This year, Mediacorp, “Canada’s largest publisher of quality employment-related periodicals,” announced that UBC has made it onto the list of “Canada’s best diversity employers.”
For the past 10 years, the list has been curated yearly to celebrate employers that are inclusive towards employees from diverse groups, including women and gender minorities, visible minorities, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples and the LGBTQ2+ spectrum. Canadian employers of any size, whether in the private or public sector, may apply.
The selection process involves reviewing diversity and inclusiveness initiatives that are offered by the employers who applied. Those that show outstanding strategies in developing diversity are shortlisted and compared to other companies in their field. The selected group of employers demonstrate leading diversity within Canada.
A leading initiative by UBC includes the Equity Enhancement Fund, which subsidizes up to $25,000 to small or large projects which enhance equity, diversity, inclusion and intercultural understanding at UBC.
SUGGESTED: Faculty diversity at UBC — slow but steady
UBC as an institution holds “values that embed equity, diversity and inclusion,” said Associate Vice-President Equity and Inclusion Sara-Jane Finlay. Finlay gave the example of the new position as a senior advisor on women faculty that was introduced last year, with Dr. Jennifer Love on the Vancouver campus appointed to the role. The role supports the institutional efforts made to enhance women’s scholarly and leadership opportunities.
As senior advisor on women faculty, Love works towards developing policies and practices that promote the importance of women in faculty. For example, she has recently conducted a survey on working climate to make recommendations that will help to promote gender equity within the work place.
Job opportunities given to people like Finlay and Love deal with equity and inclusiveness issues, allowing UBC to make ongoing efforts in cultivating diversity and securing its position on the list. Additionally, “workshops [and] student coordinated programs,” said Finlay, are prospective strategies to tackle inequalities at UBC.
Share this article
