Now, more than ever, organizations are engaging in conversations about equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). They are intentionally creating and enacting inclusive practices and policies within their organizations so that they can foster EDI in the long term, and an important part of that is developing the language to do so.
At Inclusivity, we’ve outlined some commonly used words and their definitions to aid in EDI journeys! This is not an exhaustive or perfect list; language will change and individuals may have their own preference about which terms they choose to use and identify with. This list simply promotes a shared understanding of foundational terminology and concepts that can help foster safer and more productive conversations in the workplace.
- 2SLGBTQIA+ – Two-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual/Ace, + is an inclusive way to reflect sexual orientations, romantic orientations and gender expressions, such as pansexual, aromantic, agender, and non-binary, among many others
- Ableism – discrimination, prejudice, or exclusion against people with intellectual, emotional, and/or physical disabilities
- Ageism – prejudiced thoughts and discriminatory actions based on the idea that someone is of lesser value because of their age. Ageism varies depending on the context and can affect people who are younger or older.
- Ally – someone who uses their privilege to support people who don’t benefit from the same privilege
- Allyship – an active verb; using one’s power and privilege to fight oppression by working with and empowering marginalized people and communities
- BIPOC – Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour
- Black People – Not “the blacks”, African-Canadian (unless known descent)
- Cisgender – individuals whose gender identity and expression line up with their birth-assigned sex
- Cultural Competence – the ability to effectively and empathetically work and engage with people of different cultural identities and backgrounds in order to provide safe and accountable spaces for dialogue and discourse
- Disability – when someone is physically, mentally and/or emotionally abled in a way that society considers “abnormal,” making it difficult for them to engage in society, whether physically, socially, economically or otherwise because of the systemic barriers in place
- Discrimination – actions or thoughts, based on conscious or unconscious bias, that favor one group over others
- Diversity – multiple and varying individual and group experiences, values, beliefs, and characteristics among people
- Equality – people get the same resources to succeed
- Equity – people get tailored resources to succeed based on their different abilities and needs
- Explicit Bias – an conscious inclination of preference, especially one that interferes with impartial judgment
- Gender – a person’s individual and subjective sense of their own gender that in many cases is not related to biological sex. Gender exists on a spectrum and varies between societies and over time; it is not just man and woman. Some genders include Two-Spirit, genderfluid and non-binary, for example.
- Gender Binary – the socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and characteristics in which there are two distinct and opposite genders: male/masculine/men and female/feminine/women.
- Gender Pronoun – gender pronouns (i.e. their, hers, he) are words that specifically refer to people that you are talking about. Some individuals may use pronouns that line up with their birth-assigned sex, while others will use pronouns that best suit their gender.
- Gender Neutral – avoiding the use of words and behaviours that indicate gender is only men and women (gender binary)
- Homophobia – discrimination and negative attitudes against homosexual, gay, pansexual, bisexual and lesbian people
- Inclusion – the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure
- Intersectionality – the intersection of race, class, gender, ability and other identities within one individual. This informs how one navigates through the world because of the compounding forms of discrimination they experience from others
- Interpersonal Discrimination – the discrimination that occurs between individuals when someone says or does something that harms someone based on their identity
- Internalized Discrimination – the discrimination that we impose on ourselves that leads to us not accepting an opportunity or a position of power because of internalized beliefs about our identity.
- Islamophobia – the irrational fear or hatred of Muslims, Islam, Islamic traditions and practices, Middle Eastern people and cultures, and more broadly, those who ‘appear’ to be Muslim.
- Indigenous Peoples – an imperfect racial umbrella term used to describe groups across the world who experience settler-colonization from outside ethnic groups. It is most popularly used for Indigenous Peoples in the Americas and Oceania.
- In Canada, people may self identify as Indigenous if they are a part of various First Nations, Métis and/or Inuit groups. It is best to refer to a specific group/identity by name (i.e. Anishinaabe, Wampanoag, Ojibwe) whenever possible.
- Marginalized, equity-seeking, equity-denied, or equity-deserving groups – refers to social communities that have historically—and often continue to be—systematically denied access to essential resources and power through political, social, and economic structures. When an individual or group is marginalized, it means they are subject to these systemic barriers that limit their access to opportunities, influence, and support.
- Microaggression – subconscious and often well-meaning actions or remarks that convey an unconscious bias and hurt people
- Oppression – a term used to describe systems, relations, or behaviors which disadvantage groups or individuals through formal institutions or informal attitudes and behaviors
- People of Colour – an umbrella term for any person or peoples that is considered by the society in which they live to be non-white
- Prejudice – an unjustifiable and usually negative judgment that is usually based on stereotypes
- Privilege – an unearned advantage in society through some aspect of one’s identity
- Race – a socially constructed term used to identify and define individuals as part of a distinct group based on physical characteristics and some cultural and historical commonalities
- Racism – an ideology and institution in which humans are divided into hierarchical racial groups where white people are considered innately superior to others. Racism varies across societies and over time.
- Reconciliation – in the Indigenous and Canadian context, reconciliation is the process of settlers and the Canadian government attempting to repair the harm done to Indigenous Peoples and aiding in providing a more powerful future for Indigenous Peoples.
- Sexism – a system of oppression based on attitudes and beliefs (commonly related to traditional stereotypes of gender roles) that privileges men, and subordinates women, people who do not fit the gender binary and transgender people, and devalues practices and ways of being not associated with cis-gender men
- Slave or Slavery – Enslaved Person or enslavement (except the use of historical titles, definitions or quotes)
- Stereotype – an attitude, belief, feeling, or assumption about a person or group of people that is widespread and socially acceptable
- Structural Discrimination – the cumulative and compounding effects of societal factors that result in complex barriers to social equity for specific groups.
- Systemic Discrimination – when discrimination (i.e. racism, homophobia etc.) is systemic, it is intentionally embedded in our society to oppress certain groups and produce unequal outcomes through systems and institutions such as education, real estate, health care, child welfare, the job market and many more.
- Transgender – an identity term for someone whose gender identity does not align with the gender they were assigned at birth. Transgender people do not have to receive gender affirming medical care to be considered transgender.
- Transphobia – a system of oppression based on the belief that there are only two genders, and that gender should align with the sex people are assigned at birth
- Unconscious or Implicit Bias – unconscious and quick judgements or preferences, many of which are based on stereotypes. There are many different types of biases, some include performance, confirmation and affinity bias.
- White Privilege – the systemic and institutional social, economic and political advantages provided to people who are considered white, and the prioritization of white people and white culture
- White Supremacy – The idea that white people and the ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions of white people are superior to People of Colour and their ideas, thoughts, beliefs and actions
Want to learn more about inclusive language? Check out these Guidelines on using inclusive language in the workplace
