General agreement among a group of people, even if not everyone feels exactly the same.
From Latin *consensus*, meaning "agreement, feeling together" (*con-* "together" + *sentire* "to feel"). It originally referred to shared feelings or attitudes.
Consensus isn’t everyone loving the decision; it’s everyone agreeing to live with it. In science, a "scientific consensus" means experts’ views have slowly lined up after a lot of arguing and testing.
Consensus processes have sometimes been used to sideline women’s dissenting views, framing resistance as obstructive to group harmony. In other contexts, women organizers have used consensus-based methods to counter hierarchical, male-dominated decision-making.
Ensure ‘consensus’ includes voices across genders and does not mask power imbalances. Be explicit about whose perspectives were consulted.
["broad agreement","majority view","shared position"]
Women have been central in developing consensus and facilitation practices in social movements, community organizing, and restorative justice.
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