Diversity: Diversity describes the myriad ways in which people differ, including the psychological, physical, and social differences that occur among all individuals, such as race, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, religion, economic class, education, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, mental and physical ability, and learning styles. Diversity is all inclusive and supportive of the proposition that everyone and every group should be valued. It is about understanding these differences and moving beyond simple tolerance to embracing and celebrating the rich dimensions of our differences.
Equity: Equity ensures that individuals are provided the resources they need to have access to the same opportunities as the general population. While equity represents impartiality, the distribution is made in such a way to even opportunities for all the people. Conversely equality indicates uniformity, where everything is evenly distributed among people. The effort to provide different resources and/or levels of support based on an individual’s or group’s needs that acknowledges and addresses the legacy of historical inequities in order to achieve future fairness in educational processes and outcomes.
Inclusion/Inclusiveness: Authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/ or groups into processes, activities, and decision/policy making in a way that shares power.
