Definitions

Following the University of Alberta’s EDI Strategic Plan, we accept the following definitions of  Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

Equity

Equity is about fairness in access to education and employment and in the opportunity to succeed in these domains. Employment equity principles, policies, and practices enable equitable access, representation, opportunities, and meaningful participation of socially diverse people-from the federally designated and other equity-seeking groups such as women, members of visible minority groups, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQ2S+ people.

We recognize that policies, practices, informal processes, and language created by and for particular groups of people, with a default norm in mind, produce structural barriers that limit access and inclusion for other individuals and groups. Taking equity as a guiding principle means that the university will respect and value the differences of our members by actively identifying and removing barriers, including structural barriers, to ensure that historically excluded groups have the same opportunity to fully flourish at the University of Alberta.

 

Diversity

Diversity refers to difference or variety. In a broad societal equity, diversity, and inclusivity context, diversity refers to demographic or identity diversity, including that based on the protected grounds. Within universities, diversity encompasses these, as well as difference or variety in education, perspectives, opinions, heuristics, disciplines, faculties, skills, and learning opportunities. 

The University of Alberta supports and encourages diversity through the identification and removal of barriers and biases, and the creation of workplaces and learning environments that are free of harassment and discrimination.

 

Inclusion

Inclusion means that we value and cultivate full and meaningful engagement of historically and structurally excluded individuals and groups. Inclusion refers to enabling all individuals on our campuses to fully enjoy the opportunities the university has to offer, and to have all equity seeking groups meaningfully represented in all aspects of university life and decision-making roles university wide.

 

Indigenization

The process of Indigenization looks to incorporate and elevate Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing, and relating into organizational, cultural, and social structures. It requires an intentional and culturally sensitive approach to adding Indigenous ideas, concepts, and practices, where appropriate, but also a deliberate dismantling of policy, procedural, and practical barriers to Indigenous inclusion. It involves capacity building to support Indigenous programming, scholarship, and knowledge in ways that do not demand adaptation to the existing culture of academia.

 

Decolonization

Decolonization is a process of challenging and dismantling colonizing practices and powers within the educational context. It involves recognizing and reflecting on the historical and ongoing harms of colonialism in academia whereby asymmetric power relations of knowledge between Indigenous peoples and Canadians remain. It demands commitment to a comprehensive and ongoing overhaul of the academy to reorient these relationships. 

We see each of these processes as integral to guiding our work in the Department of History, Classics, and Religious Studies.