Here's a list of the main points or takeaways from Module 2: EDI Foundations. You can refer to this list at any time.

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• 'EDI' is an acronym. It stands for 'equity, diversity, and inclusion.' It refers to all the different policies, practices, and programs designed to make the workplace more equitable, diverse, and inclusive.

• A 'stereotype' is an assumption or belief—usually a negative assumption or belief—that applies to a specific group of people. It lumps people together on the basis of a single characteristic, for example, height, race, or gender, and implies that every person in that group is more or less the same.

• 'Bias' refers to the tendency to prefer one (1) person or thing to another and to then favor that person or thing, behaving unfairly. There are two (2) kinds of biases: 'conscious biases' and 'unconscious biases'. Conscious biases are obvious and intentional, while unconscious biases are subtle and unintentional. We are not conscious of them. That is, we are unaware of the fact that we are being biased.

• 'Microaggressions' are casual, indirect comments or behaviors that reflect bias or prejudice. Microaggressions are generally grouped into three (3) categories: 'microinsults,' 'microinvalidations,' and 'microassaults.' Microinsults are rude, insensitive comments or behaviours that demean or belittle a person’s identity and the social categories they belong to. Microinvalidations are comments and behaviours that negate the feelings or experiences a person has had because of their identity and the different social categories they belong to. A microassault is a comment or behaviour that is meant to deliberately or intentionally hurt someone by attacking their identity and the social categories they belong to.

• 'Power' is when you have the ability to influence other people or to make decisions that impact the lives of other people. There are two (2) kinds of power: 'positional' power and 'social' power. Positional power comes from your position within a particular organization. If you were to leave or move to another organization, you would no longer have this power. However, you'd likely still have a certain degree of social power. Social power comes from the different social categories you belong to – your race, your gender, your size, your sexual orientation, and so on. White people, for example, carry social power because of white supremacy.

• 'Privilege' refers to the special rights or advantages that come with social power. So, rights or advantages you may or may not have access to because of the social categories you belong to.

• 'Prejudice' is pre-judgement about another person based on the social categories that person belongs to.

• 'Discrimination' is action based on prejudice. For instance, ignoring, avoiding, excluding, ridiculing, sanctioning, threatening, slander or violence.

• When prejudice is backed by legal authority and institutional control, it becomes oppression. The term 'oppression' refers to the systemic or structural mistreatment, exploitation, and abuse of people in particular social categories. Ableism, racism, colonization, homophobia, and transphobia are all systems of oppression.

• 'Intersectionality' is a metaphor that illustrates how different social categories like race, gender, disability, and age converge or intersect, shaping how we experience privilege and power.

• 'Disability' is usually defined one (1) of two (2) ways. The first (1st) way reflects the 'medical model' of disability. According to the medical model of disability, the word 'disability' refers to a broad range of medical conditions that cause a variety of disadvantages. So, the medical model of disability is about the body. The 'social model' of disability, on the other hand, is about society. It's about the environments that we find ourselves in. According to the social model of disability, the word 'disability' refers to a broad range of environmental conditions that cause a variety of disadvantages. Today, the medical model has largely been discarded in favor of the social model.

• 'Accessibility' refers to the quality or condition of being easy to use or understand. When something is 'accessible,' it's easy to use or understand. Everyone can use it or understand it without much trouble.

• 'Ableism' is a system of oppression that affects people with disabilities.

• 'Race' refers to the way people are sorted and grouped according to shared physical characteristics like the color of their skin, the texture of their hair, or the shape of their eyes or nose.

• 'Racism' is a system of oppression and disadvantage based on race.

• The term 'white supremacy' is often associated with extremist groups. However, for scholars, activists, and EDI professionals, the term 'white supremacy' refers to the fact that the world often favors white people. So, priority and preference are often given to white people. In other words, people who are white—or white-passing—are granted special rights and advantages that aren't available to other people.

• The term 'colonization' refers to the violent process where one country or nation gains control of another nation. Using violence, the colonizer—the country or nation who is doing the colonizing—gains control of the land and the peoples who are Indigenous to that land.

• Colonization never ended in Canada. It continues to affect Indigenous peoples across the country.

• Indigenous peoples are the peoples who've inhabited a particular area—that is, particular lands—since time immemorial. They're the original residents of a particular region.

• In Canada, Indigenous peoples are generally divided into three (3) distinct groups: the Inuit, Métis and First Nations.

• 'SOGIE' is an acronym. It stands for 'Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression.'

• 'Sexual orientation' refers to romantic or sexual attraction.

• 'Gender identity' refers to our sense of who we are on the inside. For example, identifying as a man, a woman, non-binary, agender, or gender-fluid.

• 'Gender expression' is about how you express your gender to the world around you. For example, the clothes you wear, the way you style your hair, or the way you speak.

• The term 'newcomer' refers to people who've recently moved to Canada — people who've only been in Canada for a short period of time.

• The term 'racialization' refers to the process of being racialized. It's about being recognized as a member of a particular race.

• The term 'racialized newcomers' refers to people of colour who've recently moved to Canada.

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Disclaimer: Gateway to EDI: A Workplace Learning Journey resources were created in the year 2024. So, by the time you read, watch, or listen to them, the language used to describe or discuss some of these topics may have changed.