Centering Equity & Inclusion

How can we create a safe and healthy workplace where everyone is respected and valued? Lasting institutional change requires transformation not only in policies but in workplace attitudes, relationships and culture.
 
It’s time to move beyond a checklist and embrace the personal and professional journey required to make real change happen.
 
In June 2020, former and current employees of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) shared their experiences with discrimination in their workplace in a very public way. As a result, the Museum engaged in an external review to examine the extent to which systemic racism and oppression affected the organization and its staff. What followed was a comprehensive approach to address systemic racism and discrimination in an anti‐racist, anti‐colonial, intersectional feminist, trauma‐informed perspective.
 
Under the leadership of a new CEO and a dedicated and diverse Board of Trustees, the Museum is making changes to center equity and inclusion in the everyday life of the organization.
 
Guided by the fundamental principle that every person is free and equal in dignity and in rights, the work is centered on five desired outcomes:

1. Hearing and considering diverse perspectives;
2. Cultivating a deep understanding of human rights principles;
3. Respecting and valuing each other in our workplace.
4. Ensuring meaningful relationships with our community; and
5. Demonstrating respect for the lived experiences of others in how we care for and tell their stories.

Join CMHR CEO Isha Khan and Board Trustee Benjamin Nycum, who will discuss the challenges they faced as a board and an organization, the strategies they initiated, and the lessons they learned along the way.