15 Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Access

Learning Objectives

In this brief overview, participants will:

• Review EDI definitions and terminology.
• Focus on a power and privilege framework that will guide this work through levels of scale – individual, interpersonal and organizational/institutional.
• Learn definitions and explore how bias and barriers show-up within the research ecosystem.
• Overview biases and barriers that often challenge decision making within research processes, programs, and teams.
• Illustrate the overarching impact that cognitive biases and unconscious biases have.
• Recognize common and unique barriers in the research ecosystem that groups that are historically, persistently, and systemically marginalized face, which include Indigenous people, women, people with disabilities, racialized people, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

Defining Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Let’s start with the UBC definitions of EDI as it relates to research.

The full version of the video is available here.

*A quick note regarding the equity illustration (featuring the fence) in the EDI video as it fails to address societal barriers related to interlocking categories of experience that affect all aspects of life. It’s important to acknowledge that barriers are not always linked to an individual’s inherent characteristics but are often systematically imposed on certain groups and not others. This critique emphasizes that the metaphor of the fence does not accurately represent the unequal height of barriers faced by different groups. The fence is not the same height for everyone.

Learn more: This ‘Equity’ picture is actually White Supremacy at work and Can We Stop Using The Box Graphic When We Talk About Racial Equity?

Equity

Equity refers to achieving parity in policy, process and outcomes for historically and/or currently underrepresented and/or marginalized people and groups while accounting for diversity. It considers power, access, opportunities, treatment, impacts and outcomes, in three main areas:

• Representational equity: the proportional participation at all levels of an institution;
• Resource equity: the distribution of resources in order to close equity gaps; and
• Equity-mindedness: the demonstration of an awareness of, and willingness to, address equity issues.

Diversity

Differences in the lived experiences and perspectives of people may include race, ethnicity, colour, ancestry, place of origin, political belief, religion, marital status, family status, physical disability, mental disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, class, and/or socio-economic situations. This concept is meant to convey the existence of difference.

Inclusion

Inclusion is an active, intentional, and continuous process to address inequities in power and privilege, and build a respectful and diverse community that ensures welcoming spaces and opportunities to flourish for all.

Access

Access refers to the ability of individuals and groups to fully participate in and benefit from institutional resources, opportunities, and systems. It is the removal of barriers—whether physical, financial, informational, or social—that have historically limited the engagement of marginalized or underrepresented groups. Access ensures that everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, can obtain the tools, knowledge, and support needed to succeed. It recognizes that equity cannot be achieved without deliberately addressing the systemic factors that restrict individuals’ ability to fully engage, contribute, and thrive within a community or organization.

Note: In this course, inclusion, Indigenization, and decolonization are not used interchangeably. Although the three concepts might seem related, they are not. These concepts have distinct histories, contexts, and frames of reference. While inclusion is used as an umbrella term that encompasses people from historically marginalized groups, it does not reflect the cultural, linguistic, and regional specificity of Indigenous peoples and groups, nor does it capture the process of decolonization that centers Indigenous practices and protocols. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that inclusion is a substitute for Indigenization and/or decolonization. Please see Pulling Together: Foundation Guide – Section 3: Decolonization and “Indigenization, Decolonization & Reconciliation” for a more fulsome explanation of these terms.

Module adapted from: Sullivan, R. et al (2024). Module 1, EDI in Research, UBC. https://wpl.ubc.ca/browse/vpri/courses/wpl-vpri-edi