This guide is created and maintained by the University Libraries' Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Collective.
The mission of the Libraries' Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Collective is to discover, create, and implement policies, resources, and programming that contribute to an environment of tolerance, inclusion, creativity, and curiosity. This collective will take a leadership role in ensuring that underrepresented voices are amplified in our collections, workforce, and services. This collective will connect Libraries employees with recommendations and resources to serve all members of the CMU community with empathy and respect. This guide is one of these resources. If you have suggestions for items to add to this guide, send an email to the guide owner below.
Check out the links listed on the side to learn more about different topics, activities happening at CMU and resources for learning more.
Diversity refers to differences between people, for example personality, prior knowledge, life experiences, beliefs, race, color, class, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or cognitive ability, veteran status, age, appearance or body size, ethnicity, marital status, political affiliation, religion, or genetic information. When we refer to diversity, we focus on the diversity of groups and environments. We want to create groups and environments that are diverse, or in other words, filled with different kinds of people.
Equity refers to equal access to opportunities and equal treatment that considers that people have different needs, are in different situations, and have had different levels of access to opportunities due to a variety of factors that include lack of financial resources and unconscious or conscious biases. When we refer to equity, we emphasize the need to elevate those who have experienced unequal treatment and the groups with the least access to opportunities.
Inclusion refers to the practice of valuing different perspectives and creating the conditions for belonging in policies, processes, physical spaces, events, communications and services. This includes active design of inclusive practices and ongoing effort to build understanding of the complex ways individuals interact within systems and institutions.