RECONCILIATION: MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER - TRANSFORMING ORGANIZATION CULTURE PAGE 59
in the workplace to honour and support cultural and diverse interests contributes to a respectful work place. BC Housing’s Diversity and Inclusion Policy does not include an anti-racism or equity statement. There are conflicting perspectives provided regarding what policies and practices BC Housing supports internally for staff. For example, comments are provided about holding each other accountable to anti-discrimination and that BC Housing creates awareness about equity and anti-racism. 5.3.1.3 What Can BC Housing Be Doing?
With respect to how BC Housing can ensure an equitable and racism-free workplace, we heard that staff may benefit from revised training requirements and further learning opportunities. Many spoke to the need for mandatory training specific to reconciliation. We also heard that increasing diversity and cultural sensitivity through hiring practices is important. Staff would like to see more Indigenous people hired by BC Housing. Moreover, it is also important to hire for the ethics BC Housing hopes to achieve. Respondents discussed the need for BC Housing to go beyond the ‘surface-level efforts’ such as multi- culturalism events, lunch and learns, and Indigenous peoples Day. We heard there is a desire to have more
Why This Is Important
There were a number of suggestions provided by staff to support anti-racism and equity in the workplace. One critical aspect was the reference to meaningful efforts rather than more superficial kinds of initiatives and practices. This means that BC Housing needs to understand how anti-racism, anti- discrimination and equity are discussed or addressed in learning opportunities and how these concepts need to be embedded in all core policies and within decision-making processes.
real conversations and action within BC Housing around white fragility, discrimination, and racism. “We need to do more than our multi-cultural lunch and learns – we need to go deeper and truly promote diversity. – BC Housing Staff Member We heard that staff want to have an anti-discriminatory and equitable work culture and decolonized work practices standardized. An external professional should develop a comprehensive equity strategy for BC Housing. This comment speaks to a need for a neutral and objective party to review the formal and informal policies and practices within BC Housing that support and/or hinder the achievement of equity and anti-discrimination. It could take the form of an audit which would need to look how BC Housing operates through all of its “systems” including decision-making, budgeting, hiring, policy-making, communications (internal and external), and engagement and consultation.
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