defines things in direct opposition to one another: good/bad, yes/no, women/man. Non-binary, specifically when speaking of gender, indicates that there is not only two ways of depicting gender, sex, or sexuality. The term non-binary helps to give voice to diverse gender identities. 

Pansexuality

A term used to describe those who find attraction to others not based on gender or sex. Someone who is pansexual can be defined as queer, however, their choices for partnership or attraction are not limited to a specific gender or sex or sexuality. 

Classism

Is prejudice of or for against people belonging to a certain class. Often, those who belong to the working or poor classes, are often discriminated by classes that perceive themselves as higher. Income disparity is one of the contributing factors that fuel this binary. 

Anti-oppression

Is the movement and methodology that aims to eradicate how systems of oppression such as racism, colonialism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, classism and ableism negatively impact people, creating inequalities. Anti-oppression work seeks to recognize that oppression exists in our society and attempts to mitigate its effects and equalize the power imbalance in society. 

White privilege

Refers to the often unseen, inherent privilege gained by white skinned people in society created by white supremacist ideals. This racial inequality and injustice is often unacknowledged, gifting white people rights whether obvious or subtle in society regardless of whether they seek said privilege. 

White-fragility

Refers to the dismissive defensiveness or discomfort experienced by white people when confronted with the realities or accounts of racial inequity or injustice. This resistance often centers itself, attempting where with intent or without, to detract from addressing injustice to shifting the focus towards the feelings of white people. Defensiveness, anger, fear and silence are often markers of this condition. White fragility contributes to racism by dismissing white domination and supremacy in society as well as racial conditioning. White fragility differs from white privilege and white supremacy. 

Black Lives Matter

A movement formed to organize against systemic racism started by three black women in the United States. They are Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometti. This also became a phrase and a hashtag (#BLACKLIVESMATTER) signaling the importance of acknowledging the humanity of Black identified people, particularly in response to high profile killings of Black people by the police in the United States. The movement became front and centre on the world stage after the murder of George Floyd, a 47 year old Black man and father, by police officer Derek Chauvin. 

BIPOC

Refers to an acronym for Black, Indigenous and People of Colour. The acronym was created to acknowledge that not all people of colour face injustices equally. It recognizes that Black and Indigenous people are severely impacted by systemic violence and injustices experienced in Canada and the US. It is also used to refer to non-white communities. 

Ageism

Is the stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination and oppression against one based on age. It affects all people from childhood to adulthood and takes on various forms in different contexts. Often this type of prejudice privileges youth, but can also discriminate against both the old and the young. Examples of this include employment, health and social discrimination are pervasive, for example impatience with characteristics normally defined as ‘old’ or ‘young’ – such as dismissing an elder or youth’s ideas as relevant or someone’s pace as ‘slow’ 

Colorblind

This ideology purports to ‘not see colour’ and can create negative impacts by erasing the ethnic and social identities of people that are of colour. This idea often privileges a white and Eurocentric point of view that the idea that ‘removing’ colour from the equation will allow individuals to be treated as equally as possible without regard to race, culture or ethnicity. The opposite is often true, as this ideology creates harm to those who are racialized. It is in fact, a method of erasure that ignores the contributions of people who are racialized and minimizes their contributions and marginalizes them further. 

Intersectionality 

Health Equity 

Social Accountability 

Underrepresented 

Structural Determinants of Health 

A Commitment to Self-Education To truly unlearn various forms of oppression and make a commitment to anti-oppression, anti-racism and social justice, one must take the opportunity to become educated on these issues. This lexicon offers a beginning place to start your education and offers definitions that can sharpen your Diversity Equity Inclusion and Accessibility experience. This journey through DEIA is a life-long one, one where you commit yourself to doing no harm and to take responsibility for the harm former attitudes or actions have or may have caused. To truly engage with this material, use it as a living document which you can refer to and edit as terminology and language, fluid as it is, changes.