"The Seven Grandfather Teachings are humility, bravery, wisdom, truth, honesty, love and respect, with respect being the key one," she notes. "It is a simple yet powerful tool to remind us to always do better and be better, and a lot of Indigenous people bring those Seven Grandfather Teachings with them intrinsically.

"So they bring respect and humility and kindness, and a lot of Indigenous people show extreme bravery -- if you look at the history, we have had to fight to create space for ourselves, to create seats at the table. But they also bring with them this strong underlying power to consistently do what's right, and create representative spaces for all people."

In other words, Indigenous ways of knowing might have a lot to offer to the mission, vision and values statements of Canadian organizations. "If we saw employers across this country, as part of their leadership mandate, say 'we are going to stick to the Seven Grandfather Teachings,' how impressive would that be?" says Kwaskochathikis.

And indeed, one of the recurring themes among the winners of this year's competition for Canada's Best Diversity Employers is a clear intent to do more in the Indigenous realm, especially in the wake of the shocking revelations in 2021 about mass graves at residential schools, as well as the creation of the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, as a federal statutory holiday on September 30. Many employees wore orange shirts that day, and many of their companies have embarked on awareness campaigns to help their people understand the Indigenous experience, as well as looked for ways to attract more Indigenous applicants.

Kristina Leung, senior editor for Mediacorp Canada, which runs the competition, says there has also been a lot of response among employers to the Calls to Action in the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Among them is Call 92, which asks them to "ensure that Aboriginal peoples have equitable access to jobs, training, and education opportunities in the corporate sector." Moreover, says Leung, "some organizations have talked about incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing and learning into policy, whether it's having an elder or a knowledge keeper as part of an Employee Assistance Program or allowing time off for Indigenous employees to attend certain cultural events."

She notes that the University of British Columbia and some other organizations have even re-spelled the U.S.-originated acronym BIPOC, meaning Black, Indigenous and People of Colour, to IBPOC, putting Indigenous up front in the Canadian context.

Across the board among applicants, says Leung, there is much wider attention to diversity, equity and inclusion. "There's a sense that everything is kind of accelerated," she says. "There's a lot of momentum behind these conversations and initiatives." Not only are activities expanding within companies, but the employers involved are appearing in traditionally less diverse industries, such as construction and engineering.

Many employers are also setting specific goals, such as a target percentage of the workforce or leadership being female or of diverse backgrounds. "It's the old thing of what gets measured gets done," says Leung. "The move to tangible action is quite different from where we were even three or four years ago."

And why now? "Many organizations will say that a lot of change has taken place over the past few years, including the pandemic and Black Lives Matter, that has ignited a lot of conversation and required organizations to create space for dialogue among employees. They've had to really listen and engage with those experiences and to take that feedback to heart."

Overall, Leung says, there is a greater balance today among areas of diversity, equity and inclusion. "In the early days of the competition, there was a lot of focus on gender and women in leadership," she says. "Now, in 2022, there's more space to talk about Indigenous recruitment and retention, increasing representation of visible minorities, Black employees and the Black experience, people with disabilities, LBGTQ+, and many other people and issues. There's more space for all these different voices."

– Berton Woodward

From the official magazine announcing Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2022), published March 8, 2022, and featured in The Globe and Mail. All rights reserved.