How some organizations are changing course on equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives

February 15, 2025 Canuck

Equity, diversity and inclusion is a framework that aims to promote fair treatment and participation for people of all walks of life.

It guides many organizations in their approach to hiring, recruitment, accommodations, and communication.

While the idea has been around for decades, its use surged following the 2020 murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, one expert told CBC News.

Now, some organizations are changing course, eliminating EDI positions, rebranding them, or rolling back their funding. It comes amid a political climate with increasing pushback to EDI programs.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders making sweeping restrictions and changes to EDI initiatives (also known as DEI initiatives). And corporations are following — companies like Walmart and McDonald’s are rolling back their EDI policies.

“We are not immune from the backlash that we’re seeing … across the border when it comes to EDI,” said Michelle Grocholsky, the CEO of Empowered EDI in Toronto, who added that there are plenty of Canadians who vocally oppose diversity policies as well.

According to Grocholsky, companies and organizations are shifting away from EDI in Canada, only in more muted ways.

“They are quietly reducing their budgets for this work,” Grocholsky said. “We’re also seeing across the board that companies are downsizing their EDI teams. So folks are losing their jobs.”

One example of job loss is at the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCO), where the employee in charge of EDI initiatives was removed alongside other job cuts last month. The corporation said it has not lessened its commitment to inclusion.

The University of Alberta, announced last month that the school will no longer be using the language or framework of EDI. Instead, it has created a new term: Access community and belonging.

Bill Flanagan, the university president said in a letter published in the Edmonton Journal that EDI had become polarizing for some, representing an ideological bias at odds with merit. The university did not make Flanagan available for an interview for this story.

Jacqueline Leighton, an English professor and vice-dean of faculty development and affairs at the University of Alberta, is optimistic about the change, because she says EDI became a barrier in her own teaching.

“I think that something changed. And increasingly I began to observe that many individuals didn’t feel like they belonged in the conversation unless they agreed with everything in the EDI framework,” Leighton said.

Under this environment, some difficult conversations weren’t happening.

“They were afraid of being viewed as potentially racist or sexist or in some way not embracing the full diversity of who we are as a community.”

The University of Lethbridge made a similar move, establishing an office of accessibility, belonging and community on December 10, according to an emailed statement.

Both schools say the change was made because of what was heard during community consultation.

That came as a surprise for Ubaka Ogbogu, a law professor and associate dean of research at the U of A. He’s also a member of the Black Faculty Collective. In an interview with CBC, Ogbogu said he was not consulted and feels the change is a response to misplaced EDI backlash.

“[I feel] disappointment, but also a sense of betrayal. I think our university should certainly not abandon its values because of pressures from the broader society, especially in situations where those pressures are misplaced.”

A report from the university vice-provost of EDI said they consulted students, faculty and staff through a variety of methods on their Integrated EDI Action Plan. The university did not answer a question about whether that process asked people about reassessing EDI entirely.

Ogbogu said he does not buy the claim this new framework is building on the principles of EDI.

“People who study equity, diversity and inclusion will tell you that’s a concept called whitewashing. One way to actually set back the cause for inclusion and diversity is to broaden the categories, to say, ‘we’re trying to go beyond the thing that actually addresses EDI directly and do more.'”

In an emailed statement to CBC, Advanced Education Minister Rajan Sawhney said the change was made internally by the U of A, but expressed support for the move.

“Our government believes that students and applicants to post-secondary programs should be evaluated based on their merit and abilities, and we are pleased to see this reflected in the U of A’s decision.”

The United Conservative Party membership passed a resolution to eliminate EDI programs and training in the public service at the party’s annual general meeting last year. In 2023, members passed another calling for post-secondaries that maintain EDI offices or policies should lose government funding.

Sawhney said Jack Mintz’s review of post-secondary funding, will “likely include an examination of funding that is used by post-secondary institutions towards diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.”

As for Grocholsky, she said it isn’t surprising some are backing away — particularly in cases where institutions were never truly committed in the first place and focusing only on diversity and not equity and inclusion.

“One of the key reasons why organizations have felt that EDI has not led to results is that they went about it in very performative, superficial ways to begin with.”

Edmonton AM7:13The fall of EDI commitments

The term Equity Diversity and Inclusion took off about five years ago. A growing number of the organizations that committed to EDI initiatives are now changing course. CBC’s Emily Williams has been looking into the rise and fall, in Alberta and beyond.

View original article here Source