Our conversations about equality, inclusion and social justice are shaped by many different concepts and key terms. At atom*innen, we believe it is essential to understand these terms in order to engage thoughtfully with these important issues.
Our Diversity and Inclusion Glossary is your comprehensive resource for understanding the key terms and concepts that shape discussions about equality, inclusion and social justice. Whether you're new to these issues or want to deepen your understanding, this glossary provides clear definitions and insightful explanations. Explore, learn and join us on the journey towards a more inclusive world!
Agender
Agender people do not feel that they belong to a particular gender identity. They may reject the concept of gender for themselves.
Ally
A person who is not a member of a marginalised or disadvantaged group, but who is an advocate or supporter of that group.
Asexuality 
A sexual orientation characterized by a lack of sexual attraction to any gender.
Bias
A bias is a distortion in the information processing. We can discriminate bias into three main categories: perceptive bias, evaluative bias and behavioral bias.
Perceptive bias: have a direct impact on how you perceive diverse groups (intergroup accentuation bias (or contrast effect) / intracategory homogenization bias (or assimilation effect) / stereotyping bias)
Evaluative bias: make you promote in-group over out-group (autofavoritism bias/allofavoritism bias)
Behavioral bias: make you act in a discriminative way, according to your evaluative bias.
Bisexuality 
A romantic or sexual attraction toward people of more than one gender.
Discrimination
Direct discrimination is characterised by the intent to treat less favourably a person or a group. Indirect discrimination refers to cases where apparently neutral provisions or practices affect members (or perceived members) of a particular group in less favourable ways.
Structural discrimination is woven into the ways our societies function, and operates through norms, routines, patterns of attitudes and behaviour that create obstacles in achieving equal opportunities and real equality.
Diversity
Diversity is a concept that recognizes the differences (e.g. depending on age, gender, sexuality, race, class, religion, etc.) between people and aims to reduce discrimination. It promotes a heterogeneous society and takes into account different categories
Empowerment
The process of gaining access to resources and developing one's capacities with a view to participating actively in shaping one's own life and that of one's community in economic, social and political terms.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, One hundred words for equality – A glossary of terms on equality between women and men, Publications Office, 1998.
Equity
Fair treatment for all while striving to identify and eliminate inequities and barriers.
Glossary of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) Terms, Harvard Human Ressources
Gay
Refers to a person who is sexually and/or emotionally attracted to people of the same gender. It traditionally refers to men, but other people who are attracted to the same gender or multiple genders may also define themselves as gay.
Gender
A concept that refers to the social differences, as opposed to the biological ones, between women and men that have been learned, are changeable over time and have wide variations both within and between cultures.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, One hundred words for equality – A glossary of terms on equality between women and men, Publications Office, 1998.
Gender equality
The concept that all human beings are free t o develop their personal abilities and make choices w i t h o u t the limitations set by strict gender roles; that the different behaviour, aspirations and needs of women and men are con sidered, valued and favoured equally.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, One hundred words for equality – A glossary of terms on equality between women and men, Publications Office, 1998.
Gender equality index
Unique measurement tool that synthesises the complexity of gender equality as a multidimensional concept into a user-friendly and easily interpretable measure.
European Institute for Gender Equality - EIGE. Gender Equality Index for the European Union.
Gender gap
The gap in any area between women and men in terms of their levels of participation, access to resources, rights, remuneration or benefits.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, One hundred words for equality – A glossary of terms on equality between women and men, Publications Office, 1998.
Gender identity
Each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth, including the personal sense of the body (which may involve, if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or function by medical, surgical or other means) and other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms.
It has to be distinguished from the gender expression which is people’s manifestation of their gender identity, and the one that is perceived by others.
European Commission (2012). Trans and Intersex People: Discrimination on the Grounds of Sex, Gender Identity and Gender Expression. European Network of Legal Experts in the Field of Gender Equality.
Gender pay gap
The gap between the average earnings of men and women.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, One hundred words for equality – A glossary of terms on equality between women and men, Publications Office, 1998.
Gender stereotypes
Preconceived ideas whereby females and males are arbitrarily assigned characteristics and roles determined and limited by their gender.
Gender Equality Commission of the Council of Europe (2015). Gender Equality Glossary.small>
Glass ceiling
The invisible barrier arising from a complex set of structures in male-dominated organisations which prevents women from obtaining senior positions.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, One hundred words for equality – A glossary of terms on equality between women and men, Publications Office, 1998.
Horizontal segregation
The concentration of women and men into particular sectors and occupations.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, One hundred words for equality – A glossary of terms on equality between women and men, Publications Office, 1998.
Inclusion
Inclusion means that everyone is included, visible, heard and considered.
Glossary of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) Terms, Harvard Human Ressourcessmall>
Intersectionality
The overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination, or discrimination.
Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw
Intersex 
An umbrella term used to describe a range of different variations in the physical characteristics of a person who does not fit the strict medical definitions of either female or male.
Invisible barriers
Attitudes and the underlying traditional assumptions, norms and values which prevent (women's) empowerment/full participation in society.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, One hundred words for equality – A glossary of terms on equality between women and men, Publications Office, 1998.
Job segregation
The concentration of women and men in different types and levels of activity and employment, with women being confined t o a narrower range of occupations (horizontal segregation) than men, and t o the lower grades of work (vertical segregation).
European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, One hundred words for equality – A glossary of terms on equality between women and men, Publications Office, 1998.
Labour division
The division of paid and unpaid work between women and men in private public life.
Leaky pipeline
The leaky pipeline is the phenonomen that there are progressively fewer women at increasingly advanced career stages.
Sexism in academia is bad for science and a waste of public funding, Nicole Boivin, Susanne Täuber, Ulrike Beisiegel, Ursula Keller & Janet G. Hering
LGBTQIA+
Acronym for persons who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, asexual and more.
Lesbian 
A sexual or romantic orientation most often defined as a woman who is attracted to other women. The term also describes a queer attraction to women and femininity.
Transgender / trans 
An inclusive umbrella term that refers to people whose gender identity and/or gender expression is different from the sex or gender that they were assigned at birth.
Queer
Previously used as a derogatory term to refer to LGBTI individuals in the English language, queer has been reclaimed by people who identify beyond traditional gender categories and heteronormative social norms. However, depending on the context, some people may still find it offensive. Also refers to queer theory, an academic field that challenges heteronormative social norms concerning gender and sexuality.
ILGA-EuropeGlossary
Matilda effect
This effect reffers to women's invisibility in STEM.
Microaggressions
A comment or action that unconsciously or unintentionally expresses or reveals a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group, such as a racial minority. These small, common occurrences include insults, slights, stereotyping, undermining, devaluing, delegitimizing, overlooking or excluding someone. Over time, microaggressions can isolate and alienate those on the receiving end, and affect their health and wellbeing.
Glossary of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) Terms, Harvard Human Ressources
Neurodiversity
When neurological differences are recognized and respected as are any other kind of human differences or variations. These differences can include Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dyscalculia, Autistic Spectrum, and Tourette Syndrome.
Glossary of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) Terms, Harvard Human Ressources
Non-binary 
Refers to gender identities other than male or female.
ILGA-EuropeGlossary
Positive action
Measures targeted at a particular group and intended to eliminate and prevent discrimination or to offset disadvantages arising from existing attitudes, behaviours and structures (sometimes referred to as positive discrimination).
European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, One hundred words for equality – A glossary of terms on equality between women and men, Publications Office, 1998.
Pygmalion effect
The psychologists Rosenthal and Jacobson highlighted that one is going to act the way people expect her/him to act. For example, you are more likely to fail your physic course if your professor tells you that you cannot success.
Quota
A defined proportion or share of places, seats or resources t o be filled by or allocated to a specific group, generally under certain rules or criteria, and aimed at correcting a previous imbalance, usually in decisionmaking positions or in access to training opportunities or jobs.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, One hundred words for equality – A glossary of terms on equality between women and men, Publications Office, 1998.
Racism
A belief that racial differences produce or are associated with inherent superiority or inferiority. Racially-based prejudice, discrimination, hostility or hatred. Institutionalized racism, also known as systemic racism, refers to forms of racism that are engrained in society or organizations. It is when entire racial groups are discriminated against, or consistently disadvantaged, by larger social systems, practices, choices or policies.
Glossary of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB) Terms, Harvard Human Ressources
Sorority
The feminist concept of sorority was defined during the second wave of feminism (1960-1980) as a bond of female sisterhood that would overcome the differences of class, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and nationality, putting gender before any other existential condition.
ECDHR
Vertical segregation
Vertical segregation refers to the phenomenon that, even in sectors where there is a good balance between men and women, men and women still find themselves at different levels of the corporate hierarchy (men at the top).