Diversity Institute

Founded more than 20 years ago, the Diversity Institute (DI) in the Ted Rogers School of Management has more than 120 full time staff, 100 research collaborators and 200 partner organizations working to advance equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The Diversity Institute provides deep insights into the needs of employers for skills and support in advancing their EDI strategies. In addition to building on extensive research on representation in leadership, DI is also the Academic Research Lead for the Future Skills Centre and the Women Entrepreneurship Hub.

DiversityLeads 50 – 30 is a national, bilingual network of partners representing equity-deserving groups, experts, businesses, not-for-profit organizations and agencies, boards and commissions. DI’s applied research and collaborations have offered insight into the priorities of business and the ways in which diversity in leadership are linked to expanding talent pools, improved performance, access to diverse markets and innovation, and risk mitigation. It also has extensive research on best practices and what works for whom. DiversityLeads 50 – 30 aims to expand the network of organizations committed to the Challenge and enhance capacity among Challenge participants by:

  • Developing a Community of Practice on the Magnet portal to support the network’s sustainability
  • Recruiting and matching diverse board and leadership candidates to opportunities with Challenge participants by matching qualified candidates to opportunities using the Magnet matching platform
  • Applying our proprietary, data-driven Diversity Assessment Tool (DAT) to assist Challenge participants in assessing organizational practices, processes, and policies and support the development of diversity and inclusion strategies
  • Sharing DI’s database of best practices and tools and promoting the What Works Toolkit
  • Building governance and leadership capacity among equity-deserving groups through training and programs
  • Evaluating “what works” and reporting on progress to ISED
 

By engaging with both the supply (leadership and board candidates, service providers) and demand (corporations, nonprofits and ABCs) sides of the ecosystem, DiversityLeads 50 – 30 expects to increase participation in the 50 – 30 Challenge and build a sustainable Challenge network. The project promotes representation of equity-deserving groups in leadership roles and boards while enhancing our understanding of “what works” to create more inclusive work environments across Canada.

Definition

Microaggression

Microaggression is defined as: “A comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group” – Source: Merriam Webster

Definition

Unlearning

Unlearning is defined as: “To make an effort to forget your usual way of doing something so that you can learn a new and sometimes better way” – Source: Cambridge Dictionary

Definition

Intersectionality

Intersectionality is defined as: A framework for understanding how different aspects of a person’s social and political identities (e.g., gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, physical appearance, etc.) combine to create unique modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies advantages and disadvantages that are felt by people due to this combination of factors – Source: Kimberlé Crenshaw, TIME

Definition

Privilege

Privilege is defined as: “The unfair and unearned advantages individuals are granted for having, or being perceived to have, social identities that align with those deemed to be superior according to societal rules and norms. It is often experienced as an absence of barriers related to a particular social identity (e.g., White privilege, straight privilege)” – Source: Egale

Definition

Safe Space

Safe Space is defined as: “A place intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations” – Source: Merriam-Webster

Safe spaces allow individuals to feel comfortable having brave and honest conversations.

Definition

Emotional Tax

Emotional Tax is defined as: “The combination of feeling different from peers at work because of gender, race, and/or ethnicity, being on guard against experiences of bias, and experiencing the associated effects on health, well-being, and ability to thrive at work” – Source: Catalyst

Definition

Tokenism

Tokenism is defined as: “Performative policies that ostensibly promote diversity or equality (placing women or diverse groups in leadership positions), but do not truly have a positive impact on the workplace. Tokenism isn’t progressive, and it especially causes harm to tokenized individuals, causing extra pressure to succeed due to being perceived as representative of a group and often leaving them in an alienating work environment” – Source: Catalyst

Definition

Psychological Safety

Psychological Safety is defined as: “An environment that encourages, recognizes and rewards individuals for their contributions and ideas by making individuals feel safe when taking interpersonal risks. A lack of psychological safety at work can inhibit team learning and lead to in-groups, groupthink and blind spots” – Source: Gartner