Glossary of terms

Community

A group of people with shared interests, locally and/or nationally.

Disability

Defined under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 as 'a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person's ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'.

Disability - Social Model

Disability is a condition imposed on disabled people by society and is created by prejudice, fear, myths and ignorance. It limits opportunities for education, employment, financial independence and full social interaction.

Disadvantage

An unfavourable circumstance or the disproportionate deprivation of some or all resources without reason.

Discrimination

The action that people take on the basis of their prejudices, which results in unfair and unjust treatment.

Direct discrimination

Treating one person less favourably than another in similar circumstances. Direct discrimination on the basis of sex often shows itself in traditional stereotypes about the roles of men and women and what might be considered 'men's jobs' and 'women's jobs'. Women are frequently the target of discriminatory practices.

Indirect discrimination

Imposing requirements or conditions, which on the face of it, apply equally to all but which, in practice, can be met only by certain sections of the population. Such requirements or conditions are lawful only if they can be objectively justified.

Diversity

Respecting and celebrating individual and community differences.

Equal opportunities

Within the employment context, treating people as individuals and providing them with opportunities on the basis of their skills, talents and qualifications so that they are neither disadvantaged nor denied access on the grounds of their age, disability, ethnicity, race, sex or sexual orientation.

Equality

The state of being equal - treating individuals equally, which is not necessarily the same as treating them the same. In some cases the need for equality may require unequal effort to ensure that the principle of equality is achieved.

Equity

In its simplest sense, 'fairness'; the process of allocating (or reallocating) resources and entitlements, including power, fairly and without discrimination. It includes fairness in opportunity and the upholding of individual human rights through social justice.

Empowerment

A learning organisation is one that provides the skills, competencies and information to enable individuals to learn and develop their potential that will benefit both the individual and the sport.

Ethics

The systematic application of moral rules, principles, values and norms.

Ethnic minority communities

This term is often used to distinguish between white people and black and other ethnic minority communities.

Harassment

A form of discrimination that may lead to a breach of statute as it constitutes an activity that can be detrimental to members of one particular race or sex. Harassment can be defined as an action or comment that causes persistent offence to a person or group. An example of racial harassment would be racially motivated behaviour that causes distress or discomfort to people from ethnic minority communities

Positive action

A range of measures or initiatives intended to redress the effects of past discrimination. For example, positive action measures are frequently used to encourage applications from an under-represented group in an organisation or to introduce training where there is under-representation of a particular group in the organisation. Positive action can be taken to redress a balance only within the bounds of the appropriate legislation.

Prejudice

Negative, irrational feelings, attitudes and opinions that people have about other people. It suggests prejudging or forming an opinion about other people without any prior knowledge of them.

Racism

The total effect of racial disadvantage and discrimination, caused deliberately or inadvertently by individuals, groups or organisations.

Sexism

The systematic discrimination against one sex (usually by the other).

Social inclusion

A process of tackling needs, generally for communities who are or who have been excluded from services and opportunities that the majority of the community has access to. Social inclusion is often used to describe places where there are excluded communities and where there is a need for actions that bring opportunities to these excluded people.

Stereotyping

The process of labelling people because they are members of a particular visible group or developing a standardised image of a person or group, whereby it is assumed that they must also share particular traits that are considered characteristic of that group.