EDI and Human Rights: Fundamental to our Freedoms and Protections

Note: While the acronyms “EDI” and “DEI” are used interchangeably when referring to the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion, because this newsletter focuses on the “E” of EDI (equity), the acronym “EDI” will be used.

The current geopolitical landscape has given rise to issues in Canada, such as threats to job security, a growing polarization amongst communities, and an intensification of “us” versus “them” sentiments. What is more, due to long-standing perceptions that EDI and human rights are frivolous, unnecessary, or even “discriminatory” in nature, there has been extreme pushback on EDI which disregards the connection to human rights.

This newsletter will dispel some fundamental misconceptions and discuss:

• The relationship between geopolitics and local conflict

• The potential consequences of the retreat from EDI and human rights

• Why equity and human rights are critical to building and sustaining environments that, as per the Human Rights Code and the Occupational Health and Safety Act, are free from discrimination, harassment, and violence

• What organizations and employees can do to stay on track

Geopolitics & Conflict

Geopolitical events, such as conflicts, crises, wars, and pandemics, can create or amplify existing divides causing both global and local backlash against scapegoated groups which can result in discrimination, harassment, violence, and acts of crime.

Take the COVID-19 pandemic as an example. The racialization of COVID as the “Chinese virus” or the “Kung Flu” stigmatized East Asian and Asian communities and, in some cases, individuals who were perceived to be but not of Asian descent. This led to astronomical increases in anti-Asian hate crimes, discrimination, harassment, and violence, both in the community and in the workplace, as well as safety concerns and threats to the physical, psychological, emotional, and mental health of people of Asian descent.

In 2020, the Vancouver police reported a 717% increase in anti-East Asian hate crimes/incidents from 2019 and between 2020 and 2021, reports of anti-Asian workplace discrimination increased by +348%. These examples illustrate how workplaces are microcosms of our larger society and how these spaces can reflect our biases, stereotypes, and prejudices which can be heightened during times of global upheaval. Moreover, unchecked biases, stereotypes, and prejudices have the potential to be enacted as discrimination, harassment, violence, and hate crimes.

Reframing Conflict

There are often negative connotations associated with the term “conflict” which may be due to a discomfort with approaching the issue or because of a lack of tools to effectively address the concern. As a result, a common response is to avoid dealing with the problem in the hopes that it will go away on its own. However, while a less serious form of conflict could resolve itself, when conflict is not addressed and left to fester, it has the potential to escalate into more serious issues, such as discrimination, harassment, and violence.

While there can be severe one-off incidents, conflict generally operates on a continuum happening over a period of time and rarely jumps from a state of calm to a state of confrontation in an instant. There are usually a series of events and precipitating factors that lead up to an incident of discriminatory, harassing, or violent behaviour.

Therefore, think of conflict as the check engine light of the workplace in that it is an indication that a situation is amiss. Conflict is an opportunity to look into and get to the root of an issue to not only resolve the matter, but to also prevent it from escalating and recurring.

The EDI Retreat

For those who have been implementing, practicing, or advocating for EDI and human rights, you will likely be familiar with how this line of work has long been sidelined, regarded as an afterthought, or dismissed as a whole.

In this context and given the current geopolitical state of affairs, it is not surprising that many multinational corporations and US-based parent companies have either scaled back or cancelled their EDI initiatives altogether. Unfortunately, some Canadian organizations have followed suit and reduced or eliminated EDI-related positions, rebranded EDI offices, or dismantled entire EDI departments.

This departure from EDI, and in turn human rights, is detrimental to the health and safety of employees, clients, patients, etc. EDI goes beyond creating welcoming spaces and cultivating a sense of belonging. From a legislative perspective, EDI and human rights are vital to creating healthy and safe environments that are free from discrimination, harassment, and violence.

Downsizing and abandoning EDI and human rights initiatives creates risks and makes organizations more vulnerable to liabilities. Specifically, not having EDI and human rights-informed policies, procedures, processes, practices, and programs can result in increased rates of discrimination, harassment, and violence, which can lead to:

• Decreased/lost productivity, increased absenteeism and leaves, lowered morale, loss of trust, turnover, etc.

• Impact on bystanders, e.g., colleagues, clients, patients, etc., resulting in a poisoned environment

• Legislative violations and penalties

• Litigation (including class actions)

• Costs related to resolution processes, such as external investigations and associated costs (e.g., paid suspensions, leaves, and backfilling positions), mediation, coaching, grievances, etc.

Overall, the aforementioned consequences can cause damage to an organization’s reputation, credibility, competitive edge, and bottom line. Furthermore, when issues of discrimination, harassment, and violence are not addressed or properly addressed, it can become a systemic issue serving as a breeding ground for inappropriate behaviour and become entrenched in an organization’s workplace culture.

Equity: A Tool to Facilitate Human Rights

While all the components of EDI play an important role to fostering welcoming spaces for employees, clients, patients, etc. alike, the principle of equity works in tandem with human rights and therefore holds legislative weight.

Equity recognizes that because some individuals are subjected to systemic barriers, due to intersecting systems of oppression, they should be provided with what they need in order to have equitable opportunities to successfully do their job, receive services, rent housing, access a building, etc. A human rights accommodation based on a protected ground, such as disability, creed, family status, sex, etc., is an example of how equity can be used to facilitate human rights.

Points to Consider: The following are some human rights and equity-informed ideas to help organizations and employees create and maintain healthy and safe workplaces free from discrimination, harassment, and violence (this is not exhaustive):

Organizations

• During times of unrest, be mindful of potential backlash against targeted groups and be vigilant of rising tensions and conflicts; take a preventative approach and do your due diligence by acting immediately when you become aware of an issue

• Regularly review all policies, procedures, processes, practices, and programs to identify potentially discriminatory outcomes, i.e., is a group of individuals (e.g., employees, clients) negatively impacted by a policy, procedure, etc. on the basis of a protected ground(s)?

• Provide ongoing EDI, anti-harassment, anti-discrimination (human rights), and anti-violence education/training for all employees at every level

• Equip managers with the necessary tools and supports so they can effectively recognize, address, and prevent discrimination, harassment, and violence

• Assess your workplace health to identify potential issues through the use of workplace reviews, workforce censuses, client surveys, etc.

• Collect and regularly review both informal and formal complaints data to track and monitor trends and patterns, identify areas of concern, and develop appropriate resolutions, prevention plans, etc.

Employees (including managers)

• Complete ongoing EDI, anti-harassment, anti-discrimination (human rights), and anti-violence education/training

• Apply human rights and equity to the ways in which you make decisions; interact and work with colleagues; communicate with and provide service to clients, patients, etc.; lead a team; build capacity; manage and prevent conflict, etc.

• Exercise empathy by considering other people’s positions, their social locations and lived experiences, and the systemic barriers they may be subjected to

• Consider and respect different ways of learning, knowing, and doing

Undertaking EDI and human rights work in this climate can be challenging. However, it must be remembered that our human rights and occupational health and safety are protected by prevailing legislation. As a result, there will be a continued legislative duty to fulfil our due diligence so that employees may exercise their right to work in spaces that are free from discrimination, harassment, and violence and clients, patients, etc. may exercise their right to access and receive services that are free from discrimination, harassment, and violence.

This work is more crucial than ever and every step we take is a step towards dismantling systems of oppression that give rise to systemic barriers and all forms of discrimination, harassment, and violence.

Jennifer Mak is a Human Rights and Equity Strategist. Her consultancy helps organizations address, manage, and prevent issues of workplace discrimination, harassment, and violence through the systemic application of human rights and equity via policies and procedures, strategic planning, and conflict management and resolution. Jennifer’s services include human rights and equity education/training, conflict coaching, and workplace investigations. If you would like to get in contact with Jennifer, her email is: jmakconsulting@outlook.com.