The following definitions are designed to accompany studies and materials on diversity, equity, equal opportunity, and nondiscrimination. The intent is to provide a common understanding to facilitate discussion and a common ground for discourse and action. The nature of the civil and human rights field, as well as human resources, is such that understandings change over time,circumstances, and technological developments. Hence these definitions are subject to change, and in the spirit of the need for a common understanding, feedback is welcome, as well as suggestions for additional terms that need defining.
Glossary of Terms Related to
Diversity, Equity, and Equal Opportunity
Somewhere during my ninety-year journey I developed a three-line, fifteen-word personal action mantra.It goes like this.
“Look unflinchingly at the past. Apply it to the present. Then pivot to the future.”
So when I think about diversity in 2025, I think about pivoting for renewal, not merely defending the diversity past or doubling-down on current diversity strategies. That’s why my currentADR column series is entitled Renewing Diversity.As circumstances of the past few years have made abundantly clear, the diversity movement is long overdue for renewal, lest it relegate itself into footnote status in the long course history.
As we move into 2025, diversity in the workplace continues to evolve, shaped by technological advancements, demographic shifts, and policy changes. Organizations are not only rethinking how they support diverse employees but also addressing systemic challenges that impact workplace equity. This report identifies five key trends influencing workplace diversity in 2025: increased funding for digital accessibility tools, the prioritization of upskilling older employees, efforts to deregulate DEI policies under the Trump administration, the impact of return-to-office mandates on minorities, and the regulation of AI tools across industries. Together, these trends underscore the dynamic landscape of workplace inclusivity and the ongoing need for innovation and vigilance.
In 1999, Malcolm Gladwell weighed in with his praised and criticized bestseller, The Tipping Point, a provocative exploration of the process of social change. A quarter century later, in 2024, Gladwell revisited the topic via Revenge of the Tipping Point, a meditation on where he had been right and where he had gone wrong with his broad thesis.Musing about his personal journey, Gladwell observed: “Maybe it would be a good idea for anyone who writes a book that tries to make sense of the world to be forced every 25 years to go back and revisit the original thesis.”
As ignoring technology is no longer an option in the workplace, various fields and businesses are leveraging digital transformation for diversity, innovation, and empowerment.
A previous post illustrates how the online registration software company Regpack was able to build a diverse and inclusive workplace with the help of technology. The company used digital tools to promote creativity and collaboration, while also embracing remote work opportunities to accommodate unique needs, especially among tech professionals of color.
In the film and TV industries, the lack of diversity is a crisis that stretches back decades and remains largely unresolved despite increasing demands for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). It is a multilayered issue that occurs both in front of the camera and behind it. Be that as it may, discussions on the two are disproportionate, with diversity in casting a more prevalent and publicized matter than the latter. Public awareness and criticism spell the difference, as they often spark movements like #OscarsSoWhite that push the industry to take visible strides.
The same cannot be said for diversity in production crews, where gender and racial gaps continue to persist. UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report reveals that women and people of color (POC) remain vastly underrepresented behind the scenes, taking up less than a third of key roles. While this is already an improvement from a few years ago, much can still be done to improve diversity among crew members.
Carlos:Tell me, Teri.How did you come up with the idea of teaching history through rock and roll music?
Teri: I’ve always loved music.From the time I became a history teacher in 1998, I thought of music whenever we reached the twentieth century.Then it hit me.Why not help students reconsider U.S. history by structuring a course around music?It worked.
Carlos:Well, if music works for teaching high school students, why not for diversity workshops, too?
Whether you traveled or stayed home this past holiday season, you paid attention to the news about Southwest Airlines’ struggles to getpeople where they wanted to go.Bad (really bad) weather, canceled flights, long lines, lost luggage, and exhausted and cranky passengers and airline staff all led to an operational disaster that will take Southwest a while to overcome.
But some observers weren’t at all surprised: Southwest’s crisis was inevitable after years of prioritizing stock dividends and executive compensation over necessary investments, including improving its outdated IT and crew scheduling systems. Southwest’s own employees issued plenty of warnings about those.
A young boy, sat at a table full of people he didn’t know. A large family, all helping to make their thanksgiving dinner. Smells and laughter waft through the house. No television to distract from the face-to-face interaction. All the food is scratch made. The kitchen is littered with bits and pieces of dishes and ingredients, a messy labor of love. The smiles and plate passing keep the energy up. The boy is confused, there is no turkey, but a large plate of chitlins, and a ham. There aren’t any scalloped potatoes, but collard greens. As much as Thanksgiving is a universal experience, it differs house to house, culture to culture. This is a short story about how he came to know his neighbors.
After the killing of George Floyd, Equity Rising, a group of Black professionals, came together to address social justice and equity in the government and in corporations. They believed that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) expertise is essential to the total sustainability strategy of corporationsand, therefore, is an essential boardroom function. The DEI expertise brings both functional and demographic diversification of board members.This article contends that since traditionally the DEI function has been populated primarily by people of color and women, DEI expertise will add to the demographic diversification of the board. With the increase in demographic diversity for other functional board positions, DEI experts will aide in establishing a critical mass of women and people of color in the boardroom.
