The City of Edmonton’s Diversity and Inclusion Framework and Implementation Plan provides employees with the tools and support they need to identify and address systemic barriers and build a diverse and inclusive workforce. It gives employers the means to integrate diversity and inclusion values and practices into existing corporate processes, and to enable progress to be measured.
Based on best-practice research, the City’s Framework is unique; no other municipality across Canada has a similar commitment and plan to achieve diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Although the plan was created in 2007, significant developments in the City have resulted in changes to the Framework as recently as 2013. A statement of leadership goals regarding diversity, expectations of employee behaviors, and creating practices that optimize each employee’s potential, the Framework has been distributed and elements of the framework are incorporated in many business plans across the corporation.
“The first goal of the Framework is to have a workforce that is broadly reflective of our community,” says Candy Khan, Senior Diversity and Inclusion Consultant for the City of Edmonton. Part of the Diversity and Inclusion Framework involved creation of the Aboriginal Relations Office. “The city first saw an influx of Aboriginal peoples coming from the reserves in 2007, resulting in historic actions and documents, including the Urban Aboriginal Accord and Declaration, which outlines how we will work together in a collaborative fashion and with an understanding of their culture, needs and aspirations. The Aboriginal Relations Offices continues that journey, working to remove barriers to fulfilling employment, and providing tools and training that promote understanding and position employees
for success.”
The Framework also provides various lenses including Employee, Leadership, Communications and Policy Development, as well as a performance measurement table to measure the four goals.
