What are the critical factors to help organizations address unconscious bias and how can IEC-BC increase the capacity of BC employers to achieve their diversity & inclusion goals? These were some of the key topics discussed by the members of IEC-BC’s Employer Advisory Group (EAG) at the meeting on June 6.
The keynote presentation on a measurement-based approach to fostering an inclusive culture was delivered by Wyle Baoween, CEO of HRx Technology Inc. He spoke about the importance of diversity & inclusion (D&I) as part of a company’s business goals and presented ways to analyze and assess HR data to measure D&I performance.
Since IEC-BC works primarily with small and medium enterprises (SMEs), EAG members recommended that it use various convening opportunities to boost organizational awareness of and capacity to deal with unconscious bias.
The EAG was created in June 2017 to identify effective strategies to increase the labour-market attachment of immigrants in BC and inform the development of IEC-BC programs to boost employer capacity for a workforce with participation of immigrants. Identifying strategies to overcome unconscious bias and developing tools for effective immigrant onboarding were identified as key priorities for 2018.
Following the June meeting, the group members recommended that IEC-BC develop a “train-the-trainer” workshop on unconscious biases.