Rotary Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Terms and Explanations

These terms and their explanations are collected and adapted from many sources. The terms and explanations were the most current available. As more research is conducted and as language evolves, the terms and explanations may be updated.

 

Service — The action of helping or doing work on behalf of someone.

Fellowship — Friendly association, especially with people who share similar interests.

Diverse or diversity — People of all backgrounds, experiences, and identities regardless of their age, ethnicity, race, color, abilities, religion, socioeconomic status, culture, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Integrity — The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.

Leadership — A process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others toward the achievement of a goal.

Age — The length of time that a person has lived or existed.
Ally — A person of one social identity group who publicly supports of members of another group.
Caste – The system of dividing society into hereditary classes.
Colour — The pigmentation of skin.
Culture — The customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group.
Disability — Persons with disabilities includes those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual, sensory, or episodic impairments which in interaction with various attitudinal and environmental barriers hinders their full participation in society on an equal basis with others. Disability is an evolving concept.
Equity or equitable — Carefully considering how to provide differing levels of support, opportunities, and resources so participants have a welcoming and productive experience.
Ethnicity — A grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of presumed common ancestry. It is often recognized by others through cultural, language, religious, or behavioral traits.
Faith — A strongly held belief or theory.
Gender identity — One's personal concept of self as male, female, a blend of both, or neither — how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. A person’s gender identity can be the same or different from their sex assigned at birth.
Identity – The fact of being who or what a person or thing is.
Inclusive or inclusion — Creating experiences in which all people are welcomed, respected, and valued.
Intersectionality – The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group.
Language— Specific communication that a person uses, either as their primary or as an additional language. Language can include spoken, signed, or other forms of non-spoken languages.
Leadership — A process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others toward the achievement of a goal.
Learning style — A set of factors, behaviors, and attitudes that facilitate learning for a person in a given situation.
Marital status — A person’s legal state of being single, married, separated, divorced, or widowed.
Race — A socially and politically constructed category of identification based on physical characteristics, ancestry, historical affiliation, or shared culture.
Religion — An organized system of beliefs, observances, rituals, and rules used to worship a god or group of gods.
Sex assigned at birth— The classification of a person as either male or female based on physical characteristics at birth.
Sexual orientation — An inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to other people.
Socioeconomic status (Class)— The social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation.
Stereotype — An oversimplified generalization about a person or group of people without regard for individual differences.
Visible and invisible qualities — The qualities relating to identity that are either apparent (visible) or not observable (invisible).

The terms and explanations have been collected and adapted from these sources:
 ADL Education Glossary
 Apa.org
 Cortland.edu
 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
 HRC.org
 Forbes.com
 Opseu.org
 Oxford Language Dictionary