9 Glossary
Diversity in the Canadian Workplace
Able-bodied
Fit and healthy; not physically disabled.
Accessibility
The quality of being easily reached, entered, or used by people who have a disability.
Baby Boomer
A person born in the years following the Second World War, when there was a temporary marked increase in the birth rate.
Bias
Inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair.
Channel
A method or system for communication or distribution.
Colonialism
The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.
Decode
Analyze and interpret (a communication or image).
Demographics
Statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it.
Dexterity
Skill in performing tasks, especially with the hands.
Discrimination
The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.
Diversity
The variety of characteristics that all persons possess that distinguish them as individuals and that identify them as belonging to a group or groups. It is a term used to encompass all the various differences among people commonly used in Canada and in the United States.
Domestic
Existing or occurring inside a particular country; not foreign or international.
Dominant Culture
A group that is considered the most powerful and privileged of all groups in a particular society or context and that exercises that power through a variety of means (economic, social, political, etc).
Earnings Gap (Pay Gap)
The difference in average pay between two different groups of people, for example men and women.
Encode
Convert (information or an instruction) into a particular form.
Ethnicity
A group of people who share a particular cultural heritage or background.
Fault Line
A divisive issue or difference of opinion that is likely to have serious consequences.
Gender
The state of being male or female (typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones).
Generation X
The generation born after that of the baby boomers (roughly from the early 1960s to mid-1970s).
Glass Ceiling
An unacknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities.
Global
Relating to the whole world; worldwide.
Groupthink
The practice of thinking or making decisions as a group, resulting typically in unchallenged, poor-quality decision-making.
Immigrant
A person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.
Inclusion
The action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure.
Marginalization
Treatment of a person, group, or concept as insignificant or peripheral.
Melting Pot
A place where different people, styles, theories, etc., are mixed together.
Millennials
Denoting people reaching young adulthood in the early 21st century.
Monarchy
A form of government with a monarc