It might be a young man who identifies as 2SLGBTQI+ bringing his same-sex partner to a company event; or a stressed worker who takes time out to decompress in the company's quiet room; or a new Canadian who feels empowered by the support she's found in an employee resource group (ERG) to take the next step in her career.

For Carrie Haggerty, director, global search engine optimization and co-chair of the Indigenous Peoples & their Allies ERG at Manulife Canada, feeling safe at work is paramount.

"I can tell you why it's important for me as a diverse human to be able to go to work authentically – and that's safety," says Haggerty, a Métis who identifies as two-spirited. "Just like your home is your safe space, your workplace is also your safe space. I get to bring my authentic self to work every day, which makes me happy, and then I get to share that with my colleagues."

Michelle Joy Rafat, assistant vice-president of DEI for Manulife Canada, says nothing is ever perfect – it's a journey that keeps progressing – but the company has really tried its best to make all programs and processes as inclusive as possible.

"Shared ownership and leadership commitment drives the DEI work including our functions in talent acquisition, talent management, performance development, total rewards and more," says Rafat. "There isn't a one-size-fits-all option in DEI. That goes for our products and services as well as the way we give back to our communities. We really do stop and think about how investments are made and their impact."

With a long-standing DEI history behind them, Allyson McElwain, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Vancouver-based TELUS Communica-tions Inc., says DEI is inter-woven not only into the company's values, but in the way it operates as an organization. Recently, the company refreshed its DEI management.

"Throughout the pandemic, we started seeing some social inequities and racial injustices highlighted across society," says McElwain. "So we took a step back to really dig in with our team members to understand what we were doing well, how we could support them better and evolve the strategy to make sure we were creating the most supportive and inclusive environment, so that they could show up as their best selves on a daily basis."

More recently, what McElwain is seeing in terms of DEI's evolution is a focus on intersectionality across its Telus resource groups (TRGs) as well as a shift in strategy as the company becomes more and more global.

"We're at a really interesting and exciting pivot point right now where there's a lot more interplay happening across our TRGs - recognizing that our team members are not just one thing and celebrating their intersecting identities," says McElwain. "The other is our global portfolio, which is a big undertaking. We've been having lots of conversations with our TRGs about how to start including our team members around the world.

"From a strategy perspective, we're rethinking what our programs will look like and how we can take our values and culture across the globe, while also recognizing and celebrating the local cultures that exist and being aware of whatever sensitivities are in that country."

Likewise, Rafat observes that as Manulife becomes increasingly global and diverse, there are a lot more issues leaders need to confront in DEI, including some they may not have been aware of before or have had to address in the past, so it's a lot of change management that involves learning, listening and reflection.

"I think the future will be more about inclusion and psychological safety than about diversity numbers," says Rafat. "It's also going to be a lot more relative to external environmental and societal change. Faith and religion, while a sensitive topic, is not really talked about as a diversity intersection. Given the high increase of Islamophobia, antisemitism and various hate-crimes against religion these days, that conversation needs to begin.

"We've already started that conversation in navigating religious diversity in the workplace with some questions: How do you create more accommodation? How do you support colleagues from various religious backgrounds? And how do you support cross-cultural allyship while removing the political pieces?

"As colleagues reflect on the unfairness in the world, they're starting to expect that their leaders, if they want to create a truly inclusive workplace, recognize that I have to be able to bring all of me - that includes the colour of my skin, my family, my identity and that also includes my religion or faith - or no faith."

Living in our increasingly multicultural society also has its own effect. When you work alongside someone who may be different from you - in gender, race or religion - you get to know them as a colleague, a person, a friend. That goes a long way in building a culture where everyone can feel they belong.

– Diane Jermyn

From the official magazine announcing Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2024), published March 5, 2024, and distributed in The Globe and Mail. All rights reserved.