Throughout history, diverse groups of women and men have faced both formal and social barriers and disadvantages in particular societies, based on gender, ethnicity, religion, age, and so on.
Historical disadvantage refers to this systemic circumstance or condition.
Refers to the intentional and ongoing practice of fostering a safe, supportive, diverse, and respectful environment. A space can easily be diverse without being inclusive. Practices that are framed as inclusive but continue to center the experiences of those with power and privilege as the “norm” from which space can be carved out for the accommodation of other experiences are not genuinely inclusive. Inclusion is not only the practice of ensuring a seat at the table for everyone, but of dismantling the structures that determine whose table will be used.
Inclusion encompasses norms, practices and intentional actions to promote participation, engagement, empowerment and a sense of belonging for members of EDGs who are underrepresented and historically disadvantaged in university life. Inclusion is a mindset and skillset necessary for the cultivation and promotion of an institutional culture and set of practices to ensure all members of the campus community can experience it as welcoming, and as a space of fairness, dignity and human flourishing. Where diversity may focus on quantitative representation, inclusion focuses on the qualitative experience of belonging. Where diversity may exist with inequity, isolation and marginality, social inclusion focuses on culture and practices that deepen participation and engagement. Inclusion requires institutions to design spaces of leadership and governance, teaching and learning, research, scholarship and artistic inquiry, and community engagement so that there are no impediments to full participation by women, visible/racialized minorities, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and LGBTQ2S+. Inclusion requires proactive measures to transform cultures and relations.
We value the equitable, intentional and ongoing engagement of diversity within every facet of university life. It is the shared responsibility of all community members to foster a welcoming, supportive and respectful learning, teaching, research and work environment.
(Source: Recruiting & Hiring Diverse Faculty Guidelines)
From: TMU Dimensions Action Plan
True excellence in an institution is unattainable without inclusion; and, in fact, diversity and inclusion are fundamental to excellence. Inclusive excellence moves away from historical approaches to diversity that focused on numbers and representation and instead helps us think about the institution as a vibrant community that can create excellence by embedding diversity throughout all its operations and relations.
Inclusive Excellence is the individual and institutional pursuit of excellence, quality or merit, and is best achieved in equitable, diverse, inclusive and decolonial conditions in which everyone can thrive. While the human pursuit of excellence is an inclusive one, how it is socially and institutionally defined, operationalized and recognized historically has often been exclusionary of, among other things, diverse ways of knowing, knowledges, methodologies and perspectives. Recognizing the integral relationship between equity-as fairness and inclusive excellence is necessary to mitigate how access to, and success within, scholarly associations, universities and colleges have been shaped by histories of discriminatory ideas, attitudes, processes and practices.
Inclusive excellence affirms how diversity can deepen learning, enhance critical thinking and problem-solving, and fuel creativity and innovation in teaching and learning, research and artistic enquiry, professional service, and community engagement in academia.
At TMU, this involves proactively applying and incorporating acquired knowledge and understanding of EDI and anti-racism into policies, processes, practices and behaviours to promote a culture where all members of our community (students, faculty and staff) feel a greater sense of belonging, are supported, are valued for their differences and encouraged to participate. Inclusive excellence also calls for the intentional evaluation of inclusion efforts (qualitatively and quantitatively).
From: TMU Dimensions Action Plan