As part of their efforts to foster more equitable and welcoming communities, experts and activists often employ terms that may be unfamiliar or jargonous for those new to this conversation. This glossary serves to break down some of the key terms and acronyms often employed in this space.
Diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in your business show both employees and consumers that you value equality of opportunity for all.
Definition of Diversity
Diversity refers to any presence of difference within an environment. In the workplace, this could include differences related to gender, age, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and more. Diversity encompasses experiences such as socialization, mental and physical abilities, preferences likes and dislikes etc. Inclusion seeks to create an inviting environment in which each member feels welcome while still feeling connected and valued by their organization.
Successful DEI initiatives must address both diversity and inclusion. Leaders should first seek an understanding of these terms so they can better inform teams when developing their DEI strategies.
Deliberately outlining each concept can help avoid misinterpretations and miscommunication. This is particularly important given that language surrounding these initiatives is constantly shifting and fluid. Therefore, these definitions are intended to promote dialogue and serve as a starting point for design processes; depending on lived experiences they may need to be revisited and revised as your team continues working together.
As such, it’s vital that all team members share an understanding of these terms to ensure your efforts take a comprehensive approach. To do so, have each person on your team write down his or her understanding of each word individually before compiling and sharing these with one another – creating a common language which can guide the development of DEI initiatives.
When it comes to realizing the full benefits of DEI strategies for your team, implementation often presents its greatest hurdles. Unfortunately, many organizations attempt to implement DEI initiatives with good intentions but end up contributing to inequity and injustice in the long run; such issues could include language use, adhering to inclusive practices or even uncovering unconscious biases that undermine progress.
An example of such challenges would include hiring processes that do not consciously aim to promote diversity and inclusivity. Such systems can perpetuate bias by encouraging managers to hire those most similar to them – leading to an overly homogenous workforce and undermining your DEI initiatives and leading eventually to an atmosphere in which ideas do not challenge or new perspectives aren’t welcomed.
Definition of Equity
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) professionals often rely on a specific language that might seem foreign to newcomers in this field. To help newcomers orient themselves with DEI terminology and activism more easily, this glossary presents definitions for key phrases, acronyms and words associated with DEI.
Equity and diversity are often confused, yet there’s an important distinction: equality refers to providing everyone equal opportunities; on the other hand, equity seeks to rebalance systems by giving more chances and resources to groups who have been historically underrepresented or neglected.
If your company only focuses on diversity without considering inclusivity, underrepresented groups could leave as they don’t feel welcome or valued at your organization. By including employees based on value representation rather than simply trying to meet quotas, inclusion creates a workplace culture in which all feel supported and appreciated.
Understanding diversity, equity and inclusion is critical because these concepts are interdependent; failing to address one will likely prevent success from being achieved in other areas.
As an example, if your company hires women at entry-level roles but fails to promote them to senior leadership roles, you could potentially lose 50 female employees per year due to how they were treated. Even though your business might boast high levels of diversity, its full benefits won’t be realized because its potential is underutilized.
To truly make an impactful difference, it’s essential that you can accurately gauge the results of your efforts. Therefore, creating a measurement framework which allows you to assess progress is vitally important. Furthermore, sharing this framework with team members ensures they know what to expect from you and can support each other; doing so can enable them to be more effective at their roles and feel valued by the organization.
Definition of Inclusion
Inclusion refers to the practice of welcoming all individuals from diverse backgrounds into all aspects of a given environment, including recognition and celebration of individual differences related to race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, country of origin, age, abilities and cultures. Furthermore, inclusion means providing resources and opportunities that take these differences into account.
As it relates to work, inclusion is defined as ensuring all employees can attend relevant meetings or trainings that meet their needs, such as providing translation services or creating accessible spaces such as elevators and ramps for those with disabilities. Furthermore, inclusion implies creating a work culture which accepts people regardless of differences and accounts for culturally specific traditions.
Organizations that prioritize inclusion can create an inclusive work culture for their employees. According to studies, companies that place diversity and inclusion at the forefront are more competitive and are better at recruiting top talent from around the globe; furthermore they are more likely to welcome innovating ideas from their workforce which ultimately leads to growth and success for themselves as an organization.
Though diversity and inclusion (DEI) is critical, many organizations fail to put forth enough effort. According to a Deloitte survey, 75% of employees felt their organization didn’t invest enough effort into diversity and inclusion initiatives; 84% experienced everyday slights at work due to bias based on race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.
One reason companies struggle with inclusion is they lack an accurate grasp on what it means to be inclusive, leading them down paths of missteps or confusion when trying to be inclusive, including failing to recognize that systems they create favor those from marginalized communities; further, some employees may not realize they possess privilege within their workplace and know how best to amplify more oppressed voices.
Leaders aiming to foster inclusion must learn to identify and address unconscious biases, such as stereotyping of others without their awareness. Furthermore, leaders must work to avoid negative behaviors like microaggressions – which are unintended but subtle insults which can cause hurtful or off-putting responses in members of underrepresented groups.
Definition of Impact
Diversity, equity and inclusion dialogue is an evolving one, so the language used by people within these spaces often changes – which can make for challenging encounters for anyone new to this conversation – potentially creating miscommunication or leading people astray by misinterpreting what others mean when using specific words.
For this reason, it is vital that everyone involved understands the definitions of key terms used in conversations. The following glossary aims to facilitate this understanding.
Diversity refers to any grouping of characteristics that differentiates people. This may include socialized and visible distinctions like race, sex, gender identity, age, religion, national origin, socioeconomic status, physical ability or sexual orientation among many other differences that affect how a person sees their world. These variations can dramatically shape life experiences for an individual as they contribute to his or her personal preferences, perceptions and ultimately the way in which one perceives reality.
Inclusion is the process of creating environments in which all individuals feel welcomed, supported, respected and appreciated regardless of any differences they may possess. It aims to foster environments in which everyone feels included – going beyond simply acknowledging different groups in the workplace; inclusion also emphasizes understanding their differences as part of an organisation’s core purpose and value system.
Equity is a system of resource and opportunity distribution which strives to balance out our society, which has historically been unbalanced and unfair. Contrast it with equality which offers equal chances to all individuals regardless of circumstance whereas equity addresses specific needs and provides more opportunities for underrepresented populations.
Companies that prioritize diversity and inclusion reap multiple advantages. This can include improved employee recruitment and retention, greater customer engagement and stronger business performance. A growing body of research indicates that companies with greater gender and ethnic diversity tend to outperform their peers more often; furthermore, a recent McKinsey report showed that those with more women in senior roles were 48 percent more likely to achieve financial outperformance – however progress towards creating a more diverse workforce is slow.