Glossary

ABILITY: Refers to a person’s physical, developmental, and/or psychological ability.

ALLYSHIP: An association with another person or group in taking action to support social justice and working to eliminate oppression.

BELONGING: Being able to be present with your identity and feeling that you are an important member of a group.

BIAS: An inclination or preference either for or against an individual or group that interferes with impartial judgment.

CULTURAL COMPETENCY: The ability of an individual to understand and respect values, attitudes, beliefs, and mores that differ across cultures and to consider and respond appropriately to these differences when planning, implementing, and evaluating health education and interventions.

DIVERSITY: The condition of a community or institution having a variety of identities represented, including race and ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, language, culture, national origin, religious commitments, age, (dis)ability status, and political perspective.

EQUITY: A commitment to providing equal opportunity for all persons.

ETHNICITY: Cultural, linguistic, spiritual, and traditional ties that describe people, often linked to a group or regional identity.

GENDER: The attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological sex.

HEALTH INEQUITIES: Disparities in health resulting from systemic and unjust socioeconomic policies that create barriers to access.

IDENTITY: How people think about and express their personalities and/or group affiliations.

IMPLICIT BIAS: Attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.

INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE: Developing the attitude, knowledge, and skills that would allow persons, organizations, and systems to effectively and appropriately interact and communicate with diverse social groups.

INTERSECTIONALITY: The interconnectedness of social identity categories including race, gender, class, and ability (term coined by scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989). In healthcare, intersectionality recognizes that an individual’s identities impact health outcomes and access to healthcare.

INCLUSION: A practice that ensures every individual feels a sense of belonging and is treated with dignity and respect.

MICROAGRESSIONS: Everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their group membership.

RACE: The social construction and categorization of people on the basis of perceived shared physical traits that result in the maintenance of a sociopolitical hierarchy.

SEX: Refers to a person’s biological status and is typically categorized as male, female, or intersex.

SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS/CLASS: Combined total of an individual’s or family’s economic and social position. Measures not only income, but also education, occupation, assets and inheritance, and access to resources.