9.6: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) in the Workplace
The acronym used to refer to equity, diversity, and inclusion may appear in various resources such as EDI, DEI, IDE, or IDEA, but they all represent the same concepts. Inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) are a set of practices that aim to ensure that people from a variety of backgrounds are represented and can thrive.
Most companies today strive for diverse workforces. HR managers work hard to recruit, hire, develop, and retain a diverse workforce. In part, these efforts are motivated by legal concerns: discrimination in recruiting, hiring, advancement, and firing is illegal under federal law and is prosecuted by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. Companies that violate anti-discrimination laws are subject to severe financial penalties and also risk reputational damage.
Reasons for building a diverse workforce go well beyond mere compliance with legal standards. It even goes beyond commitment to ethical standards. It’s good business. People with diverse backgrounds bring fresh points of view that can be invaluable in generating ideas and solving problems. In addition, they can be the key to connecting with an ethnically diverse customer base. In short, capitalizing on the benefits of a diverse workforce means that employers should view differences as assets rather than liabilities.
Equity
Equity is a process that ensures everyone has access to the same opportunities. Equity appreciates that privileges and barriers exist and, as a result, we don’t all start from the same place. Instead, each of us comes from a different background. Equity is an approach that begins with acknowledging this unequal starting place and making efforts to address and change this imbalance.[1]
Diversity
Diversity is the presence, in an organization or a community, of a wide range of people with different backgrounds, abilities and attributes, including ethnicity, race, colour, religion, age, gender and sexual orientation.[2]
Inclusion
Inclusion refers to taking into account differences among individuals and groups when designing something (e.g., policy, program, curriculum, building, shared space) to avoid creating barriers. Inclusion is about people with different identities feeling or being valued and welcomed within a given setting.[3]
Accessibility
A key part of equity is accessibility. Accessibility is the practice of making information, activities, and/or environments sensible, meaningful, and usable for as many people as possible. As an overview:[4]
- Accessibility is about equity
- Accessibility is about cultural practice
- Accessibility is about people
- Accessibility is about compliance
- Accessibility is about usability
- Accessibility is about context
The makeup of the Canadian workforce has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. In the 1950s, more than 70 percent was composed of males.[5] Today’s workforce reflects the broad range of differences in the population—differences in gender, race, ethnicity, age, physical ability, religion, education, and lifestyle. A diverse workforce benefits organizations by supplying a broad range of viewpoints necessary to compete in a globalized marketplace. Such variety promotes creative problem solving with improved results. Products and services need to cater to customers and clients with diverse backgrounds, and if a company’s workforce does not understand the nuances of different cultural needs, it may be missing some opportunities.
Unfortunately, a diverse workforce can have its obstacles. Differences in culture, age, religion, and sexual orientation can create misunderstandings and conflict, even over the most well-intentioned behaviours. Therefore, it is important that employers provide effective diversity training for their employees. It is also important for co-workers to look at situations from a perspective different from their own. Modifications to workplace practices, policies or procedures, such as flexible scheduling, voluntary substitutions, swaps, job reassignments and lateral transfers, are a few examples of how an employer might accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs, practices and observances.
Corporate Indigenous Inclusion: Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)
Following the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action in 2015, corporations are struggling to engage with Indigenous communities and knowledge systems in a manner that is both ethical and meaningful. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) programs are tools that are utilized to address inequality in the workplace, including the inequities experienced by Indigenous populations in corporate environments. EDI initiatives that are designed for Indigenous populations in Canada must first become informed about the historic relationship between the settler government and its First Nations, Métis, and Inuit inhabitants. Corporations attempt to address anti-Indigenous racism within their own companies by providing opportunities for their employees to engage with Indigenous culture, language, and art; offering financial support for Indigenous community non-profit organizations and the advancement of Indigenous education. If EDI principles are not sufficiently applied, corporations have established protocols and policies that are built to do so in their place. Dr Russell Evans, an Indigenous professor at the University of Windsor, speaks about the manner in which EDI and Indigenization serve to improve corporate culture for Indigenous populations and other marginalized groups.
Watch the Indigenous Lifeways in Canadian Business “Corporate Indigenous Inclusion” video.
Transcript of “Corporate Indigenous Inclusion” video [PDF–New Tab]. Closed captioning is available in the video player.
Source: “Corporate Indigenous Inclusion” by University of Windsor, is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, available in Indigenous Lifeways in Canadian Business by Russell Evans, Michael Mihalicz, and Maureen Sterling, licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license, except where otherwise noted.
Media Attributions
“Equality versus equity” by Saskatoon Health Region, 2014, is reused from Chapter 4.1: What is EDI? in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA), © Business Faculty from Ontario Colleges and eCampusOntario Program Managers, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.
- General Assembly. (2020, May 24). What’s the difference between diversity, inclusion, and equity? ↵
- Andersen, N. (2022, September 2). Enhancing inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) in open educational resources (OER). University of Southern Queensland. ↵
- Andersen, N. (2022, September 2). Enhancing inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) in open educational resources (OER). University of Southern Queensland. ↵
- SeeWriteHear. (n.d.) What is accessibility? ↵
- Usalcas, J. & Kinack, M. (2017, January 16). History of the Canadian Labour Force Survey, 1945 to 2016. Statistics Canada. ↵
An acronym for inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility. Collectively, a set of practices that aim to ensure that people from a variety of backgrounds are represented and can thrive.
A process that ensures everyone has access to the same opportunities.
The presence, in an organization or a community, of a wide range of people with different backgrounds, abilities and attributes, including ethnicity, race, colour, religion, age, gender and sexual orientation.
Accounting for differences among individuals and groups when designing something (e.g., policy, program, curriculum, buildings, shared space) to avoid creating barriers.
The practice of making information, activities, and/or environments sensible, meaningful, and usable for as many people as possible.
