Women Reclaiming Leadership Toolkit
Sector growth and increasing retirements, means ensuring that environmental organizations have a sustainable, diverse, and qualified pool of talent is crucial. This toolkit offers useful resources on how to support diversity in your organization.
THE NEED FOR A WORKFORCE DIVERSITY
47% of the Canadian workforce are female yet only 36% are in management positions as of 2021.
Data on the demographic composition of workers in environmental careers show that women and immigrants are underrepresented compared to the overall Canadian labour force. This underrepresentation is much higher when considering industries such as mining and quarrying and construction.
With 30 per cent of the workforce expected to retire in the next 10 years, developing a pool of diverse and qualified talent is crucial for the sustainability of environmental careers. The increasing demand for environmental workers is compounding this labour shortage.
To cope with this demand, organizations must look to strengthen their ability to attract, recruit and retain workers through numerous initiatives including engaging and supporting diverse workforces.
This toolkit looks to support organizations with useful resources and case studies highlighting the importance, and benefits, of a diverse workplace.
There is a strong financial business case for increasing diversity along with numerous non-financial benefits for organizations that diversify their workforce including increased collaboration, greater innovation, higher employee engagement and increased productivity.
The Importance and Need for Diversity in the Workplace
Women reclaiming leadership
Toward a Business Case for Inclusive and Diverse Environmental Workplaces
- Diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces have been shown to have stronger financial performance and profitability.
- There are also numerous non-financial benefits for organizations that diversify their workforce.
- Diversifying the workforce can help combat the hiring challenges forecast.
Learn more about the need for a diverse workforce and the benefits for organizations of diversifying their business.
Promising Practices Organizations are Implementing
Suncor & Catalyst’s MARC Program: Male Allies in Advancing DEI
Ontario Power Generation and Indigenous Opportunities Network
SAP and Maturn: Helping Moms Thrive at Work
Nature Canada: Empowering Women through Mentorship
Mentorship
Engage with peers and mentors through this mentorship program
The Mentorship program is designed for professionals in Environmental and Engineering sectors to connect and engage with peers and mentors on topics of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Through the Mentorship program, professionals will have the opportunity to make new connections, discuss barriers women and underrepresented professionals face to advance to leadership positions, and get support and guidance to overcome those barriers.
Mentorship Process:
- Mentorship Session duration 6 months: 1 session per month. 6 sessions total per year
- Matching criteria: Speciality, location, personal traits, goals
Benefits of the Mentorship Program
Benefits of the Mentorship Program
Webinars and Online Tools to Support Diversity in Your Workplace
Case Study 1 (Maturn and Sap)
Case Study 2 (MARC and Suncor)
Engaging Men Through the Journey Towards Equity
Equal Opportunity and Inclusion Policy (Suncor)
Aboriginal Relations Policy (Suncor)
Suncor: 2021 Report on Sustainability
Case Study 3 (Nature Canada’s Mentorship Program)
Women for Nature: Discussing Career Planning with Mary Granskou and Tara Topping
Women for Nature Webinar: Collaboration and Partnerships
Women for Nature Webinar: What does it take to be a women leader in the conservation sector?
Case Study 4 (OPG’s ION Program)
OPG’s Reconciliation & Action Plan (RAP)
Inclusive Language
Online courses are a great way to learn about diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Courses cover a wide range of topics from understanding bias to cultural competence in the workplace, and are available through multiple online organizations including:
Free Online Courses from Catalyst
Catalyst is the leading nonprofit organization with a mission to accelerate progress for women through workplace inclusion. Several free training courses can be accessed through their website.
LinkedIn Learning offers thousands of courses, with many focused on increasing diversity in the workplace. There is a free one-month trial subscription, or it can be accessed for free through most public libraries in Canada.
Coursera is an online training website that offers several free online courses related to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Links to various government websites and legislation focused on women.
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Human Rights Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-6)
Canadian Human Rights Commission
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Dimensions Charter
Gender Neutral Language for Job Ads
Government of Ontario – Bullying
Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada
United Nations Human Rights Office of the Commissioner
Women and Gender Equality Canada
A list of various diversity-focused research papers and reports.
Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+). Government of Canada.
The Power of Parity: Advancing Gender Equality in Canada. (2017). McKinsey Global Institute.
Key Insights on Diversity and Inclusion. (2020). HRPA and Diversio Report.
How employers can advance equality and diversity. (2019). Report from the Symposium on Women and the Workplace. Government of Canada.
When Gender Diversity Makes Firms More Productive. (2019). Harvard Business Review Research.
How to Identify – and Fix – Pay Inequality at Your Company. (2020) Harvard Business Review Research.
Diversity Wins. How Inclusion Matters. (2020). McKinsey and Company.
Promoting equity: Gender-neutral job evaluation for equal pay. A step-by-step guide. (2009). International Labour Organization.
Women in the Workplace Study. (2020). McKinsey and LeanIn.org
Want to be a Mentor or Mentee? Sign Up Now!
This project has been funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada
