The Diversity & Inclusion Glossary [a List of 200+ Terms]

Diversity terms are all over the place. Do you know the meaning of BIPOC, Folx or Culture Add? I didn’t…until I looked it up!

AAPI  — AAPI is an acronym for Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders. Other similar acronyms are APA which means Asian-Pacific American and API which means Asian-Pacific Islander. These acronyms replace a derogatory term, “Oriental” in the 1960s.

AAL — African American Language, similar to AAVE defined below.

AAVE — AAVE is an acronym for African American Vernacular English. AAVE is a dialect of American English characterized by pronunciations and vocabulary used by some North American Black people and is a variation of Standard American English.

Ableism — Ableism means the practices or dominant attitudes by a society that devalue or limit the potential for people with disabilities. Ableism is the act of giving inferior value or worth to people who have different types of disabilities (physical, emotional, developmental, or psychiatric).

Ace — Lacking sexual attraction to others. Other families under the ace umbrella are graysexual (little sexual attraction), aromantic (no romantic attraction), and demisexual (sexual attraction after a strong emotional bond).

Accessibility — Accessibility is the term for making a facility usable by people with physical disabilities. Examples of accessibility include self-opening doors, elevators for multiple levels, raised lettering on signs and entry ramps

Accountability — Accountability refers to ways individuals and communities hold themselves to their goals and actions, while acknowledging the values and groups to which they are responsible.

Acculturation — Acculturation means a process when members of a cultural group adopt the patterns, beliefs, languages, and behaviors of another group’s culture.
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Bias — Bias means to have a prejudice against groups that are not similar to you or to have show preference for people that are similar to you.

Bicultural — Bicultural is a term that refers to people who possess the values, beliefs, languages, and behaviors of two distinct ethnic or racial groups.

Bigotry — Bigotry means to glorify a person’s own group and have prejudices against members of other groups.

BIPOC — What does BIPOC mean? The BIPOC acronym stands for Black, Indigenous, People of Color. Read BIPOC: The Hottest (Controversial) Word in Diversity?

Biphobia — Biphobia means to have an irrational fear, hatred, or intolerance for people who identify as bisexual.

Biracial — Biracial is a term for mixed race. Biracial is used to describe a person who identities as being of two races, or whose parents are from two different race groups.

Birth Assigned Sex — Birth Assigned Sex refers to a person’s biological, hormonal, and genetic composition at the time of their birth.

Biromantic Asexual — A person who is romantically attracted to multiple genders.

Biromantic Demisexual — A person who is sexually attracted to multiple genders, when they are romantically attracted to a person.
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Caucuses — Caucuses are groups that provide spaces for people to work within their own racial or ethnic groups.

CD&I — Acronym for Culture, Diversity and Inclusion. Walmart, the U.S. Navy and others use CD&I to describe their overall diversity initiatives.

Chicanx — Chicanx means a person related to Mexican Americans or their culture. Chicanx is a gender-neutral term used in the place of Chicano or Chicana.

Chile — A phonetic way of spelling “child” that’s often used in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and in southern parts of the United States. Chile was recently added to Dictionary.com.

Cisgender (CIS) — Cisgender means a person whose gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. The abbreviation for Cisgeneder is CIS.

Cissexual — Cissexual is a term that refers to a person who identifies with the same biological sex that they were assigned at birth.

Classism — Classism is a term that means to have prejudicial thoughts or to discriminate against a person or group based on differences in socioeconomic status and income level.

Code-Switching — Code-switching means when a person changes the way they express themselves culturally and linguistically based on different parts of their identity and how they are represented in the group they’re with.

Color Blind(ness) — Color Blind(ness) or being Color Blind means treating people as equally as possible without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity.

Collusion — Collusion is when a person acts to perpetuate oppression or prevent people from working to eliminate oppression.

Colonization — Colonization refers to forms of invasion, dispossession, or controlling an underrepresented group.
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Dyscalculia — What is dyscalculia? Dyscalculia is when a person has difficulty with calculations and numbers.

Dysgraphia — What is dysgraphia? Dysgraphia is when a person has difficulty spelling or putting thoughts together on paper.

Dyslexia — What is dyslexia? Dyslexia is when a person has difficulty reading. People with dyslexia may also have difficulty with comprehension, spelling, and writing.

Dyspraxia — Dyspraxia is when a person has difficulty with movement and coordination. Many people with Dyspraxia also have ADHD or other sensory processing issues.
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Emotional Tax — Emotional Tax refers to the effects of being on guard to protect against bias at work because of gender, race, and/or ethnicity. Emotional Tax has effects on a person’s health, well-being, and the ability to be successful at work.

Enby — Enby is an abbreviation used for a nonbinary person in the LGBTQ community. It’s a phonetic pronunciation of NB, short for nonbinary, or people who do not identify their gender as male or female.

Equality — The term “Equality” (in the context of diversity) is typically defined as treating everyone the same and giving everyone access to the same opportunities. It is sometimes used as an alternative to “inclusion”. The company Salesforce, for example, uses Chief Equality Officer as the job title for the top diversity and inclusion executive.

Equity — The term “equity” (in the context of diversity) refers to proportional representation (by race, class, gender, etc.) in employment opportunities. The company Slack, for example, uses “Equity” in some job titles (e.g. Senior Technical Recruiter, Diversity Equity Inclusion Lead).
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Femme — Femme is a gender identity where a person has an awareness of cultural standards of femininity and actively carries out a feminine appearance or role.

Filipinx — Filipinx means a person who is a national of the Philippines, or a person of Filipino descent. Filipinx is a gender-neutral term used in the place of Filipino or Filipina.

Finna — A phonetic way of saying “fixing to” or “about to do something” that’s often used in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and in southern parts of the United States. Finna was recently added to Dictionary.com.

First Nations — First Nations is a term used to describe indigenous people from Canada who are not Inuit or Métis. Many First Nations people prefer to define or identify themselves by their specific tribal affiliations.

Folx — Folx is an umbrella term for people with non-normative sexual orientation or identity.

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