D&I Glossary

A-Z

When discussing “D&I”, we often forget to define what we’re actually talking about. To come to a mutual agreement on the language and concepts around diversity and inclusion, we compiled a glossary of terms. Some of these pop up in our surveys, articles or presentations. Others help us in opening up the conversation, among ourselves or with the people around us. If you feel like there’s something missing, incomplete or incorrect – please let us know.

Read our diversity and inclusion guidebook or learn more about the makeup of our company.

A

Ableism

Dominant attitudes in society that assume there is an ideal body and mind, leading to discriminatory behaviours toward people who differ from this norm.

Accessibility

The practice of designing or developing environments (either digitally or physically) that provide great experiences for all users – including those who differ from the assumed ideal body and mind norm.

Ageism

A system of beliefs and actions that stereotype and discriminate against individuals or groups on the basis of their age.

Ally

People who support a social group other than their own, by acknowledging disadvantage and oppression, taking risks and action on the behalf of others, and investing in strengthening their own knowledge and awareness of oppression.

Affinity groups

A group of people who choose to meet on the basis of and explore a shared identity such as gender, age, religion, race or sexual orientation.

Amplification

A technique an ally can use to boost the message of a member of a less dominant group by repeating what that person said and giving them credit for it. Read this Vox article to learm more how amplification is used as a successful tool by women in Obama's White House to fight gender bias.

C

Carer

Someone who has total or substantial responsibility for ongoing care and support of another person. This may be a child, a partner, a parent, a relative or a friend.

Chronic disorder or disease

A physical or mental condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or comes with time.

Cisgender

Someone whose sense of gender identity and expression corresponds with their birth sex.

Culture fit

The likelihood that a job candidate is able to adapt to the core values and collective behaviours that make up a company. To the status quo, basically.

Culture contribution

The likelihood that a job candidate is able to contribute, not conform, to the core values and collective behaviours that make up a company.

D

Diversity

The differentiation of individuals or social groups to each other (one individual can, therefore, never be “diverse”). A diverse company is an environment in which differing identities – in terms of age, cultural background, physical abilities and disabilities, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation – co-exist.

Dominant culture

Cultural beliefs, values and traditions that are thought of as “normal” and, therefore, as preferred and right, while other ways of living are devalued, marginalised, and associated with low cultural capital.

E

Ethnic group or ethnicity

A group whose members identify with each other on the basis of common nationality or shared cultural traditions.

G

Gender identity

Someone’s perception of their gender, which may or may not correspond with their birth sex.

Genderqueer/gender non-conforming

Someone who does not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions but identifies with neither, both, or a combination of male and female genders.

Genetic condition

A physical or mental condition caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome.

GSD

Gender and sexual diversity (GSD) refers to all the diversities of sex characteristics, sexual orientations and gender identities, without the need to specify each of the identities, behaviours, or characteristics that form this plurality.

I

Implicit bias

The attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. These biases are activated involuntarily and without our awareness or intentional control.

Imposter syndrome

A phenomenon in which high-achieving people are unable to internalise their accomplishments and instead constantly fear being exposed as a “fraud.” Research indicates that members of underrepresented groups are more likely to be affected by this ‘syndrome’ than others.

Inclusion

To be included means people share a feeling of belonging to a team or company, regardless of their differing identities. To create an inclusive culture means recognising and removing the barriers that prevent people from having this feeling.

Inclusive design

The process of making our products accessible to and usable by as many people as reasonably possible.

Inclusive development

The process of ensuring that all marginalised and excluded groups are stakeholders in development processes.

Intersectionality

The interconnected nature of social categorisations as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.

L

LGBTQIA

An acronym that encompasses the diverse groups of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, intersex and asexual populations and allies.

M

Mansplain

A combination of the word “man” and “explain”, used to describe the act of men explaining things to someone, typically a woman, in condescending or patronising ways. Read Rebecca Solnit’s “Men Explain Things To Me” – she’ll explain.

Microaggression

This term was coined by psychiatrist and Harvard University professor Chester M. Pierce in 1970 to describe the tiny, casual, almost imperceptible insults and degradation often felt by marginalised groups.

N

Neurodiversity

The acknowledgment that neurological differences like autism and ADHD are the result of normal, natural variation in the human genome, and should be treated as such.

Nonbinary

Any gender identity that does align with the male and female binary.

P

Pipeline problem

The belief that the tech industry isn’t diverse because of a scarcity of available talent. The reality is that the pipeline is only part of the issue – better recruitment tactics, interview processes and a focus on retention can lead to more diversity.

POC

Abbreviation of the term "person of colour". The term encompasses all non-white people, emphasising shared experiences of systemic racism (although racism affects different groups differently). The term may also be used with other collective categories of people such as "communities of colour" (COC), "men of colour" (MOC), and "women of colour" (WOC).

Privilege

An unearned right, advantage or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or social group.

T

Tokenism

The practice of including one or a few members of an underrepresented group in a team, company or at an event, without their having authority or power equal to that of other group members. This places a burden on an individual to represent all others like them.

Tone policing

Tone policing is a silencing tactic used in arguments or discussions that focuses on the emotion behind a message rather than the message itself.

Transgender

A person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex.

U

Underrepresented group

This terms describes any subset of a population that holds a smaller percentage within a significant subgroup than it holds in the general population. Women are often an underrepresented group in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, for example.

References

While compiling this glossary of terms, we learned a lot from Buffer’s D&I guide, Harvard Business Review on diversity , Project Include's recommendations, Talk To Your People's list of articles, Versett’s diversity report, and the Oxford Dictionary.

Read also

D&I Guidebook
D&I Report

We define
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We’re Bakken & Bæck, a digital studio based in Oslo, Bonn and Amsterdam. Ambitious companies call us when they need an experienced team that can transform interesting ideas into powerful products.

Kron

Making smart investments personal

Designing and building an investment platform from end to end

Kron

Vipps

Redesigning Norway's favourite app

Making the celebrated payment platform ready for the future

Vipps

Expo

Rebranding an open source playground

Overhauling the online presence of a developers building tool

Expo

Coinbase

Forming the future of finance

Long-time collaboration on new products and services

Coinbase

Selected clients

0x
A new visual identity and online presence, powering their mission to be the bedrock of a new financial system.0x.org

Schibsted
An AI-powered chatbot that helps deal with 1,3 million customer support inquiries from five major Norwegian newspapers.schibsted.com
Kolonial
The mobile app for Norway’s fastest growing startup that has been revolutionising grocery shopping.kolonial.no
Wake
A platform for sharing and discussing design work, which started out as an internal project and was spun out as its own startup.wake.com
Morgenlevering
Concept, prototype and new visual identity for the award-winning service that brings quality products to your doorstep.morgenlevering.no
Penda
A mobile solution that streamlines the operations of waste collection in Ethiopia, to help foster a more circular economy.pendapaper.com
NTB
An AI-powered digital reporter that compiles articles like a human being, saving journalists valuable time and energy.ntb.no
Alva
Several digital products for an innovative real estate start up including a smart algorithm that analyses information automatically.alva-tech.no
Kahoot!
The first iOS app for Kahoot!, the world-renowned educational game that has more than 50 million active users.kahoot.com
Orbit.ai
Our own AI platform with a range of tools that understand and automate language and conversations.orbit.ai

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