OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2019 - 18

COVER

see more leaders jumping headfirst into gender diversity efforts
that do not consider the experiences of all women, particularly
women of colour," writes Ruchika Tulshyan for the Harvard
Business Review.
Not only do these efforts fail to consider the unique
experience of racialized women, but they also do not consider
the unique experiences of other groups. Intersectionality is the
concept that a white woman sees and experiences the world
differently than a LGBTQ2+ black man, or t an Indigenous
woman with a disability.
A study conducted by Catalyst, Day-to-Day Experiences of
Emotional tax Among women and Men of Color in the Workplace,
revealed that amongst Asian, Black, Latino, and Multiracial
respondents, 40% of them expected to experience racial bias
in the workplace. While women (40%) were much more likely
than men (26%) to expect gender bias. Women of colour (24%)
reported being more on guard than men of colour (11%) as they
expected to experience both gender and racial bias.
HOW IS INTERSECTIONALITY BEING ADDRESSED?
Recognizing the importance of intersectionality, the Canadian
Government developed Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+),
an analytical process for examining how various intersecting
identity factors impact the effectiveness of government
initiatives. The design of this tool began in 1970, when the
Government of Canada began making commitments to consider
women's issues in policy decisions. In 2011, Status of Women
Canada expanded the scope of GBA to GBA+ to ensure that the
analysis looked at other diverse identity factors. Considering the
use of GBA+ within your organization is one way to ensure that
some employees are not being silenced.

THE VOICE

Fall 2019

Other examples of intersectional programs include the MadeIn-Canada Athena Swan Programnow called Dimensions: Equity,
Diversity, and Inclusion in Canada. The program is modelled on
the UK Athena SWAN (Scientific Women's Academic Network),
an internationally recognized initiative that celebrates higher
education institutions that have implemented practices to
advance EDI in the sciences. In the UK, the program has focused
primarily on addressing gender diversity issues. However,
Canada has taken a broader lens, and has included all diversity
dimensions under the new initiative to reflect the unique reality
of Canadian society.
Companies have also established comprehensive equity
and inclusion programs that recognize the experiences of all
groups. Some of these companies include Hydro One, IBM,

AMONG ASIAN, BLACK, LATINO AND
MULTIRACIAL RESPONDENTS:

40%

expected to experience racial bias in the workplace
while
women
than
men

[40%]
[26%]

were much
more likely
to expect
gender bias

OSPE - The Voice - Fall 2019

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