Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Our working definitions
Diversity refers to all the ways that people are different from one another.
Diversity can include race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), disability, genetic information, veteran status, socioeconomic status, body shape, language, political affiliation, marital status, geographic location, hobbies, and more.
Equity means providing each person with access to what they need to succeed.
Equity means providing each person with access to what they need to succeed.
Treating each person the same doesn’t give each person an equal chance of success…because the playing field is not level.
Data shows that some groups of people have faced historical and systemic barriers.1 These groups (listed in bold above) continue to experience unequal treatment, less access to opportunity, and less access to oral and overall healthcare. It’s why they receive federal protection.
Equity guides our efforts to remove barriers so all people have access.
Inclusion happens when diversity is valued, not just tolerated.
It means we welcome people from diverse backgrounds, and we actively seek out and incorporate diverse ideas when we make decisions.
If we have an inclusive culture, then everyone feels a sense of belonging, especially people from groups that have been historically marginalized.
1https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01466
