The Aboriginal Financial Institutions supported by the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association provide diverse opportunities for aspiring and established Indigenous entrepreneurs.

It is said that small businesses are the backbone of our economies. The Indigenous clients we support and celebrate are also the nerves that run through that spine and connect us to the lands we share and each other. Our master craftspeople weave and bead the earth into their products and costumers; Indigenous environmental monitors have served as the stewards of these lands since time immemorial; and our brands and stories are shaped by and espouse age-old traditions that are increasingly and finally being recognized under the banner of “progressive policy” such as equality of opportunity, person, and the lands that sustain us.

The National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA) was formed in 1997 by a collective of Aboriginal Financial Institutions (AFIs), which in turn was created to address the lack of available capital to finance Indigenous small business development. NACCA supports and promotes the network, which today includes over 50 AFIs across Canada and our nations. Our Board of Directors is 100 percent Indigenous, and all entrepreneurs supported by the AFI network are members of a First Nation, Inuit, or Métis community.

Diversifying opportunity

Our collective goal is to increase social and economic self-reliance and sustainability for Indigenous peoples and the prosperity of the Indigenous and Canadian economies. We believe that the best social program is a job. Small businesses in Canada provide 68.8 percent of the private labour force, so we can safely say that supporting Indigenous businesses will lead to large community social impact, including towards environmental, social and governance (ESG), and research is ongoing to understand its true and growing extent.

Diverse streams of funding are offered for diverse Indigenous entrepreneurs, depending on their specific needs and circumstances. All are aimed at promoting prosperous and thriving Indigenous businesses with equitable access to capital and care.

Over the past three decades, the network has provided around 50,000 loans worth over $3 billion, with a repayment rate of about 95 percent.

The Indigenous Growth Fund

The Indigenous Growth Fund (IGF) is a new $150 million investment fund that, through a network of Aboriginal Financial Institutions, provides much-needed capital to small- and medium-sized Indigenous enterprises that have historically struggled to qualify for loans through traditional banking systems.

The Fund offers institutional and social impact investors a direct vehicle to contribute to economic reconciliation and ensures that AFIs can continue to support their Indigenous clients in their communities, unlocking pent-up loan demand for new and expanding Indigenous businesses. With an open-ended fund structure, the IGF will allow AFIs to plan for the future, attract new clients and grow their existing client base.

“Indigenous businesses are hungry for capital and so many of our business owners have great potential,” says Jean Vincent, Chair of the IGF’s Board. “That’s why our network pressed for the creation of the IGF.”

Supported by current investors the Government of Canada and Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, and Farm Credit Canada, the IGF has already begun to provide loan capital to Aboriginal Financial Institutions, which will allow them to invest in more Indigenous businesses and their unique visions. 

The Indigenous Women Entrepreneurship Program

In 2020, NACCA committed to increasing the number of Indigenous women entrepreneurs accessing financing through its AFI network by 50 percent, resulting in the launch of the new Indigenous Women Entrepreneurship (IWE) Program.

Developed in partnership with Indigenous Services Canada, the IWE program provides even further marginalized First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women with distinctions-based and targeted support, including access to dedicated Business Support Officers, workshops and training, and a new micro-loan fund. The IWE Program will help celebrate the Indigenous women making a difference in our communities, including those pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams.

“Being able to offer tailored programs and financing to Indigenous women is an important step for NACCA and the network to ensure that women have access to equitable services,” says IWE Team Lead Magnolia Perron. “Our hope is that we can continue to offer this new program for generations to come.”

The Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program

The Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program (AEP) promotes entrepreneurship in Indigenous communities and increases the number of viable Indigenous businesses. NACCA administers the program and distributes the funding through its network of AFIs.

The AEP provides funding to start-up and grow Indigenous businesses, support institutional development of the AFI network and deliver capacity building services for businesses.

The Indigenous Business Stabilization Program with the Government of Canada

The Indigenous Business Stabilization Program was an Indigenous-specific stream of the Government of Canada’s Emergency Loan Program (ELP), created in response to the COVID-19 crisis to provide emergency support to Indigenous small business owners in meeting their immediate operating cash flow needs amidst pandemic lockdowns.

The ELP was advocated for, developed, and delivered by NACCA and the AFI network, providing over $155 million in loans and non-repayable contributions to over 3,000 Indigenous businesses, many of whom were not existing AFI clients and wouldn’t have qualified for programs being offered to other Canadian businesses, between April 2020 and June 2021. This support provided a vital lifeline to Indigenous entrepreneurs and communities throughout the pandemic.

“For Indigenous, by Indigenous.” The past cannot be changed, but what happens to our future generations can look very different. Over and over, our network has shown that Indigenous organizations are best positioned to serve as lenders to Indigenous businesses.

If you are an aspiring Indigenous entrepreneur, find the right solution for you through your local AFI.

All partners and allies of economic reconciliation are also invited to join us at the Indigenous Prosperity Forum, taking place May 4-5, 2022, at the Hilton Lac Leamy in Gatineau, QC, on the unceded territory of the Algonquin.

The post Learn About Diverse Opportunities for Diverse Indigenous Dreamers and Creators appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Julia Cushing

Executive Board Member

Aisha Bukhari

Vice-President, Executive Board Member

What inspired you to start WiRE?

Joanna Osawe: I was in the energy sector building commercial wind farms for about 10 years and everywhere I went it was always a majority of men and very few women. Whether it was on the construction sites, in board rooms, in permitting meetings, open houses, and if there were women it would always be on the administrative, marketing and communications side; never at the executive level.

Upon my return from building a commercial wind farm in the United States, I discussed this issue with my husband. He has been a huge champion and thanks to his support, WiRE started. It all goes back to having champions, coming together to work toward a vision and out of that support, this organization was realized.

WiRE’s mission is to advance the role and recognition of women in the energy sector. I am a big believer that your network is your net worth and I think getting together with like-minded women is extremely important. This was really the basis for  WiRE.

Since starting WiRE, we have grown several programs nationally and internationally;  we continue to grow and dream even bigger. There are a variety of activities happening within WiRE to support women in the energy sector.

Julia Cushing: Joanna has brought so many women together with WiRE. I joined WiRE in 2014 and I was really inspired and eager to get involved in the organization.  I went to my first networking meeting with WiRE earlier in my career and I was looking to grow my network and I was looking for professional development opportunities. The moment I walked into this room there was Joanna and the other women who were warm, welcoming and eager to support me.

From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be a part of an organization that worked to support other women and strives to help women to achieve their career goals. It was such a supportive environment that it was impossible not to get involved.

Aisha Bukhari: I met Joanna Osawe, right after I finished making a presentation on energy storage at an industry conference.  It was my first time presenting at a big conference, and I wasn’t sure how it had gone. Joanna came up to me and provided positive feedback. It was a delight to hear this feedback and we got talking. By the end of our conversation, I’d signed up to join WiRE! WiRE provided a platform for me to not only figure out a way to address the challenges I was facing but also provided an opportunity to create systemic change so we can enable women across Canada and globally to proactively deal with barriers and take ownership of their careers. This is the reason why I love working with WiRE. We have created an engaged community, that we support through various programming, and the community members also support and empower each other.

What challenges have you faced as a woman in trades?

JO: When we started WiRE, we weren’t taken seriously.  I’ve received hate mail that was extremely derogatory. Some people were upset at us and thought we were trying to separate men and women in the industry but really, we were looking for men to join the conversation. Conversation on how to address the challenges that women are facing and how we can work together to solve these challenges. These were difficult conversations that we needed in order to move the dial. It is unfortunate that in 2021 the need to have these conversations is ongoing.   

I’ve faced numerous challenges on a personal level that include industry stakeholders making assumptions about my technical knowledge, my level of ambition as well as my capabilities. This has resulted in me having to spend my valuable time and energy in managing these stakeholders when ideally I would love to spend this time instead on getting it done!

JC: Early in my career I think the main challenge that I faced was not seeing someone like myself at the top of an organization, I was really looking for role models to show me how to grow my career. It’s really important to be able to seek out female mentors and the reason I specify female mentors is that in my experience, you can have a different level of relatability with a woman. I’ve had incredible male champions throughout my career and I am very grateful for them, but there is just a different level of conversation you might have with a female mentor than you would with a male.

Not seeing someone like me at the top of an organization and not really knowing how to create the path to navigate my career and to advance was my biggest challenge. That is a huge benefit of WiRE –  there are incredibly successful women within this organization, not only on the board of directors but through networking with WiRE you are now exposed to this massive network of successful women who are affiliated in different ways with the organization.

AB: A key challenge, especially early on in my career, was a lack of a robust network with trusted colleagues in the sector. I particularly found this difficult as a teetotaller, because a lot of networking events were in environments that I found were not conducive to form meaningful relationships. I eventually found ways that worked for me. This is another reason why at WiRE, we are very mindful to design networking events that are inclusive and cater to people of varying backgrounds and preferences.

Another key challenge that I continue to face is being excluded – from invitations for casual lunches to career-advancing opportunities and everything in between. If you don’t fit a certain profile – that is expected by the industry – the pull model where you are attracting opportunities simply because of merit doesn’t work. You have to create your own opportunities. WiRE’s aim with its programming is to create these opportunities and make them more accessible.

What are the barriers that you see as the largest impediments to more women working in the trades?

JO: I think it’s the outreach and retaining women. I think there is something to be said about job descriptions and the way they are worded. Many job descriptions are tailored toward men, and one struggle women have is that they have a tendency to think they need to check every single box of a job requirement in order to apply.

Back when I became a wind developer, I was applying for jobs for which I had no business applying. I am not an engineer, and yet every single job I have held the job description specified you must be an engineer; I do not have a P.Eng. Men tend to apply to jobs even if they don’t check every box on the job description, women need to do the same.   

JC: I think there is a general lack of exposure. A lot of young people don’t really know what career options are out there. I think for a long time a certain type of career was promoted or highlighted and other careers were not.

I do think that is starting to change and we are getting to a place where we recognize the value, importance and how successful you can be in different types of careers such as skilled trades.

I think for a lot of young women – and young men – there is just a general lack of knowledge about the various types of career options that are out there and the benefits of those careers as well.

AB: I think the biggest impediment for women is organizational culture – there are a lot of barriers that start at the hiring stage and span all way to retention. Not being inclusive in outreach at the hiring stage prevents women from accessing these opportunities. Then once in an organization, women are continuously forced to make trade-offs between home commitments and career-advancing opportunities. Trade-offs that they shouldn’t have to make. Trade-offs that are solvable via a variety of solutions such as flexible hours, more inclusive ways for women to return to work after maternity leaves etc. The pandemic has further exacerbated these inequalities.

Why is diversity so important in the skilled trades, and how does WiRE help to support women in the industry?

JO: WiRE has many programs which support women in the industry. We have a lot of great programs in Canada including awards recognition in which we highlight women and focus on celebrating leaders in the industry. We also provide speed mentoring in which students or emerging professionals are paired with C-suite level professionals and have the opportunity to ask questions and seek career advice.

Some of our other Canadian programs include speed interviewing with different companies, spotlights/blogs on our website, webinars, workshops, and WiRE student chapters. We are also growing our organization internationally and we recognize some of our programs applicable in the Canadian market may not be applicable in different jurisdictions– so the terminology ‘Glocal’ is important – Be global, act local.

Our ambition is to continue to grow out our programs. We are passionate about making sure our platform is there to support women in the industry.

JC: When there is a general lack of diversity, you are missing out on massive portions of talent that is available. We’ve seen over and over the benefits that diversity brings to organizations. It’s also important for the individual, to bring women and different minorities into different work environments and to help them grow and succeed. When individuals succeed, the collective succeeds.

AB: Diversity translates into creating equal opportunities and ensuring they are accessible to everyone regardless of their identity. It is not only morally the right thing to do it is also good for business. WiRE supports employers in hiring diverse candidates, creates opportunities for women to have a voice at the table, and creates opportunities for women to expand their network. 

How can companies better support their female employees?

JO: I think it’s really about making sure women are getting promoted, and that there are people in the industry that are supporting and championing women. I think mentorship is different than sponsorship – having a sponsor within the industry will be extremely helpful because that individual will take you to the next level, provide you with recommendations and champion you through your career.

JC: Awareness is so important. If an organization is aware of where they are currently with diversity and where they need to go, they can put measures in place to make sure they get there. They can structure initiatives to make sure they are reaching out to the right individuals and they can put programs and support in place to make sure they are achieving their organization’s goals.

AB: A lot of organizations are now finally catching up to the idea that gender equality is important and having diverse candidates within their organization is good for business. However, I see the biggest gap where the concept of intersectionality is really not well-understood. Acknowledging for example that the barriers a woman of colour faces are much more amplified than a white woman. Then creating solutions to specifically address those barriers is critical if organizations truly want to build an inclusive culture. Setting targets and measuring the impact of solutions is also vital to make progress and for continuous improvement. 

Is there anything else you would like to add or would like to share with our readers?

JO: It is really important to acknowledge the amazing partners we have formed, international and national. We want to make sure we are always highlighting the D&I.

Our partnerships, whether with non-profit industry partners, Indigenous groups, women in power groups solidify and aligns our messaging and helps us achieve our collective goals. We continue to grow together to make sure not only from a diversity perspective but from skilled trades, energy, and educational perspectives that we are moving forward and making a difference.

I also want to acknowledge our leadership team, WiRE’s board of directors and advisory committee including Aisha Bukari and Julia Cushing – without their support, passion, empowerment and inspiration WiRE would not be where it is today.

JC: We’ve achieved so much in WiRE because we have so much support not only from our partners but also from the grassroots level with our volunteers and the people who come out to our networking events. What I find so continuously inspiring and what makes me so hopeful that change is happening is all of the offers of support we get from so many different people.

Diversity is something that gets people really excited and people want to see a change, and WiRE is providing an opportunity for people to be a part of that change. We are so grateful for all the people who reach out and want to be a part of it.

AB: Climate change is one of the biggest and most urgent challenges that we will face in our lifetimes. We need all of us – people of all gender, colour, race, religion, etc. – to help solve this problem. The transition to net zero is not only an opportunity for us to make this world a more habitable place, but also a more inclusive and peaceful place. All of us, regardless of our roles have an opportunity to step up and play our part in making this happen.

The post Q&A with Women in Renewable Energy — WiRE appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Leslie Woo

CEO, CivicAction

Nan DasGupta

Senior Partner & Managing Director, Boston Consulting Group

Knowledge, awareness, leadership, and accountability are helping Canadian organizations take concrete action to become more diverse, equitable, and resilient.

Ask non-racialized Canadians about anti-Black racism in Canada and they may tell you that it’s old news or an American problem. However, Black Canadians will tell you that racism exists and that it’s pervasive. “It’s important to dispel the myth that we’re impervious to racism here in Canada,” says Leslie Woo, CEO of CivicAction, a non-profit civic engagement organization operating out of the Toronto and Hamilton area.

Examining the systemic racism of our workplace structures

This gap in understanding in non-Black or non-racialized individuals was one of the key drivers behind a recent report that CivicAction undertook in partnership with Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The report focuses on four areas — education, employment, health care, and policing — and identifies the problems while also identifying potential solutions.

The challenges and barriers that Black Canadians encounter in the workplace are vast and this isn’t new data. “Black Canadians are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed than non-racialized Canadians,” says Woo. “Data shows that 70–85% of open positions are filled through networking and relationships, but that Black Canadians are less networked. Amongst other findings, we also saw that Black Canadians earn $0.80 for every $1 earned by non-racialized Canadians, even when both groups have university degrees.”

“There is a disconnect in what many Canadians want to believe and the lived reality that many Black people in Canada face. Our hope with this report is to spur more awareness and action to reduce systemic barriers facing Black people in Canada today,” says Nan DasGupta, Senior Partner and Managing Director at BCG.

Black Canadians are nearly twice as likely to be unemployed than non-racialized Canadians.

Leslie Woo, CivicAction

Promising practices for better workplace cultures

The report also delves into solutions. “We did research with BCG on what we refer to as promising practices,” says Woo, “identifying places where organizations were successfully able to address the structural barriers.”

Organizations can take clear steps to expand diversity and improve their workplace culture. “Within job postings, shifting from degree-based criteria to skills-based criteria has an impact, especially for youth,” says Woo. “Also, many resume-screening processes have been proven to disproportionately filter out Black applicants. There’s a need to train hiring teams on diversity, equity, and inclusion practices and on ways to overcome their unintentional biases. For instance, having diverse interview hiring panels helps to reduce the amount of implicit bias.”

Woo also notes the importance of retaining Black employees and giving them the ability to succeed. Proper on-boarding practices and providing opportunities for mentorship and ongoing skills training are essential in supporting Black employees’ career advancement.

A free tool that helps diversify your entry-level talent pool

The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) is going to be key to our Country’s economic future. For example, as the second-largest employment zone in Canada, Peel Region has an important role to play in lifting our economy and people up, especially our future workforce.

A first step can be looking at your entry-level practices. CivicAction’s free HireNext tool helps employers attract and retain diverse, young talent. Using HireNext, organizations assess their hiring practices and then receive three customized suggested actions to take. “We have also asked employers who’ve taken the assessment to make a further commitment with us to actually act on the recommendations, and in so doing they become a HireNext employer,” says Woo. That list of employers who have made a public commitment is now over 50 organizations.

An employer’s accountability to themselves or to CivicAction is a concrete way to sustain diversity practices and ensure measurable progress. “Change requires leadership and if you’re trying to truly become a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization, as a leader you must take bold steps and not just check boxes,” says Woo.

Read CivicAction’s report on anti-Black racism in Canada and take the online assessment to become a HireNext employer today.

The post Advancing Black Canadians in the Workplace appeared first on HiveInnovates.

The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, shares her insight on what it means to be a woman in agriculture and what’s next for the industry.

What does women’s leadership mean to you?

While serving as Minister of International Development, I met so many women leading change under the most extreme challenges. I knew I had to join them in standing up for women, abroad and at home. Today, as Canada’s first female federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, I’m passionate about having more women as CEOs of food or farm businesses, in boardrooms, and in science. The full participation of women is critical to the future of the sector.

What advice would you give to young women who are just entering the agriculture field

I recently held a virtual roundtable with 14 really impressive female entrepreneurs in agriculture from across Canada. We discussed their personal experiences and identified gaps that prevent women’s full participation in the sector. I truly believe that if women had the tools and mentorship they need to be empowered and succeed, the sky’s the limit. Through our new Canadian Agricultural Youth Council, we’re bringing bright young women and men to the leadership table.

What challenges do women still face in the agriculture industry?

I was an entrepreneur before I entered politics. For 20 years, I‘ve been a co-owner of a campground in my region. I know the barriers women can face as business leaders, be it mentorship opportunities, access to loans, or juggling childcare and family. It can seem so overwhelming! I’m very proud of the new Women Entrepreneurship Program which, through Farm Credit Canada, has already helped over 1,400 women to realize their business ambitions.

What role will the agriculture industry play in Canada’s road to economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic?

This year, Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector has proven its strength and resilience in the face of a global pandemic. As a leading driver of jobs, GDP, and exports, it now has an opportunity to be at the centre of the relaunch of our economy. Our vision is for a world-leading industry that’s sustainable economically, socially, and environmentally.

What excites you about the future of the agriculture industry?

There are so many exciting elements, not only on the horizon, but already happening today! Canada has all the right ingredients to be a world leader in sustainable agriculture, from our innovative crops and technologies to our strong culture of science, and, of course, our world-class producers — women and men alike. The possibilities are truly endless.

The post Women in Farming with the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Tamara Balan

Chief Operating Officer, CivicAction

Dean Delpeache

Senior Talent Acquisition Manager, Fiix Software

Fiix Software has seen a shift in its workforce toward increased diversity, creativity, and engagement. Dean Delpeache, Senior Talent Acquisition Manager at Fiix Software, attributes this to hiring more youth. “We believe that youth bring a certain type of creativity and vision to our business. They may not be as experienced, but they bring a form of innovation, and that contributes to improving our bottom line,” says Delpeache.

To learn how to attract and retain young talent, Fiix became a CivicAction HireNext Employer. CivicAction is a non-profit organization that boosts civic engagement through programs that address social and economic challenges in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and beyond. In 2018, it launched HireNext to help employers find and develop young and diverse talent.

Free tools provide actionable steps

A historic number of youth, a historic number of youth are seeking jobs and employers are looking for ways to tap into creative, diverse thinking to figure out how to operate and thrive during the pandemic. Having the right tools to connect with a broad and diverse young talent pool has never been more relevant.  

HireNext is a set of free, made-in-Canada tools to make sourcing, screening, and onboarding for entry-level candidates more inclusive and efficient. Organizations can take a brief online questionnaire to assess their human resources (HR) practices and receive three recommendations tailored to their organization. They can download a free guide that shares best practices and provides recommendations for hiring and retaining young talent. Templates and other resources help users implement the recommendations. As they move forward, organizations can track their progress and receive new recommendations.

“It’s been absolutely fantastic,” says Delpeache. “[HireNext] really helped us bring youth into our organization and opened channels for communicating and working with young people. The youth we’ve hired have brought amazing expertise, outperformed our expectations, and contributed to our bottom line.”

The first step Fiix took was changing the language it uses in job descriptions. “For example, if you write ‘we’re looking for a strong leader,’ a young person may not think they have enough experience,” says Delpeache. “So, using phrases like ‘someone who’s creative,’ or ‘someone who looks at problems differently,’ helps attract youth.”

For some jobs, Fix doesn’t specify the necessary years of experience, which encourages candidates with little experience or transferable skills to apply. Other recommendations from HireNext include recruiting youth through platforms like Instagram and Snapchat or asking for short essays and skills assessments rather than resumes.

Program helps eliminate barriers

“HireNext aims to help young Canadians overcome challenges in accessing great first jobs and to help employers access the talent they need to thrive and position themselves for the future,” says Tamara Balan, Chief Operating Officer at CivicAction.

Balan says this is especially important because of the high youth unemployment rate in Canada. Some groups, including those who are racialized, living in poverty, LGBTQ2S+, and those who are differently abled, face even bigger challenges due to structural and systemic barriers.

“It’s economically and socially important for employers to open up opportunities for youth. Employers should be thinking about building hope for young people,” she says. “And there’s a lot of evidence that more diversity and inclusion in the workplace delivers better returns for companies, financially and in employee engagement.”

“HireNext is a great chance for employers to examine their current practices and make specific changes to give young people access to opportunities, and to attract the young talent they’ll need to grow and thrive.”

The post CivicAction’s HireNext Helps Companies Offer Opportunities to Youth appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Akinkunmi Akinnola

Senior Manager of Marketing, Communications, and Events , Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion

Uber driver. Contact centre worker. Cashier.

These are not just job listings to be found posted on a shop window along the Danforth. These are frontline work opportunities often contemplated by seasoned newcomer professionals — doctors, lawyers, and senior managers after the first few months of searching for work in a job market that is neither impressed by their expertise or experience in the formal sectors of their birth countries.

These are respectable jobs and truthfully, in the age of pandemic, the importance of these jobs and the need to respect and empathize with the women and men who execute them cannot be overstated. These are not jobs envisioned by newcomer professionals for career growth when applying to the Express Entry program. This program scores migrants and invites them to become permanent residents on the basis of their skills sets, language proficiency and formal sector employability.

Few of these newcomers embark on job searches in a new country with plain naivety. It is sensible to expect that you could spend up to six months searching for work that is consistent with your professional pipeline in a new job market on the other side of the world. Many newcomers (especially racial minorities) say what they could never have anticipated are the number of false starts, invisible racial barriers, and the opaqueness of the talent selection process especially when via online application.

A lack of government intervention

In February this year, Marco Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, spoke about the importance of immigration for Canada’s economic development at the Canadian Club Toronto.

Invited guests, were given an opportunity to submit questions to the minister at the end of his speech. The minister was asked why there is a large invisible economy of visible minority permanent residents with globally recognized MBAs or PHDs and impeccably spoken English working for minimum wage at call centres or supporting themselves in the ride-sharing sector. How exactly is the Canadian economy ever expected to benefit from their skill sets when private sector recruiters and job search algorithms generally do not even consider job applicants who have no prior Canadian corporate experience?

The minister responded that the current failures of the immigration system where newcomers are concerned is something which ought to be strongly addressed at the provincial level. This would require provincial MPs and offices of state to work closely with jobseekers to help them assimilate and find work in Canada at a level commensurate with their skills and experience.

Some felt his answer was eloquent but unsatisfactory. He was right when he explained that the future of Canada hinges on immigration and that Canada should not be asking how many immigrants are too much, but rather how many people are needed to guarantee a prosperous future.

This sort of rhetoric is ironic considering the government (whether at municipal, provincial or federal level) has a perceived blind spot on the plight of newcomers who are struggling to crack the glass ceiling required to achieve the Canadian dream and settle into ‘Bay Street bourgeoisie bliss’.

Systemic barriers pose a massive challenge for newcomers

No one seems to be particularly curious as to why Uber drivers in Toronto for instance, largely tend to be people of colour or why when you have conversations with them they reveal experiences and academic merits which would probably have placed them in a different line of work if they were members of the dominant race group or Canadian born. In fact newcomer professionals driving Ubers in Toronto has become such a cultural norm it’s spurred a joke which goes, the best place to have a heart attack in downtown Toronto is in an Uber, because your driver is likely to be an immigrant doctor.

What the joke doesn’t reveal is that that doctor is also likely to originate from an African or Asia-Pacific group country.

A 2019 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada data report shows that in 2019, the largest number of ITA (Invitation to Apply) for permanent residency recipients came from India, Nigeria, China, Pakistan, the UK and Brazil respectively. Newcomers to Canada are predominantly racialized so it stands to reason that the structures that exist to keep them from socio-economic mobility are fundamentally racially discriminatory too.

A secretly recorded interview with a Nigerian call centre worker in Toronto revealed some gross inequities which occurred at the start of COVID-19 when employees — almost overwhelmingly black or brown  — were being asked to report to work long after the government had declared a lockdown across Canadian workplaces.

Considering this company is white owned but largely staffed by racialized newcomers who are micromanaged and exploited for their newness and vulnerability, it was often described as a Bay street sweat shop.

The talent recruitment model is designed to recruit well spoken, highly educated newcomers for minimum wage because they are new, and desperate to settle for less due to the dispiriting experiences in search of formal work. Frankly, if call centres were such a desirable place to work, there would be many more white employees.

Newcomers aren’t just being denied entry to the rarified, white-collar world of the formal economy. A 2018 BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada) report found that about 40 per cent of Canadian small and medium sized businesses are having trouble hiring new employees, a direct link between a shortage of workers and slower growth in sales, and that the sectors facing the strongest headwinds included manufacturing, retail trade and construction.

Ironically, the study also found entrepreneurs in these sectors were least likely to consider hiring newcomers to fill those gaps.

Whatever the terminology, xenophobia or structural discrimination, it demoralizes ambitious newcomers and limits their potential to significantly contribute to the Canadian economy as upwardly mobile middle-class professionals.

It would be interesting to get recruiters and HR professionals to explain why they might be less inclined to select the resume of a newcomer for job consideration even if such a person went to universities that outrank University of Toronto (Canada’s best) on the global rankings or has worked internationally in countries as technologically advanced and culturally diverse as Canada.

The Canadian hiring manager’s fear of the unknown is highly insidious but very effective when it comes to perpetuating exclusionary practices which continue to harm qualified newcomers the most. It makes racial minority jobseekers internalize the belief that race could be a hinderance to achieving dreams and realizing ambitions to which they are perfectly entitled.

If Canada is ever going to realize the full potentials that come from economic migration, it needs to come to terms with a clear and present danger that pervades the talent recruitment eco-system. It requires a call to action so that professional newcomers are being positioned for work in sectors where they can grow the economy and bring robust benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion to bear on a sustainable, national scale.

The post How the Canadian Job Market Marginalizes Newcomer Talent appeared first on HiveInnovates.

The Canadian Women’s Foundation is striving to transform Canada’s STEM sectors by working to end gender stereotypes, build impactful mentorship opportunities, and set up workplaces for success to lead to more effective, and gender equal, STEM fields.

In Canada, women are now graduating from university in strong numbers. But in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), traditionally male-dominated sectors, women made up only 34% of bachelor’s degree holders. Only 23% of workers in science and technology between the ages of 25­–64 are women.

We need to take intentional action to open the doors to STEM for women and Two Spirit, trans, and non-binary people. We need to transform this field for gender equity because equity makes everyone’s work and lives better and builds sector innovation and effectiveness. Here’s three things we need to do to break the gender barriers in STEM.

End gender stereotypes

Widespread stereotypes and biases affect us personally and collectively. They impact what we believe is possible and influence what we tell our children and youth are possible.

Why aren’t more girls interested in pursuing STEM careers? Research suggests that it’s linked to gender biases. The persistent stereotypes are that boys are better than girls at math, and that scientists are mostly white men, and this keeps many girls from pursuing their interests. Some studies show that girls as young as 6 have gendered ideas about intelligence and who is best-suited to these careers. And it can influence boys to grow into men who don’t help nurture safe, welcoming STEM spaces for everyone.

This is why the Canadian Women’s Foundation prioritizes building STEM and leadership opportunities for diverse girls. We want girls all over Canada to have a chance to envision themselves as STEM leaders in safe, supportive learning environments.

For example, we support TechGyrls, a girl-led group that fosters enduring interests in STEM (they built a prosthetic hand with a 3D printer), and Les Scientifines, a girls’ group that has been pushing for girls’ STEM development in the pandemic through virtual workshops in chemistry, math, physics, and botany.

These are the kinds of fun and exciting community programs that really work to show girls they can achieve any dream.

Build intentional mentorship

Mentorship, apprenticeship, and guided practice has been a staple in many fields for hundreds of years. It has trained and encouraged and opened doors for many — but its benefits have been closed off to many people, too.

Formal and informal mentorship is understood to be a key component in growing inclusive leadership, and diverse women and equity-seeking people have been cut out of mentorship opportunities in many fields. It’s not hard to see why this happens, given who tends to be in the position to do mentoring and who they’re likely to believe has promise and can be “taken under their wing.”

This is why the important function of mentorship can’t be left to “just happen.” We have to invest in intentional mentorship programs and opportunities with a gender equity lens in male-dominated fields like STEM. And we need leaders who prioritize this and are held accountable when they don’t foster it.

Patch the leaky pipeline

Getting women and girls into STEM is just the start. Sexism, racism, and other forms of systemic discrimination, as well as a lack of good growth opportunities and life supports, can make STEM workplaces unsuitable and even hostile for women and gender-diverse people. At the same time, we encourage them to make inroads into these fields — we can’t set them up to fail in bad workplaces and get pushed out in practice. They won’t last in these circumstances, let alone be able to rise to the ranks of leadership and affect organizational change.

It’s not just about hiring biases. Look at workplace politics, practices, and policies. For example, does the workplace have strong parental leave policies? Are people punished for having caregiving responsibilities? Are anti-harassment and anti-discrimination measures in place, and do they actually work? In meetings, whose voices are heard and taken most seriously? Is the workplace all talk and Twitter when it comes to equity and inclusion, but when you ask people about their experiences, it rings hollow?

Employers have a duty to foster their employees’ success across the length of their careers. And it’s not just a duty — it’s smart business practice to make workplaces safe and equitable spaces.

We have a long way to go, but fostering a gender-equal STEM sector will make things better for aspiring students, workers, workplaces, and the success and legitimacy of the field in Canada at large. This is a challenge we need to rise to.

During the pandemic, STEM development, leadership and confidence-building programs for girls are under threat due to interruptions, new costs, and closures. Contribute to the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s Tireless Together Fund to help ensure critical programs for diverse women and girls continue through the pandemic and in the recovery.

Andrea Gunraj is Vice President of Public Engagement for the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

The post Foster a Gender-Equal STEM Sector in Canada: 3 Essential Steps appeared first on HiveInnovates.

The Canadian Association for Girls In Science (CAGIS) is an award-winning club for girls aged 7­–16 that supports interest in science, technology, trades, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Chapters meet monthly to do fun hands-on experiments and activities. Usually, these events occur at the workplaces of our STEM experts but in response to the pandemic we’ve moved our meetings online and adapted our activities. There are loads of cool things to try at home with CAGIS Virtual, including app development, making your own ice cream, and even extracting DNA!   

Here are three tried, true, and kid-approved activities you can explore with your children to inspire some scientific thinking. These experiments are simple, but the concepts are big!

Incredible Ice Melt

When you take a piece of ice out of the freezer and place it on your kitchen counter, it melts, of course. The warmer the temperature, the faster the melt will occur. But did you also know that ice melts under pressure, even in cold temperatures? 

You can do a simple experiment to test this out. Take an ice cube and put it on a plate. With a pair of scissors, cut the ends off a cotton swab. Use the stick to press against the ice cube. With some pressure, it will take only a few seconds for the stick to start to sink into the ice. As soon as you release the pressure, the ice refreezes, and you may find you can lift the cube up by pulling on the stick. 

You’ll also have observed this phenomenon if you’ve ever gone ice skating. When you place your skate on the ice, the blade (and your weight behind it) exert pressure on the ice. This causes the top of the ice to melt — just while the blade is in contact — allowing your skate to glide across the slippery surface! 

Exploring Surface Tension

A super simple experiment with pepper helps to demonstrate the way a small amount of soap affects the surface tension of water. 

Fill a bowl with about an inch of water. Grind some pepper (or sprinkle pre-ground pepper) over the top of the bowl. Observe how the pepper floats on the surface of the water. 

Now dip a toothpick into some dish soap. You only want a tiny amount on the toothpick. Touch the toothpick to the water’s surface, right in the centre. You’ll notice the pepper suddenly darts to the edges of the bowl or sinks to the bottom. What’s happened?

The pepper flakes can’t dissolve in water. They float because water molecules tend to stick together. The effect of this is that the top layer of water molecules act like a thin elastic sheet — something we call surface tension. Soap breaks down that surface tension. This is one of the reasons we use soap for cleaning.  

Egg Trick

To do this experiment, you’ll need two eggs in their shells — one raw, and one hard-boiled. They look exactly the same, but with a little science knowledge, you’ll be able to tell which is which, without cracking them! 

On a smooth hard surface, give each egg a spin. Observe how they behave. You’ll notice that one egg spins smoothly, while the other one wobbles. 

The secret to telling the eggs apart is understanding the principle of inertia. Inertia is the tendency of objects to resist a change in motion. The inside of the hard-boiled egg is firm, so everything moves together, and it spins smoothly. But the raw egg has fluid in it, which resists the spinning motion applied to the shell, and causes the egg to wobble.

Membership in CAGIS Virtual costs $200 per year (and $50 for each additional sibling). This includes invitations to 24–28 virtual events per year. Sessions run most Saturdays at 11 a.m. EST (ages 7–12) and 1 p.m. EST (ages 11–16). Our one-hour events include a hands-on activity and time for questions, led by a STEM expert and a certified teacher.

The post No Lab? No Problem! 4 Ways to Explore Science at Home appeared first on HiveInnovates.

Dr. Na (Jenna) Jia

Program Chair & Associate Professor of Petroleum Systems Engineering, University of Regina

Dr. Kathryn Bethune

Professor of Geology, University of Regina

Women interested in STEM research, education, and careers can find a rewarding experience at the University of Regina.

The University of Regina (U of R) is located in the heart of the Canadian prairies in Treaty 4 Territory. At this vibrant university, women in STEM fields are playing important roles in research, education, and service.

U of R’s Faculty of Science is a thriving community of students and faculty, active in learning and discovery in all areas of fundamental and applied science.

The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science offers several rewarding fields of study that blend creativity and imagination with the science and mathematics of design and problem-solving. This programming also encompasses human factors of personnel and resource management, planning, and organization. 

The women leading the way 

Women in both faculties are doing amazing work at U of R.

Dr. Kathryn Bethune is a Professor of Geology in U of R’s Faculty of Science and a professional geoscientist. Her research pertains to Precambrian rocks — the oldest rocks in the world. “I deal with the field of tectonics, so we study the ancient processes that shaped the Precambrian shield of North America,” she says. “I also look at regional metallogeny and the controls of economic ore deposits — resources like gold and uranium.”

Dr. Na (Jenna) Jia is the Program Chair and an Associate Professor of Petroleum Systems Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science. “My current research area is the phase behaviour for unconventional oil and gas,” she says. “I’m also working on researching enhanced oil recovery.”

Both researchers and professors are helping to shape the world, and U of R has provided a backbone of support throughout their careers.

“I have a well-appointed research lab with great facilities to carry out the laboratory-based work that we do,” says Dr. Bethune. “I’ve been able to carve out a productive and meaningful career here at U of R.”

A wealth of opportunities 

There are a variety of exciting research opportunities available at U of R for undergraduate students, graduate students, and career academics.

“There’s a real interplay between teaching and research,” says Dr. Bethune. “When students are being taught by research-active people, they’re getting the cutting-edge knowledge in that discipline.”

“We also make a concerted effort to provide opportunities for our female students,” says Dr. Jia. “For example, I provide chances for some of my female students to present their work to external companies and other non-profit organizations and to take part in international conferences. This allows them to build up their confidence and encourages them to continue working in STEM fields.”

Graduate students have opportunities to work under the mentorship of high-quality researchers such as Drs. Bethune and Jia and to take advantage of U of R scholarship programs, including some that are designed specifically for women.

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These initiatives have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but as active members of the engineering community and thought leaders on issues impacting underrepresented groups, our volunteers have been discussing the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on segments of the engineering community.

Women, caregivers, students, Indigenous persons, members of remote or rural communities, new graduates, and new hires are amongst those most impacted. The burden of care, the lack of access to broadband internet, the inability to obtain employment, and the difficulty of fitting into a new team are just some of the challenges that members have shared with us.

The ABCs of diversity and inclusion

We know that inequities are present within Ontario and Canada’s engineering communities. Through our Breaking Barriers project, we identified various challenges facing women in STEM, such as feeling devalued and disrespected, lacking professional networks, and being underpaid. These same challenges have been echoed by members whose race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or ability differs from the majority of those employed within the profession. Unfortunately, during times of crisis, inequities are often amplified and those most negatively impacted are the underrepresented members of the community.

In November 2019, OSPE hosted the conference EDI Imperative: Changing the Profile of STEAM in Canada. Hamlin Grange, Founder of Diversipro, spoke of the importance of making diversity and inclusion part of your core value as an organization. Grange outlined three fundamental principles that drive an organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, called the “ABCs of diversity and inclusion”:

• Appeasement: Required due to an external or internal event, such as someone’s suing the company or there’s a human rights complaint.
• Business case: Determined that this will boost the bottom line based on market demands.
• Core value: Diversity and inclusion is part of your core business, therefore if it’s removed from any part of the business, it will fundamentally change the organization. The diversity and inclusion plan must connect and reflect the business strategy, otherwise, it will be deprioritized.

Creativity in times of crisis

Perhaps at no other time is the significance of making diversity and inclusion part of your core business more important than it is today. In times of crisis, organizations must make strategic and sometimes difficult decisions about their operations. When diversity and inclusion are considered add-ons to the organization rather than embedded in its core values, it’s easy for leaders to abandon their commitments and prioritize other areas of their operations.

However, research demonstrates that diverse and inclusive teams are more innovative, engaged, and creative in their work. In times of adversity, it’s imperative that organizations can bring together different perspectives to collaborate and solve new and emerging challenges. Organizations must remain open to new ideas and new ways of thinking. This will enhance creativity and ensure that employees feel engaged and valued. 

Understand, educate, and empower

As a result of COVID-19, leaders are under unprecedented pressure to make fast decisions and address a complex and evolving reality. The decisions those leaders make today will inadvertently impact the ability of their organizations to grow, attract, and retain top talent post-pandemic. Talent attraction and retention is a key element of success for any organization, without it, it is bound to fail.

Now is not the time to abandon your diversity and inclusion strategy — it’s time to unlock the potential of your workforce. As you work to improve operational processes and determine a way forward, consider how you can also improve this aspect of your operations.

Understand how employees are being impacted across your company

All employees do have equal experiences in times of crisis. Women may face the increased burden of having to take care of children or dependents, while also adhering to their demanding work schedules. Others may be facing mental health challenges due to increased isolation and disrupted schedules. Some may even be facing discrimination due to their ethnic background. Listening, being flexible, and showing empathy will help leaders navigate these circumstances.

Be aware of unconscious bias

Unconscious bias is an evolutionary mechanism that helps us make sense of the world we live in. According to the Harvard Business Review, “Research shows that when we’re stressed, we often default to heuristics and gut instincts, rather than making deliberate and goal-oriented decisions.” This often leads to exclusion and negative perceptions of underrepresented groups in the workplace. Understanding that this bias is present and challenging it when making important decisions will help you maintain a culture of inclusion.

Give a voice to everyone around the table

Members of underrepresented groups in the workplace may be less willing to share their opinions or perspectives. Creating a positive environment where everyone is given the opportunity to speak and share their opinions is crucial to generate creativity and innovation. Ensure that even when working remotely you provide every member of your team with the opportunity to speak. If you notice any of your employees are inactive during meetings, check in with them and determine a plan for engagement.

Andrea Carmona is Lead of Policy and Government Relations at the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.

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