Chapter 1: Defining Equity, Inclusion and Diversity

Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) have become buzzwords in various public and private organizations in Canada. In recent years, many Canadian employers have created new positions and specialized departments focusing on issues related to EDI. Here are a few examples:

• In 2009, the University of Toronto established the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which aims to support and enhance diversity and equity within the university’s community.
• In 2015, McGill University launched an initiative called Equity at McGill as part of the university’s broader commitment to diversity and equity within the university community.
• Mount Sinai Hospital established a new division called the “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Department.” It aims to “improve our diversity efforts to create a thriving workplace and provide the best environment for excellent patient care and patient satisfaction”(Mount Sinai Hospital).

There are many other public and private organizations following the same path. For example, Vancouver established an Equity and Inclusion Office in 2017 to develop and implement policies promoting diversity and inclusion across city services and employment. The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) introduced “The Diversity and Inclusion Blueprint” in 2007, with subsequent updates reflecting evolving EDI priorities.

In addition to establishing departments, initiatives, and programs within existing organizations, the country of Canada and the province of Québec have seen the creation of organizations aiming to help different employers become more inclusive. The Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) is a prime example, founded in 2012 to provide tools and training for promoting diversity and inclusion in workplaces. There are some specific organizations that were established to focus on a particular aspect of diversity, such as sexuality and sexual orientation. Pride at Work Canada, founded in 2008, helps private, public, and non-profit employers create safer, more inclusive workplaces recognizing the skills of 2SLGBTQIA+ people (Pride at Work Canada).

With all these various initiatives and considerations, essential questions need to be explored: how can we appropriately and critically define “equity” and “inclusion” in the workplace when recognizing diversity? And what are the required conditions and practices for them to be achieved?

Ruchika Tulshyan, in her seminal book Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work (2022), provides important definitions of these terms. Tulshyan asserts that equity refers to “identifying and dismantling systemic barriers to the representation and inclusion of women, people of color, and people from other historically marginalized communities” (Tulshyan, 2022, p. 06). The two key concepts in Tulshyan’s definition are representation and systemic barriers. The lack of representation of members of historically oppressed groups is not due to a lack of personal abilities or professional skills but because of systemic barriers preventing their representation in the workplace.

As a case in point, official statistics and various reports show the ramifications of these systemic barriers on Black women. These ramifications include, but not limited to, the inability of Black women to join the workforce, the experience of racism in the workplace, and their obvious and alarming underrepresentation in leadership positions. Statistics Canada (2016) shows that the unemployment rate for Black women in Canada was 11.1% compared to 6.4% for non-racialized women. Black women who can join the Canadian workforce are paid less compared to white men and white women for similar roles. It also reported, in 2016, that Black women earned an average of 37% less than white men and 21% less than white women. The Black Experience Project conducted by Environics Institute revealed that 76% of Black women reported experiencing some form of discrimination based on race in the workplace (Environics Institute, 2019). These examples confirm Tulshyan’s arguments that white supremacy and anti-Blackness are pervasive in work environments. It is important to understand that “race is a social construct, not a biological one” (Tulshyan, 2022, p. 13). This social construction is not natural or neutral but is designed to empower certain people and disenfranchise others.

Vernā Myers, Vice President of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix, provides one of the best analogies for diversity and inclusion by saying, “Diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is being asked to dance.” Policies can be considered as the invitation to the party, while culture— workplace and organizational —is the dance floor where individuals can either dance freely or be restricted or negotiate and mitigate the conditions of the access, participation, and outcomes of such “inclusion”.

This chapter introduces pertinent definitions of the concepts of “equity” and “inclusion.” The next chapter discusses a selection of legal frameworks for equity and inclusion in Canada and Québec. Before you move to the next section, listen to what our experts have to say and test yourself by taking the short quiz.

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