Glossary of Terms

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Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer (or Questioning), Intersex, Asexual (or sometimes Ally). The placement of Two Spirit (2S) first is to recognize that Indigenous people are the first peoples of this land and their understanding of gender and sexuality precedes colonization. The ‘+’ is for all the new and growing ways we become aware of sexual orientations and gender diversity

Aboriginal is a general term that collectively refers to First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in Canada, and is found in the Canadian constitution.

Accessibility refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities.

Colonialism is an intentional process by which a political power from one territory exerts control over a different territory. It involves unequal power relations, and includes policies and/or practices of acquiring full or partial political control over other people or territory, occupying the territory with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

Colonization is an intentional process by which a political power from one territory exerts control over a different territory. It involves unequal power relations, and includes policies and/or practices of acquiring full or partial political control over other people or territory, occupying the territory with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

Conflict Engagement is a broad umbrella term that includes conflict resolution, conflict management, conflict intervention, conflict investigation, conflict exploration, and conflict transformation – recognizing that there is a time and place for each.

A set of basic knowledge and skills that allow individuals to identify, work through, and de-escalate conflict as it naturally emerges in the context of their life and work.

This skill set includes (but is not limited to):

*Awareness and conscious expression of emotions,
*Active inquiry and ability to listen to understand,
*Articulation and advocacy for one’s own views,
*Perspective taking,
*Effectively exchanging feedback,
*Awareness of rank and power,
*Offering and receiving apologies.

The capacity to engage with conflict productively and creatively, and to help others do the same. Conflict Fluency builds on Conflict Literacy and is an increasingly relevant leadership capacity.

This skill set includes (but is not limited to):

*Solid understanding of policy landscape, including formal and informal processes,
*Acting as a third-party to support others who are in conflict,
*Providing conflict coaching to others, and making referrals as needed,
*Guiding strategic decision-making about the appropriate approach to conflict engagement,
*Advanced capacity for attending to one’s own feelings and the feelings of others,
*Prevention of conflict escalation through strong team leadership practices,
*Identifying and addressing systemic issues that reproduce persistent and historic conflicts.

Cultural Humility is a process of self-reflection to understand personal and systemic biases and to develop and maintain respectful processes and relationships based on mutual trust. It is a basic knowledge of the diversity, world views, spiritual, and cultural values of different peoples, and the historical and contemporary issues that influence them.

Context & Usage
Cultural Humility counters the concept of cultural or diversity “competency,” which may suggest the mastery of knowledge or skills. Cultural Humility implies that we can never know everything about others.

Cultural Identity or Background is the identity or feeling of belonging to a cultural group. It is part of a person’s self-conception and self-perception. It relates to any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture and can be defined in groups or individuals, by themselves or others, for example, nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality, etc.

A person with disability is someone who:

*Has a significant and persistent mobility, sensory, learning, or other physical or mental health impairment, which may be permanent or temporary;
*Experiences functional restrictions or limitations of their ability to perform the range of life’s activities; and/or
*May experience attitudinal and/or environmental barriers that hamper their full and self-directed participation in life.

Context & Usage
The above definition recognizes that barriers to inclusion are often related to a society’s norms, attitudes, and beliefs, rather than the capacity of the person.

Differences in the lived experiences and perspectives of people that may include race, ethnicity, colour, ancestry, place of origin, political belief, religion, marital status, family status, physical disability, mental disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, class, and/or socio-economic situations.

Context & Usage
*Diversity is a concept meant to convey the existence of difference. Each person’s unique combination of differences contributes to their experiences in ways that can be both positive and negative.
*Diversity is not a spectrum or a measure. One person cannot be more diverse than another. *Diversity is created when people who are different from one another come together, and includes everyone in the room.

An abbreviation for equity, diversity and inclusion.

The attributes, knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, values, and/or principles that demonstrate an understanding of equity, a commitment to diversity, and an ability to create inclusive environments. There is no one set of EDI skills and competencies used across contexts.

Common aspects of EDI skills and competencies are demonstrated / observed at an:

*Individual level (e.g. individual awareness and / or education).
*Interpersonal level (understanding, valuing and working with others in groups).
*Organizational / institutional level (understanding inequity and demonstrating skills that foster equitable and inclusive policies and practices).
*Societal level (contributing to systems change and social justice).

Equity refers to achieving parity in policy, process and outcomes for historically and/or currently underrepresented and/or marginalized people and groups while accounting for diversity. It considers power, access, opportunities, treatment, impacts and outcomes, in three main areas:

*Representational equity: the proportional participation at all levels of an institution;

*Resource equity: the distribution of resources in order to close equity gaps;

*Equity-mindedness: the demonstration of an awareness of, and willingness to, address equity issues.

Inclusion is an active, intentional, and continuous process to address inequities in power and privilege, and build a respectful and diverse community that ensures welcoming spaces and opportunities to flourish for all.

Context & Usage
It is important to note that inclusion and Indigenization/Decolonization are two seemingly related concepts with distinct histories, contexts, and frames of reference.It cannot be assumed inclusion is a substitute for Indigenization/Decolonization.

Inclusive Excellence (IE) is a systems-wide approach to equity, diversity and inclusion. IE states that true excellence in an institution is unattainable without inclusion – and in fact, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to excellence. It moves away from historical approaches to diversity that focused on numbers and representation. Instead, IE helps us think about the institution as a vibrant community that can create excellence by embedding diversity throughout the institution.

The term ‘Indigenous’ encompasses First Nations, Métis and Inuit people, either collectively or separately, and is a preferred term in international usage, e.g., the ‘U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.’ In its derivation from international movements, it is associated more with activism than government policy and so has emerged, for many, as the preferred term.

The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity as they apply to a given individual or group. Intersectional identities create overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.

Context & Usage
The term was coined by lawyer, civil rights advocate, and critical race theory scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe the “various ways in which race and gender intersect in shaping structural and political aspects of violence against women of color”.

A social process by which individuals or groups are (intentionally or unintentionally) distanced from access to power and resources and constructed as insignificant, peripheral, or less valuable/privileged to a community or “mainstream” society.

Context & Usage
This term describes a social process, so as not to imply a lack of agency.
Marginalized groups or people are those excluded from mainstream social, economic, cultural, or political life. Examples of marginalized groups include, but are by no means limited to, groups excluded due to race, religion, political or cultural group, age, gender, or financial status. To what extent such populations are marginalized, however, is context specific and reliant on the cultural organization of the social site in question.

Unconscious (or implicit, hidden) biases are mental processes that operate outside of our consciousness, intentional awareness, or control. Unconscious biases include:

*Affinity bias: The tendency to show favour and/or feel more kinship towards people who are more like us. It may be based on some aspect of identity that we share with that person, or it could be similar interests and backgrounds.

*Attribution bias: How people explain the behaviour or outcomes for themselves or others. For example, attributing a person’s success to their natural abilities, versus seeing that success as the result of luck or favouritism.

*Confirmation bias: The tendency to more easily accept, search for, interpret, or favour information that aligns or agrees with one’s existing beliefs and opinions.

*Performance bias: An assessment of people’s competence based on some aspect of their appearance or identity.

Individuals or groups with insufficient or inadequate representation in various aspects of university life, often determined when compared to their proportional composition in Canadian society, but in the university setting, other considerations may also override strictly proportional representation.

Universal Design is the design and composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood, and used to the greatest extent possible by all people, regardless of their age, size, ability, or disability. An environment (or any building, product, or service in that environment) should be designed to meet the needs of all people who wish to use it. Universal design constitutes the equitable access to spaces, objects, environments, and services.