Equity and Inclusion 101 Understanding Key Concepts Presented

Equity and Inclusion 101: Understanding Key Concepts Presented By: Lindy Wagner

Session Goals • Provide an overview of words and concepts associated with equity and inclusion to make further conversations much easier • Create opportunity to discuss current understanding of concepts • Lay the foundation for more purposeful interactions with students and colleagues

Common Terminology: What have you heard?

Diversity • The range of human differences, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, social class, physical ability or attributes, religious or ethical values system, national origin and political beliefs • It is a way of describing groups, not individuals • Descriptions of individual differences relate to personality and constellations of cultural identities • Often thought of in relation to visible identities

Multiculturalism • Seeing human difference and then how one or society handles those differences • The appreciation and need of differences among people • Concepts include melting pot, salad bowl, tapestry, etc. • Sometimes can include more focus on nonvisible identities

Social Justice • Both process and goal • Striving for equity versus equality • The view that everyone deserves economic, political, social rights and opportunities

Inclusion • Involvement and empowerment, where the inherent worth and dignity of all people are recognized. • An inclusive university promotes and sustains a sense of belonging; it values and practices respect for the talents, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of living of its members

Identity Concepts: Things to Consider

• Race and Color • Sex and Gender • Political Affiliation • Socioeconomic Status & Class Big 10 + Identities • Religion • Sexual Identity/Sexual Orientation/Sexuality • Citizenship & National Origin • Age • Ethnicity • Disability/Ability Status

Identity Membership Often Dominant Group Members. . . Often Marginalized Group Members. . . • May be taught that they are “normal” • May be less aware of social privilege and other groups’ feelings, concerns, or experiences • May be socially conscious or socially unaware • May show defensiveness, guilt, doubt, or rationalization (rather than empathy or urgency for change) regarding discrimination • May have had history of dealing with negative societal messages, repeatedly • May feel hyper-visible or invisible • May have to work hard to seek out similar others • May be socially conscious or socially unaware • May seek acknowledgment, empathy, & urgency for change (rather than rationalization or guilt) when highlighting discrimination or marginalization

Social Identity Dominant Identity Marginalized Identity Age Young and middle-aged adults Elderly people, teenagers, or children Race and Color White people Black, Brown, Latino/-a/-x, Asian, Pacific Islander, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, & Multiracial people Ethnicity Those of primarily European descent Those living in the U. S. whose ancestry is descended from places outside of Europe, and Jewish and Romani people of varied ancestral & national origins Citizenship & National Origin Citizenship: Legal citizens of and/or born in the country that reside in; Green card holders National Origin: Immigrants from European and predominantly White countries Citizenship: Those who are undocumented in the country they reside in; Immigrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees who have migrated due to political unrest and/or violence National Origin: Immigrants from non-European and nonpredominantly White countries; Those from nations not recognized by the U. N. Religion Christians, Protestants, Catholics Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Atheists, Zoroastrians, those who do not practice Christianity Sex & Gender Sex: Men Sex: Women, People who are intersex Gender: Cisgender men and women (cis- means ‘same’. Cisgender Gender: Transgender, non-binary, & genderqueer people (includes people identify with the sex they were designated at birth) those who identify differently than designated at birth and those who don’t identify as either a man or a woman) Disability/Ability Status Those without learning, developmental, physical, and emotional disabilities People with disabilities (learning, developmental, emotional, physical, illiteracy) Sexual Orientation Heterosexual people Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Queer, Pansexual, Asexual, and others who don’t identify as straight/heterosexual Class, Socio. Economic Status Middle-class and wealthy people, people with reliably wealthy social networks Working class, low-income, chronically poor people, those without reliably wealthy social networks Political Affiliation Those represented effectively by political representatives or well- Those excluded from democratic processes (gerrymandered areas, established lobbying groups; Those with access, knowledge, and those convicted of felonies), Those without influential time to influence political processes representatives or lobbying groups to consistently represent their interests

Systemic Awareness

Microaggressions • Everyday verbal, nonverbal and environmental slights, snubs or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory or negative messages to target person based solely upon their marginalized group membership (Sue et al. , 2007, p. 271)

Privilege • Unearned, unasked for special rights, advantages or immunities that constitute: • positive projections, assumptions of capability and normality, and access to resources such as human capital (i. e. genetic endowments like height and skin color) • cultural capital (i. e. information like how to navigating varying spaces) • social capital (i. e. “who you know”) (Mc. Intosh, 1988)

Power • Access to resources and to decision makers to get what you want • Ability or official authority to decide what is best of others • Ability to exercise control over others

• Encapsulates the fusion of institutional and systemic discrimination, personal bias, bigotry and social prejudice in a complex web of relationships and structures that shade most aspects of life in our society (Bell, 2013). Oppression • According to Adams et al. (2013), oppression is pervasive, restrictive, hierarchical, involved shared and distinctive characteristic of the –isms, and is comprised of complex, multiple, cross-cutting relationships. If we think about receiving negative thoughts, feelings and actions, they likely fall into two categories: • Explicit • Overt • Bold • Intentional • Implicit • Covert • Subtle • Causes attributional ambiguity

Oppression • Can be experienced in different “levels”/”isms”: • Personal: Values, Beliefs, Feelings • Interpersonal: Actions, Behaviors, Language • Institutional: Rules, Policies, Procedures • Cultural: Beauty, Truth, Right • Also different ways to approach change

Ally • A person whose commitment to dismantling oppression is reflected in a willingness to do the following: • Educate oneself about oppression • Learn from and listen to people who are targets of oppression • Examine and challenge one’s own prejudices, stereotypes, and assumptions • Work through feelings of guilt, shame, and defensiveness to understand what is beneath them and what needs to be healed • Learn and practice the skills of challenging oppressive remarks, behaviors, policies, and institutional structures • Act collaboratively with members of the marginalized group to dismantle oppression

Discussion Questions • What will you take away from this for future interactions with those who may be different than you? • When considering your own journey of understanding equity and inclusion what areas where you are being successful and what areas are posing a challenge?

Questions?

• Adams, M. , Blumenfeld, W. J. , Castañeda, C. R. , Hackman, H. W. , Peters, M. L. , & Zúñiga, X. (2013). References • Mc. Intosh, P. (1988). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack. In V. Cyrus (Ed. ), Experiencing race, class and gender in the United States (pp. 209 – 213). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing. • Sue, D. W. , Capodilupo, C. M. , Torino, G. C. , Bucceri, J. M. , Holder, A. M. B. , Nadal, K. L. , Esquilin, M. (2007). Microaggressions in everyday life. American Psychologist, 62(4), 271 -286.