Definitions pertaining to Equal Opportunities

Disability

Disability in the sense of reduced function may arise as a result of illness, etc., an acquired injury, or can be congenital. Such illnesses, conditions or injuries can be of a lasting or temporary nature. Disability in the sense of restricted function refers to the limitations that a reduced ability places on a person in relation to his/her surroundings.

Discrimination, victimisation and harassment

Discrimination occurs when an individual is disadvantaged by not being given the same treatment as others are, have been, or would have been given in a comparable situation; and when this lack of treatment is connected with the statutorily defined bases for discrimination — gender, ethnicity, religion or other belief, sexual orientation, transgender identity and expression, disability and age.

Direct discrimination may be described as divergent treatment of equal cases. It occurs when an individual is disadvantaged by being treated less well than another person is, has been, or would have been treated in a comparable situation.

Indirect discrimination takes place when an apparently neutral decision or the equivalent proves, in practice, to be disadvantageous to certain individuals or groups.

Structural discrimination means that certain rules, norms, routines, attitudes and ways of behaving in organisations and other structures in the community, systematically discriminate against certain groups of people.

Instruction to discriminate refers to orders or instructions to discriminate against someone, given to a person in a subordinate or dependent position in relation to the person issuing the order or instructions, or someone who vis-à-vis the latter has undertaken to fulfil a task.

Victimisation and harassment are terms for unwelcome behaviour at a workplace or educational establishment that violates personal integrity. Harassment is connected with one of the statutorily defined bases of discrimination. Bullying is a phenomenon included in the notion of ‘victimisation’.

Diversity

This is the range of differences and similarities in, for example, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, religion or philosophy of life, disability and social background. To LiU, the concept involves seeing, understanding, valuing and preserving this assortment.

Equal opportunities

This is LiU’s collective term for its work on gender equality and gender issues, ethnic and religious diversity, accessibility and participation of people with disabilities, sexual equality and equal treatment irrespective of age or transgender identity/ expression.

Equality

All human beings are of equal value irrespective of sex, nationality, ethnic origin, social background, religion, disability, sexual orientation, age, etc.

Ethnicity and ethnic affiliation

Ethnicity is commonly related to group-building and to imagined or genuine cultural differences (language, religion, etc) and also power relationships between majorities and minorities. Ethnic affiliation is experienced or ascribed cultural and social affiliation.

Gender equality

Gender equality concerns the relative equality of the sexes, and means that women and men have the same rights, obligations and opportunities in all essential areas of life.

Gender identity

The subjective perception of one’s own gender affiliations.

Gender

The concept of ‘gender’ includes all the notions that exist in society concerning what is defined as feminine and masculine. Gender arises in interaction between biological sex and the human social and cultural environment, and is therefore possible to alter. Gender order determines the distribution of functions and resources between the sexes; structurally, in modern-day society, masculine takes precedence over feminine.

HBT/LGBT

‘HBT’ is a collective term for homosexuals, bisexuals and trans persons. Another, similar term is ‘LGBT’ (where ‘LG’ stands for lesbians and gays). The word ‘trans persons’ is itself an umbrella term that covers transsexuals, among many other categories.

HBTQ/LGBTQ

Same as above but including ‘queer’ (see below).

Queer/Queer theory

‘Queer’ may describe both a view of society in which norms (gender and sexual) are questioned and an identity in which a person attempts to prevent any norms from impeding his or her life. It is thus both an attitude towards society and/or a way of life.

Sex

To be a man or woman; male or female.

Sexual orientation

A person’s homosexuality, bisexuality or heterosexuality.

Transgender identity or expression

Not identifying oneself as a woman or man by means of one’s clothing, or otherwise expressing that one belongs to the opposite of one’s biological sex.

Trans person

An individual whose gender identity and/or expression of gender identity periodically or always deviates from the norm for the sex registered for him or her at birth.

Transsexual

A person who feels that (s)he belongs to the opposite sex to his or her biological sex. Many transsexuals wish to ‘rectify’ their bodies by hormone treatment and surgery. Trans sexuality is not a matter of sexual orientation.

Transvestite

A person who is a transvestite periodically, often, or always, uses the clothes and/or other attributes of the opposite sex as an expression of a sexual role.

Widening participation

To LiU, widening participation means offering equal opportunities to all students when recruiting, selecting and monitoring student flow and retention, irrespective of sex, ethnicity, religion or philosophy of life, age, social background, sexual orientation or disability.

Page responsible: kristin.ljungemyr@liu.se
Last updated: Thu Nov 24 10:49:55 CET 2011