Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Workplace

This topic is often discussed by a wide range of organizations and researchers -- from government agencies to advocacy organizations and university professors.

I'll highlight some resource examples below, but if you spend a few minutes thinking about who might have an interest in this topic -- which parts of our governments or which associations -- I'm sure you'll find many additional resources.

Note: The tips below are in no particular order. Explore them all!

Related guides & posts

Similar 360W cases have been assigned in the past several years. The wiki guides I created for those cases may contain additional tips and strategies that you could explore, although some of their links may now be broken:

• Diversity in the Workplace
• JEDI Development at SFU

Also see my guide to Recruiting Millennials and Gen Z since one of the concerns of your audience is recruitment.

In addition, I wrote a blog post in Spring 2022 highlighting many EDI+Work resources, especially some very practical and recent ebooks: Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace: Ebooks, cases & articles to support your journey

Advocacy organizations

• Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion: Educational and inclusion guides + Toolkits + Reports +
• LGBT Diversity: Show Me The Business Case - from the Out Now Global LGBT2020 Study

• New Horizons for LGBT Workplace Inclusion: 2016 & 2017 Global Benchmark Editions - from the Workplace Pride Foundation, a "not for profit foundation dedicated to improving the lives of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgenders and Intersex (LGBTI) people in workplaces all over the world."

• Beyond Diversity: An LGBT Best Practice Guide for Employers - by Great Place to Work and Pride at Work Canada

• Rating Workplaces on LGBTQ Equality - US-based, Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2018 Corporate Equality Index

Governments and intergovernmental organizations

• Tackling Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, & Intersex People: Standards of Conduct for Business - from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

• Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) - "a made-in-Canada solution designed to help employers, diversity and inclusion/human rights/equity, and human resources practitioners effectively address the full picture of diversity, equity and inclusion within the workplace" - Start with their Our Work section for reports, toolkits, data, and more.

• The Business Case for Diversity in the Workplace: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity - from the European Union

• Public Safety Canada:

• Index of Policing Initiatives (link goes to a search for initiatives involving "New Models of Community Safety."
• Canadian Policing Research Catalogue

Legal aspects

• BC Human Rights Code
• Canadian Human Rights Act, Commission, and Tribunal
• CanLii - to find legal cases and legislation
• Law magazines (and news articles written by lawyers in general) often explain the issues in a simple, yet accurate, way. Samples:

• Supporting Transgender People in the Workplace - LawNow Magazine
• Preventing and ending discrimination and harassment of transgender employees - G&M article by lawyer
• Transgender Rights and Employer Responsibilities - lawyer's blog post

Policies & actions of specific organizations

• For publicly-traded firms, try looking for their Corporate Responsibility or Diversity or Corporate Citizenship reports. Samples - Royal Bank, PwC, ScotiaBank, IKEA, and Bell Canada.

• For public organizations (e.g.: universities, governments, hospitals), just check their sites, especially any HR pages they might have. Samples - UBC Equity & Inclusion Office, BC Government, and Vancouver.

(e)Books!

Search the SFU Library Catalogue to find such titles as the ones below:

• Sexual Orientation and Transgender Issues in Organizations Global Perspectives on LGBT Workforce Diversity

• Gender ambiguity in the workplace : transgender and gender-diverse discrimination

• The glass closet : why coming out is good business

• Straight Talk About Gays in the Workplace : Creating an Inclusive, Productive Environment for Everyone in Your Organization

• Transgender Employees in the Workplace : A Guide for Employers

• Diversity management and identity in organisations : from liminality to inclusion

• Here's a rough search of our catalogue for similar books and ebooks

• Also consider your local public library. Check out this great guide by Vancouver Public Library staff on key websites, videos, books and more.

Articles (academic and news)

• Harvard Business Review: "What to Do When Your Colleague Comes Out as Transgender" and "How to Make Your Workplace Safe for Transgender Employees" - click here to search for additional HBR articles via the SFU Library

• Additional articles via Business Source Complete (sample search) and Canadian Newsstream (sample search).

• Also try Factiva for news articles from around the world, including articles from many business publications such as the Wall Street Journal

• As with most professions, there are magazines published specifically for police officers. Such practitioner/industry magazines often highlight issues, perspectives, and research that can be hard to find elsewhere.

• Blue Line: Canada's Law Enforcement Magazine

Miscellaneous... but still worth reading!

• CBC News story: Transgender accommodation focus for Vancouver business

• UNBC thesis on trans employment program supports in Vancouver

• Journalist's Resource (Harvard's guide to complex news topics for journalists)

• Discrimination and wellbeing for transgender Americans
• Single-sex restrooms and transgender individuals: A roundup of research

• Canadian Points of View Reference Centre - Transgender Protection

• Brief overview and point/counterpoint notes on transgender rights and Bill C-16

• The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey is about far more than just workplace environments, but it might help you understand the broader issues faced by those who don't fit within binary gender definitions.

• From the Brookfield Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Who are Canada's Tech Workers?

<No further suggestions yet - but keep checking. Also, don't forget that this is your wiki: you are welcome to add any tips here whenever you'd like. --- MB>