| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Campus climate |
Campus climate is the real or perceived quality of interpersonal, academic, and professional interactions on a campus and consists of the current attitudes, behaviors, practices and policies of faculty, staff, administrators and students concerning the level of respect for individual needs, abilities and potential. Campus climate includes the experience of individuals and groups on a campus—and the quality and extent of the interaction between those various groups and individuals. |
| Cisgender | A person is cisgender when that person’s gender identity is consistent with that person’s sex assigned at birth. |
| Discrimination | Discrimination is when someone, or a group of people, are treated differently than others based on certain characteristics, that results in them experiencing burdens, obligations, or disadvantages, or not having access to opportunities, benefits, or advantages available to others. The characteristics of those experiencing discrimination may relate to their race, religion, sexual identity, gender, place of origin, age, marital status, and several other grounds protected by Ontario’s Human Rights Code. For more, see the Secretariat Discrimination FAQs |
| Diversity | In broad terms, diversity is any dimension that can be used to differentiate groups and people from one another. It refers to differences in ethnicity, gender, age, national origin, ability, sexual orientation, faith, socio-economic status and class. But it also includes differences in life experiences, learning and working styles and personality types that can be engaged to achieve excellence. |
| Equity | Guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity. Goes beyond formal equality; differential treatment according to need may be required |
| Gender expression | How a person expresses or presents gender through behaviours and appearance. |
| Gender identity | Gender identity refers to one’s internal knowledge or experience of one’s gender, which may or may not be expressed publicly |
| Harassment | Harassment is when someone says or does something that is unwarranted and or unwanted that will annoy or cause difficulties that they know, or should know, is unwelcome by the person or group it is directed toward. |
| Identity | That part of an individual’s self-concept which derives from their knowledge of their membership of a social group (or groups) together with the emotional significance attached to that membership. |
| Inclusion | Inclusion is the active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity, where each person is valued and provided with the opportunity to participate fully in creating a successful and thriving community. It means recognizing the value that comes from the distinctive skills, experiences, and perspectives of all members of our community. |
| Indigeneity | As Indigenous people, we recognize our Indigeneity, our Indigenous-ness, our identity. The community’s indigeneity was clear. The focus is Indigenous people only. Note: ‘Indigeneity’ has been used to represent aspects of the Indigenous, for example, we struggled to incorporate “Indigeneity” (indigenous-ness) into the curriculum as we lacked Indigenous representation. This usage is technically not wrong, however: The term “Indigeneity” has come to represent a sense of commonality amongst the world's “Indigenous peoples” in contrast to various other groups. It also draws attention to inhumane, colonizing, and oppressive treatment that nation states and the international community has perpetrated on Indigenous populations. |
| Indigenous |
In the context of this voluntary self-identification question, an Indigenous person in Canada, as recognized in the Constitution Act, 1982, is a person who identifies with First Nations (Status/Non- Status), Metis, or Inuit ancestral background.
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| Microaggressions | Insults, invalidations, and slights directed at marginalized groups that typically go unnoticed by perpetrators and bystanders. |
| On-Campus | On-Campus means property owned, rented, or otherwise used by the University. |
| Off-Campus | Off-Campus means places other than property owned, rented, or otherwise used by the University |
| Sex | A category usually assigned at birth based on biological (e.g., chromosomes) and anatomical (e.g., genitalia) features; usually limited to male, female or intersex. |
| Sexual orientation / attraction | Sexual orientation / attraction refers to one's inherent emotional, romantic and/or sexual attraction to other people. Sexual orientation or attraction is usually described in terms of the individual's gender as well as the gender or genders of those to whom that individual is attracted. |
| Student | A student in this survey means any person who is registered, full-time or part-time, in a course or program of study, including a non-degree diploma or certificate (whether for credit or not), offered through the University. "Student" also means persons registered at Queen's on a letter of permission and persons on exchange at Queen's. |
| Student Group | Student group means any extracurricular organization or club that is recognized or ratified by the University, by a student government, or, by any authorized agent of the University. |
| Transgender / Trans | Transgender / trans refers to a person who identifies with a gender other than the one assigned to them at birth, or to a person whose gender identity and gender expression differs from stereotypical masculine and feminine norms. It is sometimes used as an umbrella term for those who identify as transgender, transsexual, trans, gender variant, nonbinary, gender non-conforming, genderqueer, or a similar term |
| University Community | University community includes, without limitation, employees, students, volunteers, visiting professors, contractors, visitors, student Groups and other individuals who live, work, or study at, or carry out services for, Queen’s. |