The dialogue around diversity, equity, and inclusion is broad and growing daily. This introduces the need for a common vocabulary to avoid misunderstandings and misinterpretations. Because of differences in lived experience, words often hold different meanings for different people. This glossary is not meant to be exhaustive, since language is continuously evolving. The main goal is to provide a basic framework and promote dialogue.
There are currently 11 Terms in this directory beginning with the letter I.
I
Identity Claiming
a process In speech and action, we express how we see ourselves and how we want to be perceived by others.
Implicit Association Test
test measures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report. The IAT may be especially interesting if it shows that you have an implicit attitude that you did not
know about. For example, you may believe that men and women are equally associated with science, yet your automatic associations could show that you (as many others) associate men with science more than you associate women with science. In addition, when you take the IAT, you will receive feedback about the strength of your implicit preference based on how much faster you respond to Flowers + Good / Insects + Bad versus Insects + Good/ Flowers + Bad (for example). As you consider your results, remember that the IAT shows biases that are not necessarily endorsed and that may even
be contradictory to what one consciously believes.
Implicit Bias
negative associations that people unknowingly hold and express automatically, and that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions; also known as unconscious or hidden bias.
Inclusion
While diversity describes an individual, inclusion is about the collective. Inclusion is creating a culture that recognizes, values, and embraces differences, and incorporates varying perspectives into the environment. Inclusion is required for another person to be their authentic selves. It is an active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity.
Inclusive leaders
Inclusive leaders are individuals who are aware of their own biases and actively seek out and consider different perspectives to inform their decision-making and collaborate more effectively with others.
Inequality
refers to the disproportionate allocation of resources, decision-making and outcomes to the advantage or disadvantage of one person, group, or community over another.
Inequity
refers to differences between and within communities that are systematic, patterned, unfair, and can be changed. They are not random, as they are caused by our past and current decisions, systems of power and privilege, policies, and the implementation of those policies.
Institutional Inequality
the manifestation of inequality and discrimination within institutions or societies; describes the uneven distribution of resources along divisions of societal difference, such as race, ethnicity, and gender.
Institutional Racism
refers specifically to the ways in which institutional policies and practices create different outcomes and opportunities for different groups based on racial discrimination.
Intersectionality
a social construct that recognizes the fluid diversity of identities that a person can hold, including those of gender, race, class, religion, professional status, marital status, socioeconomic status, etc.
Isms
a way of describing any attitude, action or institutional structure that oppresses a person or group because of their target group. For example, race (racism), gender (sexism), economic status (classism), age (ageism), religion (e.g., anti-Semitism), sexual orientation (heterosexism), language/immigrant status (xenophobism), etc.
