Washington State Glossary for Inclusive & Equitable Workplaces
Welcome to the 4th version of the Glossary for Inclusive & Equitable Workplaces, previously known as the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging glossary!
The intent of this glossary is to provide state employees with a compilation of equity-related terms and their meanings. When we have a shared vocabulary and agree on the meaning of the words we use, we are better able to collaborate across departments, teams, and the communities that we serve.
Words carry meaning, power, and impact. It is important that we understand the meanings, recognize the power, and demonstrate reflection, continual learning, and accountability for the impact of the words we use in Washington State government. It is also important to understand that the human beings who are educating us about these terms are living the identities and experiences described in this glossary.
Because people are continually evolving, the words we use to describe them need to evolve as well. This resource is meant to support the work of improving access, advancing equity, and eliminating systemic racism and other forms of oppression from the work we do. This is not meant to serve as a primary resource in any specialized area such as law, medicine, or academia.
Thank you to the Washington State Business Resource Groups, the Washington State DEI Council Glossary Workgroup, The Department of Health, Department of Enterprise Services, Office of Equity, OFM Communications for your hard work and dedication to this body of work. The work that was poured into this version will directly impact those who experience disparities, exclusion, and systemic oppression in the workplace. Thanks to your vital contribution to this work our state will have a practical resource guiding us to maintain a growth mindset while affirming and embodying diversity, equity, inclusion, antiracism, and belonging every step of the way.
You may request a Glossary Edit if you would like a term added to or a definition edited in this glossary. Please note that the review committee meets quarterly to review these submissions and is committed to the shared-power process, so these edits make take several months to research and to respond to.
Oppression is the systemic devaluing, undermining, marginalizing, and disadvantaging of certain social identities in contrast to the privileged norm; when some people are denied something of value, while others have ready access. This can occur, intentionally and unintentionally, on individual, institutional, and cultural levels:
• Individual – attitudes and actions that reflect prejudice against a social group.
• Institutional – policies, laws, rules, norms, and customs enacted by organizations and social institutions that disadvantage some social groups and advantage other social groups.
• Societal/Cultural – social norms, roles, rituals, language, music, and art that reflect and reinforce the belief that one social group is superior to another.
Anti-oppression is the act of shifting power to people who have been marginalized by recognizing, mitigating, and eliminating the oppressive effects of the individual, institutional, and societal elements of the dominant culture.
Othering encompasses the systematically expressed prejudice on the basis of group identities or membership or perceived group identities or membership. It is a common set of dynamics, processes, and structures that produces marginality and persistent inequality across any of the full range of human differences. It is a strategy of the dominant culture to prevent belonging. Dimensions of othering include, but are not limited to, religion, sex, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (class), disability, sexual orientation, citizenship/immigration status, and skin tone.See Belonging19.
- 19. The sense of your well-being being considered and your ability to design and give meaning to society’s structures and institutions being realized. More than tolerating and respecting differences, belonging requires that all people are welcome with membership and agency in the society. Belonging is vital to have a thriving and engaged populace, which informs distributive and restorative decision-making.
