As companies adapt and settle into their new COVID-19 reality, many are using the transition to evaluate their company and finding ways to improve.
During this process, some businesses are realizing they need more diversity and inclusion.
In this episode of Road to Recovery, CHEK’s Joe Perkins speaks to Ruth Mojeed, founder of The Inclusion Project, about diversity and inclusion within the workplace.
Mojeed also talks about the Employment Equity Partnership, a pilot project that encourages business owners and hiring managers to commit to diversifying their workforce.
“The idea is to get business leaders, CEOs in the room to make some tangible commitments, a pledge of sorts, to ensure that as they are starting to look at rehiring and things like that they are doing that with a lens on inclusion and real equity,” explains Mojeed.
The Inclusion Project is a network and resource hub for organizations and institutions engaged looking to improve racial equity, diversity and inclusion. It was founded by Mojeed, who is originally from Nigeria and moved to Vancouver Island to study at the Royal Roads University after she noticed that many of her classmates who were international students struggled to find internships or work in the region following graduation.
Mojeed said the project was born partly out of “the day-to-day experience” of people finding out she or her classmates spoke a bit differently or looked different and that it became really clear when her classmates tried to internships and temporary job placements but were unable to do so, despite being well-educated and having the necessary skills.
“There is something called the Canadian experience . . . and although nobody really calls that out as what they are looking for, but I think the familiarity or the safety of having something that is very similar to ones experience is a place that a lot of employers tend to find themselves,” explained Mojeed, that there are a lot of unconscious basis and stereotypes that play out during the hiring process.
Mojeed said many companies are losing out and will lose out on the benefits of having a diverse workforce.
“Being able to bring that different perspective to the workplace, I think ultimately, makes the workplace more robust,” she said.
Watch the full interview with Mojeed in the video above.
For more information on The Inclusion Project visit www.theinclusionproject.com or at www.facebook.com/inclusionprjct.
The segment “Road to Recovery” is done in partnership with Douglas Magazine.
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