minority

The word minority is used in both general and more specific ways.

Generally speaking, it refers to the smaller portion of a total—the one that’s less than half. In the context of voting, it means the same thing, and can refer to the amount of votes or to the group of voters.

In the general context of groups of people, minority is used in reference to the nonmajority portion of the wider group. This is how the word is used in the phrase in the minority, I wanted to have the party after work, but I was in the minority.

In demographics, minority usually refers to the smaller portion of a wider population as divided by some characteristic, such as age or religion. Such a group might be called a minority group. The word minority has also commonly been used in more specific terms, like racial minority or ethnic minority.

Indeed, in this context, use of the word minority is especially associated with the concept of race and racial identity—particularly in places where people with darker skin colors constitute a smaller part of the population than those who are considered white. Historically, the word has been applied in the U.S. and other places to people of color. However, this isn’t always accurate in terms of population percentage, and this use of the word is also often criticized for other reasons. See the next section for an explanation of why minority is now often avoided in this context in favor of other terms.

In the context of racial and ethnic identity, it is now widely recommended that the word minority (and phrases that include it) should be avoided and replaced with more accurate and precise terms. This is based on a number of factors. First, the term is often inaccurate as far as population percentage. In addition, many argue that referring to such groups collectively as minorities functions to reduce their identity to this status. In this way, the implications of the word can reinforce power imbalances that are consequences of systemic racism—not simply of one group being outnumbered by another.

The word minority is often used in a way that’s meant to imply a status not only as the smaller group in a population, but also as a group that is and has been oppressed, discriminated against, and marginalized by the majority group, especially on a systemic (structural) level. (The related verb minoritize means to make a person or group subordinate in status to a more dominant group or its members.)

Terms that are sometimes recommended as more appropriate include some that are used to emphasize such circumstances, such as marginalized group (which suggests a lack of a power balance with the dominant group) and underrepresented group (which suggests a lack of representation in a certain context, such as a workforce).

However, there is often disagreement about whether such terms are appropriate or accurate. For example, inherently negative words like marginalized and underrepresented are sometimes seen as limiting and stigmatizing in the same way that the word minority is often seen to be. On the other hand, some believe it’s important to highlight such circumstances, especially in discussions of how to change them.

Usually, the best way to refer to a particular group when one of the identifying characteristics of its members is relevant is to be as specific and straightforward as possible. For example, people of color may be the appropriate term in some contexts, but not others, particularly when something more specific is meant, such as Black women.

In all contexts, the word minority is often used in contrast with majority (the greater portion—the part that constitutes more than half).

In the context of groups of people, the word majority is also used, but the minority group is sometimes contrasted with the dominant group or the privileged group.