underrepresented groups
Overlooked demographic segments
Underrepresented groups are categories of people who have less presence or influence in a particular setting than their numbers might suggest—typically in institutions, professions, or positions of power.
The term appears frequently in discussions of diversity: The program aims to recruit students from underrepresented groups.
Which groups qualify depends on context—racial minorities in American universities, women in engineering, rural populations in government.
The phrase implies an imbalance worth correcting.
- racial minoritiesGroups outnumbered by dominant ethnicity
- systemic racismDiscrimination embedded in institutions
- higher educationPost-secondary academic training
- first generation studentsInitial degree-seekers in family
- corporate leadershipExecutives guiding a firm
seat at the table · diversity initiatives · indigenous peoples · ethnic minorities · sexism · immigrants · women · STEM fields · people with disabilities · mentorship programs · barrier to entry · ableism · transphobia · homophobia · religious minorities · classism · implicit bias · glass ceiling
- social groupscommunity, clan, peer group, social class, kinship group
- college accessadmissions, college prep, college readiness, financial aid, first-generation students
- diverse voicesimmigrant stories
- Educational Equityspecial education, bilingual education, desegregation, school integration, equal access
- workplace equityequal opportunity, pay equity, fair employment, fair hiring, fair treatment
- representationdiverse casting, visibility, marginalized voices, diverse voices, minority voices
represented, groups, represent, representation, representations, representative, representatives, representational, misrepresent