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DEFINITIONS

Afrodescendant

A person of African descent.

Allies

These are people who fight against a form of oppression without directly experiencing its consequences. For example, feminist men, heterosexuals who act against homophobia or white people who mobilize against racism. Since they are often less marginalized than the people whose interests they are defending, allies are often listened to more by the majority. However, caution must be exercised, as this privilege can have a perverse effect of drawing attention to the ally in question rather than the cause, and/or highlighting their perspective rather than that of the people affected.

Colorism

Discrimination based on variations in the intensity of people’s skin color. Colorism is a sociological concept that refers to the difference in social treatment between light and dark-skinned people. The norm is white skin, and anything other than white skin is considered inferior, ugly, or backward.

Discrimination

Distinguishing and treating someone or a group differently (usually worse) from the rest of the community or from another person: Sexism is discrimination based on gender. Racial discrimination.

Diversity

All the people who differ from one another by their geographical, socio-cultural, or religious origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, etc., and who make up the national community to which they belong: Bringing diversity into the company. (This notion, which includes differences such as disability, is developed to fight against discrimination).

Equal Opportunity

Equal opportunity is a vision of equality that seeks to ensure that individuals have the “same chances”, the same opportunities for social development, regardless of their social or ethnic origin, their gender, the financial means of their parents, their place of birth, their religious belief, a possible disability, etc.

Equity

The quality of attributing to each person what is due to him, her or they by reference to the principles of natural justice and impartiality.

Inclusion

Action of integrating a person, a group, to put an end to their exclusion (social, in particular): The mission of school life assistants is to promote the inclusion of students.

Intersectionality (Racism)

The complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups.

Microaggression

A microaggression is a seemingly mundane behavior or statement expressed toward a person from a marginalized community or toward the entire community that is perceived as denigrating by the community. The existence of microaggressions is evidenced in culturally marginalized groups, such as people of color (POC) or people from the LGBT community.

Person Of Color (POC)

A person whose skin pigmentation is other than and especially darker than what is considered characteristic of people typically defined as white.
A person who is of a race other than white or who is of mixed race.

Racism

A belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. Also, behavior or attitudes that reflect and foster this belief: racial discrimination or prejudice.

Xenophobia

Fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign.