Are DEI initiatives done in the workplace?
A growing list of companies and institutions are moving away from diversity, equity and inclusion policies. But why?
Here in Edmonton, the University of Alberta announced it's changing to a new approach called "access, community and belonging." AIMCO eliminated 19 jobs including the DEI program lead last month.
On this week's episode of This Is Edmonton, host Clare Bonnyman speaks to CBC reporter Emily Williams about the move away from these initiatives, and what experts think of the changing attitudes toward these policies.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Sun
4 days ago
- Toronto Sun
HANSON: Why DEI was already dying
U.S. President Donald Trump walks on the south lawn of the White House and points up at the new flag on July 13, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Photo by Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump's executive orders banning Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI)-related racial and gender preferencing have ostensibly doomed the DEI industry. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account But DEI was already on its last legs. Half of all Americans no longer approve of racial, ethnic, or gender preferences. DEI had enjoyed a surge following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent 120 days of nonstop rioting, arson, assaults, killings, and attacks on law enforcement during the summer of 2020. In those chaotic years, DEI was seen as the answer to racial tensions. DEI had insidiously replaced the old notion of affirmative action — a 1960s-era government remedy for historical prejudices against black Americans, from the legacy of slavery to Jim Crow segregation. But during the Obama era, 'diversity' superseded affirmative action by offering preferences to many groups well beyond black Americans. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Quite abruptly, Americans began talking in Marxist binaries. On one side were the supposed 65-70% white majority 'oppressors' and 'victimizers' — often stereotyped as exuding 'white privilege,' 'white supremacy,' or even 'white rage.' They were juxtaposed to the 25-30% of 'diverse' Americans, the so-called 'oppressed' and 'victimized.' Yet almost immediately, contradictions and hypocrisies undermined DEI. First, how does one define 'diverse' in an increasingly multiracial, intermarried, assimilated, and integrated society? DNA badges? The old one-drop rule of the antebellum South? Superficial appearance? To establish racial or ethnic proof of being one-sixteenth, one-fourth, or one-half 'non-white,' employers, corporations, and universities would have to become racially obsessed genealogists. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Yet refusing to become racial auditors also would allow racial and ethnic fraudsters — like Senator Elizabeth Warren and would-be new mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani — to go unchecked. Warren falsely claimed Native American heritage to leverage a Harvard professorship. Mamdani, an immigrant son of wealthy Indian immigrants from Uganda, tried to game his way into college by claiming he was an African-American. Second, in 21st-century America, class became increasingly divergent from race. Mamdani, who promised to tax 'affluent' and 'whiter' neighbourhoods at higher rates, is himself the child of Indian immigrants, the most affluent ethnic group in America. Why would the children of Barack Obama, Joy Reid, or LeBron James need any special preferences, given the multimillionaire status of their parents? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In other words, one's superficial appearance no longer necessarily determines one's income or wealth, nor defines their 'privilege' or lack thereof. Third, DEI is often tied to questions of 'reparations.' The current white majority supposedly owes other particular groups financial or entitlement compensation for the sins of the past. Yet in today's multiracial and multiethnic society, in which over 50 million residents were not born in the U.S. and many have only recently arrived, what are the particular historical or past grievances that would earn anyone special treatment? Read More What injustices can recent arrivals from southern Mexico, South Korea, or Chad claim, as they would know little about, and have experienced firsthand nothing prior from Americans, the United States, or its history? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Is the DEI logic that when a Guatemalan steps one foot across the southern border, she is suddenly classified as a victim of white oppression and therefore entitled to preferences in hiring or employment as someone diverse or victimized? Fourth, does the word 'minority' still carry any currency? In today's California, the demography breaks down as 40% Latino, 34% White, 16% Asian American or Pacific Islander, 6% Black, and 3% Other — with no significant majority and whites fewer than the Latino 'minority.' Are Latinos the new de facto 'majority' and 'whites' just one of the four other 'minorities?' Do the other minorities, then, have grievances against Latinos, given that they are the dominant population in the state? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Fifth, when does DEI 'proportional representation' apply, and when does it not? Are whites 'overrepresented' among the nation's university faculties that are reportedly 75% white, when they comprise only about 70% of the population? Or, are whites 'underrepresented' as making up only 55% of all college students and thus in need of DEI action to bump up their numbers? Black athletes are vastly overrepresented in lucrative and prestigious professional sports. To correct such asymmetries, should Asians and Hispanics be given mandated quotas for quarterback or point guard positions to ensure proper athletic 'diversity, equity, and inclusion?' Sixth, DEI determines good and bad prejudices, as well as correct and incorrect biases. 'Affinity' segregationist graduations — black, Hispanic, Asian, and gay — are considered 'affirming.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But would a similar affinity graduation ceremony for European-Americans or Jews be considered 'racist?' Is a Latino-themed house on a California campus — that is de facto segregated — considered 'enlightened,' while a European-American dorm would be condemned as incendiary? In truth, DEI had long ago become corrupt. It is falling apart under the weight of its own paradoxes and hypocrisies. It is a perniciously divisive idea — unable to define who qualifies for preference or why, who is overrepresented or not, or when bias is acceptable or unjust. And it is past time that it goes away. — Victor Davis Hanson is a distinguished fellow of the Center for American Greatness. He is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author of 'The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won,' from Basic Books. Toronto Blue Jays Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Editorials Tennis
Toronto Star
05-08-2025
- Toronto Star
Westland Insurance recognized with two national honours for workplace culture and inclusion
Surrey, BC/Territories of the Coast Salish (Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen First Nations), Aug. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Westland Insurance announced today that it has received two national awards recognizing its people-first culture and equity-driven leadership. The organization has been named one of Canada's Best Places to Work for 2025 by Human Resources Director Canada (HRDC) and a 5-Star Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Employer by Canadian HR Reporter. These accolades reflect Westland Insurance's deep investment in building a high-performing, caring culture that supports employee growth, inclusion and purpose. 'These honours reinforce that putting our people at the center of everything we do is working,' said Keri Fraser, Chief People Officer at Westland. 'They reflect our ongoing commitment to building an employee-first culture rooted in inclusion, care, and high performance. Listening to and investing in our people remains central to our success. We'd like to dedicate both awards to our employees for making the organization a great place to work and an even better place to belong.'
CTV News
28-07-2025
- CTV News
5 Edmonton-area companies make Forbes list of best Canadian employers
A sign of the University of Alberta north campus. (CTV Edmonton/Evan Klippenstein) Five Edmonton-area companies are being recognized by Forbes for being Canada's 'best employers for company culture.' Forbes surveyed more than 40,000 Canadian-based workers employed at companies with at least 500 people. They were asked if they would recommend their employer to others and to rate it based on company-culture related topics such as fairness, inclusivity, and opportunity. 'For instance, participants were asked whether their employer recognizes good performance, encourages a healthy work-life balance, values input and ideas from employees across the organization, prioritizes collaboration among coworkers and provides avenues to advance,' the article read. Out of 200 Canadian companies listed, the University of Alberta came in at 28, ATB at 49, Stantec at 64, Edmonton Public Schools at 69 and Freson Bros. at 143. Université Laval in Montreal made the top of the list. Some other notable employers on the list include The Hershey Company, Enbridge, Nav Canada, Humber College and Desjardins. You can read the full list here.
