In my first book, Allies and Advocates, I define a lot of the key terms that are helpful in navigating inclusive and equitable discussions. In this book, the goal is to help you better position yourself with inclusion and equity so you can start truly considering what it means to embed an inclusive mindset into your day‐to‐day life. Knowing the language of diversity, equity, and inclusion is one thing; actually taking action in a meaningful way is significantly more impactful. So in this first part of the book, let's get intimately acquainted (or in some cases, reacquainted) with some of the common terminology and concepts common to the inclusion and equity space. By intimately acquainted I mean moving beyond core definitions accompanied by a few examples. Instead, I want to help you see how these foundational principles can help you create more inclusive and equitable spaces, and understand some of the nuance that gets overlooked in the noise. In this part of the book, I hope to counter misinformation and perspectives that can be obstructive to moving inclusion and equity forward. Most importantly, through real‐life examples and stories, I want to arm you with a personal connection to bringing inclusion to life.

Let's dig into some terms and concepts.