Promoting everyday inclusion in today's workplaces: 'Canada's Best Diversity Employers' for 2020 are announced
TORONTO, March 6, 2020 /CNW/ - With increased public awareness and heightened expectations by nearly all Canadians, more employers are seeing the benefits of placing diversity and inclusion at the centre of their workplace culture. That's the message from this year's Canada's Best Diversity Employers, announced today by Mediacorp Canada Inc., organizers of the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers competition.
"Inclusion is a central part of conversations happening across the country," says Kristina Leung, Senior Editor of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. "Organizations that make this an integral part of their workplace reap the benefits of diverse perspectives, which leads to increased innovation, productivity, and engagement."
Now in its 13th edition, the Canada's Best Diversity Employers competition recognizes the nation's leaders in creating inclusive workplaces for employees from five diverse groups: women; visible minorities; persons with disabilities; Aboriginal peoples; and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) peoples. The annual competition is open to any employer with its head office or principal place of business in Canada. Employers of any size may apply, whether private or public sector.
"More employers are discovering that creating inclusive workplaces also serves as an important indicator to the wider community beyond the diverse communities involved," says Richard Yerema, Managing Editor at Mediacorp. "Even small initiatives that are successful in promoting inclusion in the workplace play an important role in signaling to the wider community the values that are central to your organizational culture."
Notable diversity and inclusion initiatives at this year's winners include:
- Montreal-based Business Development Bank of Canada / BDC supports female employees with their 'Young Women at BDC' network, offering a speaker series, networking opportunities, and social activities that inspire personal and professional growth.
- Toronto-based Rogers Communications Inc. maintains an Inclusion and Diversity Council, with six subcommittees to monitor progress through quarterly metrics of representation, promotion, and retention and engagement scores.
- Alberta Health Services organizes Indigenous Listening Days to understand the needs of their Indigenous employees, which led to the creation of an Indigenous health strategy committee.
- Ontario's largest community hospital, William Osler Health System, provides training on inclusive language and inclusive gender references to ensure a respectful environment for LGBTQ employees and patients.
- In British Columbia, the City of Surrey adapted its recreational sports programming to support employees and residents with disabilities, such as wheelchair tennis, sledge hockey, power soccer, and wheelchair basketball.
Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of employment periodicals. Since 1999, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which includes 18 regional and special-interest editorial competitions that reach over 15 million Canadians annually through a variety of magazine and newspaper partners. Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, one of Canada's largest job search engines, which reaches millions of users annually and features editorial reviews from the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. Mediacorp also hosts Canada's largest conference for senior-level HR professionals, the Top Employer Summit. This year's conference took place in November and featured a performance by Coeur de Pirate, one of the most popular musicians in the French-speaking world.
The full list of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for 2020 was announced today in a special magazine published in the The Globe and Mail. Detailed reasons for selection for each of the winners, with hundreds of stories and photos, were released by the editors today and are accessible via the competition homepage.
SOURCE Mediacorp Canada Inc.
Stephanie Leung, Assistant Editor, 416-964-6069 x5334
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