But it is a story with highs and lows. He had to endure hostility when his family and colleagues back home learned about his orientation. And before he got his job with KPMG, he accepted a contract posting at a much more junior level than his experience would dictate. KPMG was notable in hiring Qartoumeh as Senior Accountant and Consultant, Audit, despite his lack of Canadian credentials, which too often stops lesser employers. Qartoumeh's decade-plus of overseas experience and qualifications -- along with his performance in a series of interviews -- was enough.

So if you are a diversity and inclusion officer at a top employer like KPMG, what are you to make of a person like Qartoumeh? Kristine Remedios has some answers to that. As KPMG's National Inclusion & Diversity Leader, she helped support him. But more to the point, she sees all the aspects of Qartoumeh's situation as elements for employers to work on.

Take getting hired as a new immigrant in Canada with qualifications from overseas. Remedios says newcomers increasingly feel they must redo their education in Canada in order to succeed. She asks: "What if we just did a better job of being more inclusive and addressing the bias issue around that? Because obviously there is some bias holding them back from getting a job." KPMG, she says, now tries to deal with unconscious bias at a very early stage of the hiring process. And it is very open to resumes like Qartoumeh's.

Canada's talent pool, notes Remedios, is increasingly made up of new immigrants. "This is the population we're hiring from, so it's in our best interest to set them up for success."

That also means helping the organization build what she calls "cultural confidence", understanding the ways of people from various minority heritages who may, for instance, be more indirect in speaking, or expect a more hierarchical structure, and may therefore avoid speaking up. That work can aid in more diversity in promotions, a widely stated goal among Canada's Best Diversity Employers.

Even in the LGBTQ+ world, where so much progress has been made in recent years, firms like KPMG are still expanding their vision. Many employers, for instance, have revised documents to ensure the language is gender neutral. More broadly, employee resource groups (ERGs) for various identities continue to grow and spread. And people across the diversity spectrum -- from women to Indigenous people to various generations -- are getting ever more specialized attention.

"Every year things change," says Remedios. "Diversity and inclusion is such an emotional, sensitive topic. Everyone has a different experience.

In fact, that is one of key trends showing up among Canada's Best Diversity Employers in 2019, says Kristina Leung, Senior Editor for Mediacorp Canada, which produces the list. "We're seeing more organizations address the intersectionalities of identity," she says. "They are recognizing that there are many aspects to a person's identity. For instance, when we say women, or talk about the women's ERG -- are we talking about women of diverse backgrounds, Indigenous women, women with disabilities? A lot of organizations are creating programs that speak to the different experiences their workforce has.

"An example is growing up gay in a multicultural context. There may be a difference between coming out in a new immigrant family versus a family that's been in Canada for years. So organizations are working to address those different aspects of identity, all within the realm of diversity and inclusion."

Beyond the traditional ERG categories, says Leung, diversity is ultimately very personal. "Groups are a great starting point, but now we're seeing employers address all these various experiences. That's the next level."

So is Anas Qartoumeh a refugee, a minority, an LGBTQ+ person? Obviously, he is all of these and much more, and brings all of these experiences to work. As employers drill down to an individual level, says Leung, "the mission is understanding what each employee needs, what their skills are, what they bring to the table, and helping them achieve their highest potential."

– Berton Woodward

From the official announcement magazine for Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2019), published on March 1, 2019 in The Globe and Mail