Visions Journal

Roselene Dhaliwal, MEd, RD

Reprinted from the Is It Safe to Be Me? Creating inclusive and accessible workspaces issue of Visions Journal, 2024, 20 (1), pp. 5-7

As I prepared to write this article, I shared a historical fact with my partner. I asked if he knew that in 1919 British Columbia had passed a law to "protect" white women by making it illegal for Asian men to hire them and that the government did not repeal this law until 1968. This history shifted our conversation over dinner that evening, as he is an Asian Canadian working in the position of hiring manager.

For over 20 years, I have been a dedicated health promotion and inclusion practitioner. I started my career in health care and have worked across numerous settings to advance inclusion. Whether or not the term inclusion has been formally in my job title, I've been working to change policies, practices and systems so that everyone can achieve their full potential. Often, it starts with changing the conversation.

In 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement sparked a global reckoning. We witnessed the creation of many roles, across sectors, focused on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), plus justice, belonging, respect and decolonization (the terms and acronyms vary, depending on the sector). But many large corporations, non-profits, colleges and universities added these roles without any connection to their health and well-being portfolio; the responsibility for employee health often rests with human resources.

EDI is part of health

We know racism and other oppressive experiences are a determinant of health. A sense of belonging—a key factor for health and well-being—is also essential for inclusion. So how did it come to be that we have so many new colleagues in EDI who work entirely separately from a health and well-being agenda?

In my new role within the Canadian Mental Health Association's BC Division (CMHA BC), I focus on equity and inclusion. This role has helped me find my niche, as I see so many opportunities in the overlap between workplace health and well-being, and equity and inclusion. We can enhance our movement towards both when we see them as interconnected. When diverse employees feel they belong and can be their whole self in the workplace we are demonstrating progress towards equity and well-being.

Linking EDI and mental health in the workplace will look different depending on the size of your organization, your goals, strategic plan and business model, as well as who is in your organization. It's an important time to reflect on questions such as who makes up your team? Who holds senior leadership roles? Are they dedicated to prioritizing and resourcing these areas? One of our initial action items at CMHA BC was to collect data on employees' identities and experiences of inclusion. We asked ourselves as an employer, "Do we reflect the diversity in our province?" In some respects yes, and in others we have work to do.

I'm heartened by the initiatives of BC's Office of the Human Rights Commissioner (BCOHRC), which released the Employment Equity Toolkit in 2022. They developed this tool because they acknowledged that "more than three decades after the term 'employment equity' was coined, the effects of systemic discrimination continue to be seen across the labour market."¹ The toolkit covers an introduction to employment equity and five topic areas to help employers move towards achieving employment equity: accommodations, compensation, data collection, complaint resolution and hiring and promotion.

In it, I saw data that reflected my own experiences: racialized people experience a pay gap and senior leadership positions lack representation by racialized women. I feel privileged to be in the role I am in within CMHA BC. Throughout my career, however, I've had to work harder than my white counterparts to achieve the same positions. This reality underscores the importance of continued efforts to bridge the gap between equity and inclusion and health and well-being in the workplace.

Legislation and policy shape equity

It is also an important time to think about legislation. We have heard about legislation in Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick impacting trans youth, and I am concerned about future impacts. And in Canada we are not immune to the rhetoric that is challenging equity, diversity and inclusion.

In terms of employment equity, it has been more than 40 years since the federal Employment Equity Act was first passed in Canada. It is well known that the Act did not bring about the intended change; we are still working towards achieving employment equity. All the folks who did not get the promotion or who continue to work in multiple low-paying, front-line positions that reflect employment inequities—have we ever asked them about how these experiences impact their mental health?

Equity within the workplace also means ensuring all of our team members can be their whole selves and equipping each of them with the supports to do so. This might include a flexible schedule to allow for caregiving responsibility or the ability to take days off that align with faith-based practices. Programs intended to support employees' mental health, such as employee assistance programs or employee family assistance programs, often represent a one-size-fits-all approach. The phone numbers and website to access such resources are shared widely within workplaces, but we also must acknowledge that these are based on a Western view of mental health. Support for mental health looks different depending on our identities. For me, I feel most supported in community, with folks who share some of my lived and living experiences.

I am hopeful that, with the BCOHRC toolkit and the recent activity of the Employment Equity Act Review Task Force (which submitted its final report to the Federal Minister of Labour in December 2023), change is on the horizon. The task force emphasized a framework required to achieve employment equity that includes "barrier removal, meaningful consultations and regulatory oversight."² I have provided my insights and thoughts to the federal team tasked with the Employment Equity Act Modernization. I remain hopeful that every worker who has identity factors that place them in an employment equity group is able to realize their full potential. And I am confident that this will have positive impacts on their mental health.

Talking about equity and mental health

Years ago, as I was being interviewed by media for Eating Disorders Awareness Week, I remember concluding my responses with, "We can change the culture by changing the conversation." I was previously not vocal about the employment inequities I experienced, but I have slowly been making a shift. They did impact my mental health, self-confidence and sense of inclusion. In teaching an undergraduate course on EDI as a visiting faculty member at SFU, I want to ensure that undergraduates have essential skills to bring into the workforce, and I am bringing my own examples forward, as well as the historical and current context in BC and Canada.

By acknowledging and addressing the interconnectedness of EDI and mental health, we can foster more inclusive, supportive and healthy workplaces. This approach not only benefits individual employees but also strengthens organizations, creating environments where everyone can thrive.

I invite you to reflect: Where are the intersections of equity and inclusion with mental health in your own life? Within your workplace? Are there ideas in articles you have read lately that caused you to pause? What about insights from your own experience or situations you have witnessed? When we notice the link between equity and mental health, all of us have the ability to contribute to change by changing the conversation.