Equity Toolkit Foundational Terminology

The CAM Equity Task Force recognizes the importance of having shared understandings, especially when it comes to language. Words, and our interpretation of them, can bring us together, can pull us apart, and can unintentionally cause us to communicate “past” one another. While this is not an exhaustive glossary of terminology, it is meant to be a foundation upon which you and your organization can build. The terms that we have provided below are some that may be less familiar and/or are used often, but without explanation. If these definitions don’t resonate, we encourage you to research and find additional definitions so that you/your institution create language that may be more impactful. Once you have a solid foundation, please continue to add to (and share) definitions broadly.

• Accessibility – Accessibility is the equitable access of all people to use, experience or participate in activities, resources, facilities, and services, regardless of human ability or socio-economic status.
• AMEMSA - Abbreviation of Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities. Learn more
• Antiracism – No one is born racist or antiracist; these result from the choices we make. Being antiracist results from a conscious decision to make frequent, consistent, equitable choices daily. These choices require ongoing self-awareness and self-reflection as we move through life. In the absence of making antiracist choices, we (un)consciously uphold aspects of white supremacy, white-dominant culture, and unequal institutions and society. Being racist or antiracist is not about who you are; it is about what you do. Learn more
• AAPI (Asian American / Pacific Islander) – Abbreviation combining the ethnic identities of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Learn more
• BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) – Pronounced “bye-pock,” this is a term specific to the United States, intended to center the experiences of Black and Indigenous groups and demonstrate solidarity between communities of color. Learn more
• Cisgender – Is an adjective used to describe people whose gender identity is aligned with the sex they were assigned at birth.
• Diversity – Diversity includes all of the factors that shape the experiences, values and perspectives of individuals.  These include but are not limited to age, mental and physical ability, gender identity, race, national origin, religion, socio-economic status, and sexual orientation.
• Equality – The effort to treat everyone the same or to ensure that everyone has access to the same opportunities. However, only working to achieve equality ignores historical and structural factors that benefit some social groups and disadvantages other social groups in ways that create differ- ential starting points. Learn more
• Equity – Equity is the promotion of fair and just treatment, access, and opportunities for all staff and members of our global community.
• Gender Identity – your own, internal, personal sense of being a man or a woman (or as someone outside of that gender binary). Learn more
• Implicit Bias – Also known as unconscious or hidden bias, implicit biases are negative associations that people unknowingly hold. They are expressed automatically, without conscious awareness. Many studies have indicated that implicit biases affect individuals’ attitudes and actions, thus creating real-world implications, even though individuals may not even be aware that those biases exist within themselves. Notably, implicit biases have been shown to trump individuals’ stated commitments to equality and fairness, thereby producing behavior that diverges from the explicit attitudes that many people profess. Learn more
• Inclusion – refers to the intentional effort of creating environments in which all individuals or groups can feel welcomed, respected, empowered, and valued. It is also an effort to cultivate leaders at all levels to fully participate in the Museum’s work with equal agency.
• Individual racism – refers to the beliefs, attitudes, and actions of individuals that support or perpetuate racism in conscious and unconscious ways. The U.S. cultural narrative about racism typically focuses on individual racism and fails to recognize systemic racism. Examples include believing in the superiority of white people, not hiring a person of color because “something doesn’t feel right,” or telling a racist joke.
• Institutional racism – occurs in an organization. These are discriminatory treatments, unfair policies, or biased practices based on race that result in inequitable outcomes for whites over people of color and extend considerably beyond prejudice. These institutional policies often never mention any racial group, but the intent is to create advantages.
• Interpersonal racism – occurs between individuals. These are public expressions of racism, often involving slurs, biases, or hateful words or actions.
• Intersectionality – Coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, the term intersectionality recognizes that individuals experience discrimination based on multiple and intersecting identities, including race, religion, ethnicity, migrant status, sexual identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, or socioeconomic status. Learn more
• Latiné – A gender-neutral form of the word Latino, created by the LGBTQIA+, gender non-binary, and feminist communities in Spanish speaking countries. (@jointhelucha instagram post 9/20/21)
• Latinx – A gender-neutral term to refer to a Latino/Latina person. The “x” replaces the male and female endings “o” and “a” that are part of the Spanish grammar conventions. This term comes from American-born Latinos/Latinas who want to be more inclusive and gender neutral, which is more akin to the English language. (@jointhelucha instagram post 9/20/21)
• LGBTQIA+ – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Ally; adding a “+” to the acronym is an acknowledgment that there are non-cisgender and non-straight identities that are not included in the acronym. This is a shorthand or umbrella term for all people who have a non-normative gender identity or sexual orientation. Learn more
• Microaggressions – The 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 marginalized group membership. Learn more
• PI  – Pacific Islander
• Race – Race is a socially constructed system of categorizing humans largely based on observable physical features (phenotypes), such as skin color, and on ancestry. There is no scientific basis for or discernible distinction between racial categories. Learn more
• Sexual Orientation – describes a person's enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction to another person (for example: straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual). Learn more
• Structural racism – is the overarching system of racial bias across institutions and society. These systems give privileges to white people resulting in disadvantages to people of color. Example: Stereotypes of people of color as criminals in mainstream movies and media. 
• Systematic Racism – This is an interlocking and reciprocal relationship between the individual, institutional and structural levels which function as a system of racism. These various levels of racism operate together in a lockstep model and function together as a whole system. In many ways “systemic racism” and “structural racism” are synonymous. If there is a difference between the terms, it can be said to exist in the fact that a structural racism analysis pays more attention to the historical, cultural, and social psychological aspects of our currently racialized society. Learn more
• Transgender – An umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. People under the transgender umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms - including transgender. Use the descriptive term preferred by the person. Many transgender people are prescribed hormones by their doctors to bring their bodies into alignment with their gender identity. Some undergo surgery as well. But not all transgender people can or will take those steps, and a transgender identity is not dependent upon physical appearance or medical procedures. Learn more

The CAM Equity Toolkit Video Series

The following is a series of five videos produced for the CAM Equity Action Plan Toolkit by the California Association of Museums, Dina Bailey of Mountain Top Vision, and the CAM Equity Advisory Committee. The video series aims to support museum professionals and institutions in their Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion (DEAI) journey.

1. Getting Started: getting started with a DEAI program and developing an equity action plan
2. Preparing for Focus Groups: helpful guidance in preparing for focus groups in a DEAI program
3. What to do With Feedback: dealing with feedback from focus groups in a DEAI program
4. Creating an Equity Action Plan: help for creating an equity action plan in a DEAI program
5. What to do Next: moving forward in your own equity action plan