Celebrating Canada's Diversity by Karthik

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CELEBRATING CANADA'S DIVERSITY

How Companies Can Reimagine Leadership for Women There are clear, actionable steps that every company can take to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Vandana Juneja

he higher up the corporate ladder, the fewer women we see. That’s true in Canada and around the world. Consider the data: in Canada, men continue to hold over 90 percent of C-level executive roles. In 2021, women were only 52 of the 533 named executive officers among Canada’s publicly-traded corporations. Despite this, there have been some gains. In Canada, women accounted for slightly more than a third of all managers last year. The proportion of women in senior management roles globally grew to 31 percent, the highest number ever recorded. That’s meaningful progress, but there’s still a lot of work left to do to reach gender equity in leadership, especially at the highest ranks.

HERE’S WHERE COMPANIES CAN START: Secure commitment at the top

Prioritize sponsorship

Ensure that senior leaders, including the CEO, are committed to the intentional and hard work it takes to close equity gaps.

Sponsorship is an important career accelerator for women, particularly women from underrepresented ethnic or racial groups. Sponsorship programs can help build an inclusive leadership pipeline for organizations.

Measure what matters Commit to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measurement and transparency. Measure employees’ experience of inclusion. Measure and track board diversity, workforce diversity by employee level, and gender pay equality. Establish DEI targets and mechanisms for holding senior leaders accountable for progress.

Create equitable pathways Develop fair and transparent talent management systems and procedures to mitigate unconscious bias, including objective advancement criteria, specific and constructive feedback, and equitable allocation of high-visibility jobs associated with leadership positions.

Be flexible and practise empathy

Vandana Juneja Executive Director, Canada Catalyst

Make empathy a management practice. Empathic leadership improves inclusion, engagement, and retention and decreases burnout, particularly for women of colour. Understand what your employees need and design inclusive, flexible work options and hybrid work models to meet those needs. As we enter year three of the pandemic, I’m optimistic that we have an opportunity to reimagine the workplace and reimagine leadership. Let’s use this moment to drive equity for women.

Visit catalyst.org to learn more.

Publisher: Olivia Chiu Business Development Manager: Chelsea Siemon Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Content & Production Manager: Raymond Fan Designer: Kylie Armishaw Content & Web Editor: Karthik Talwar Contributor: Tania Amardeil All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve The Toronto Start or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.

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Immigrants like Grace make our country strong and more diverse. COSTI provides opportunities for success, helping to make Canada one of the greatest countries in the world. Visit costi.org to learn how COSTI’s language training and employment programs help employers like Grace create opportunities for talented immigrants.

Immigrants like like Grace makemake our country strongstrong and more COSTI provides opportunities Immigrants Grace our country anddiverse. more diverse. COSTI provides opportuni for for success, helping to make Canada one of the greatest countries in the world. success, helping to make Canada one of the greatest countries in the world. Visit costi.org to learn howhow COSTI’s language training and employment programs Visit costi.org to learn COSTI’s language training and employment programs help employers like Grace create opportunities for talented immigrants. help employers like Grace create opportunities for talented immigrants.

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Diverse Opportunities for Diverse Indigenous Dreamers and Creators The Aboriginal Financial Institutions supported by the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association provide diverse opportunities for aspiring and established Indigenous entrepreneurs. Shannin Metatawabin, ICD.D – NACCA Chief Executive Officer

lthough Canada celebrates a diverse society, many racialized and marginalized communities across the nation — including Indigenous communities — require support to ensure equitable prosperity. It's said that small businesses are the backbone of our economies. The Indigenous clients we support and celebrate are also the nerves that run through that spine and connect us to the lands we share and each other. Our master craftspeople weave and bead the earth into their products and costumers; Indigenous environmental monitors have served as the stewards of these lands since time immemorial; and our brands and stories are shaped by and espouse age-old traditions that are increasingly and finally being recognized under the banner of “progressive policy” such as equality of opportunity, person, and the lands that sustain us. The National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA) was formed in 1997 by a collective of Aboriginal Financial Institutions (AFIs), which in turn was created to address the lack of available capital to finance Indigenous small business development. NACCA supports and promotes the network, which today includes over 50 AFIs across Canada and our nations. Our Board of Directors is

100 percent Indigenous, and all entrepreneurs supported by the AFI network are members of a First Nation, Inuit, or Métis community.

Diversifying opportunity Our collective goal is to increase social and economic self-reliance and sustainability for Indigenous peoples and the prosperity of the Indigenous and Canadian economies. We believe that the best social program is helping people find employment. Small businesses in Canada provide 68.8 percent of the private labour force, so we can safely say that supporting Indigenous businesses will lead to large community social impact, including towards environmental, social and governance (ESG), and research is ongoing to understand its true and growing extent. Diverse streams of funding are offered for diverse Indigenous entrepreneurs, depending on their specific needs and circumstances. All are aimed at promoting prosperous and thriving Indigenous businesses with equitable access to capital and care. Over the past three decades, the network has provided around 50,000 loans worth over $3 billion, with a repayment rate of about 95 percent.

THE INDIGENOUS GROWTH FUND

he Indigenous Growth Fund (IGF) is a new $150 million investment fund that provides much-needed capital to small- and medium-sized Indigenous enterprises that have historically struggled to qualify for loans through traditional banking systems. The Fund’s innovative evergreen model — a first of its kind in Canada — offers institutional and social impact investors a direct vehicle to contribute to economic reconciliation and ensures that AFIs can continue to support their Indigenous clients in their communities, unlocking pent-up loan demand

for new and expanding Indigenous businesses. “Indigenous businesses are hungry for capital and so many of our business owners have great potential,” says Jean Vincent, Chair of the IGF’s Board. “That’s why our network pressed for the creation of the IGF.” Supported by current investors including the Government of Canada and Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, and Farm Credit Canada, the IGF has already begun investing in more Indigenous businesses and their unique visions.

THE INDIGENOUS WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM

n 2020, NACCA committed to increasing the number of Indigenous women entrepreneurs accessing financing through its AFI network by 50 percent, resulting in the launch of the new Indigenous Women Entrepreneurship (IWE) Program. Developed in partnership with Indigenous Services Canada, the IWE program provides even further marginalized First Nations, Inuit, and Métis women with distinctions-based and targeted support, including access to dedicated Busi-

ness Support Officers, workshops and training, and a new micro-loan fund. The IWE Program will help celebrate the Indigenous women making a difference in our communities, including those pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams. “Being able to offer tailored programs and financing to Indigenous women is an important step for NACCA and the network to ensure that women have access to equitable services,” says IWE Team Lead Magnolia Perron. “Our hope is that we can continue to offer this new program for generations to come.”

THE ABORIGINAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM

he Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program (AEP) promotes entrepreneurship in Indigenous communities and increases the number of viable Indigenous businesses. It provides access to both capital and business opportunities to Indigenous entrepreneurs and business owners and their broad range of entrepreneurial pursuits. The AEP provides equity support by reducing the business financing risk of projects. NACCA administers the program

and distributes the funding through its network of AFIs. Depending on their business proposal’s risk and estimated budget, Indigenous entrepreneurs are supported based on a viable financing package. The AEP provides funding to promote a culture of entrepreneurship, supports institutional development of the AFI network, as well as business advisory services and training, market development, advocacy activities, and more.

THE EMERGENCY LOAN PROGRAM WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

he Indigenous Business Stabilization Program was an Indigenous-specific stream of the Government of Canada’s Emergency Loan Program (ELP), created in response to the COVID-19 crisis to provide emergency support to Indigenous small business owners in meeting their immediate operating cash flow needs amidst pandemic lockdowns. The ELP was advocated for, developed, and delivered by

NACCA and the AFI network, providing over $155 million in loans and non-repayable contributions to over 3,000 Indigenous businesses, many of whom were not existing AFI clients and wouldn’t have qualified for programs being offered to other Canadian businesses, between April 2020 and June 2021. This support provided a vital lifeline to Indigenous entrepreneurs and communities throughout the pandemic.

For Indigenous, by Indigenous. The past cannot be changed, but what happens next year can be. “For Indigenous, by Indigenous.” The past cannot be changed, but what happens to our future generations can look very different. Over and over, our network has shown that Indigenous organizations are best positioned to serve as lenders to Indigenous businesses. If you are an aspiring Indigenous entrepreneur, find the right solution for you through your local AFI and at the Indigenous Prosperity Forum, taking place May 4-5, 2022, at the Hilton Lac Leamy in Gatineau, Que., on the unceded territory of the Algonquin.

Contact an AFI today at nacca.ca and learn more about the Indigenous Prosperity Forum. This article was sponsored by NACCA.

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Read more at innovatingcanada.ca | 3 Along with other communities on the James Bay coast, Fort Albany First Nation has embraced energy efficiency as part of a broader plan to manage resources in a sustainable manner.

Powering Progress: Indigenous Energy Leadership in Ontario Indigenous communities are increasingly playing an active role in Ontario's energy sector in the areas of conservation, generation and new, major transmission projects. Lesley Gallinger

e’re at a pivotal point in t he evolut ion of Ontario’s power system. One critical aspect of this transformation is the growing role played by Indigenous communities and organizations in the energy space. Now more than ever before, many Indigenous leaders across Ontario are pursuing projects that support greater energy independence and provide new opportunities. By developing generation and storage systems, becoming equity partners and leaders in major infrastructure projects, prioritizing energy efficiency as a way to reduce their carbon footprint, and engaging in important conversations about system planning, Indigenous communities are seeking greater autonomy and becoming catalysts for change. Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is supporting these leaders on their respective energy journeys. Through a variety of different programs and initiatives, we’ve spent more than a decade working with Indigenous communities and organizations to build local energy capacity, including skills and connections. While there's still work to be done, developing Indigenous capacity is an important step towards a longer-term goal of achieving fair, equitable, and inclusive participation in the energy sector. Ontario is already witnessing the rapid growth of Indigenous-owned and Indigenous-led projects and initiatives in a number of areas, often with funding from the IESO’s Energy Support Programs (ESPs). Indigenous energy leadership can be found across Ontario, but one initiative that stands out is the Wataynikaneyap Power

PHOTO COURTESY OF IESO

Project. Through an innovative partnership between 24 First Nations, Fortis Inc. and other private investors, this multi-year initiative will connect 17 remote communities in northern Ontario to Ontario’s high-voltage transmission system.

While there's still work to be done, developing Indigenous capacity is an important step towards a longer-term goal of achieving fair, equitable, and inclusive participation in the energy sector. To date, more than 20 unique communities and organizations that are part of this project have received over $5.7 million in ESP funding in the areas of energy planning, capacity building and project development, among others. This landmark project, whose name translates as “line that brings light,” is scheduled for completion by mid-2024. Communities are starting to be connected to the grid, and the project is already creating employment and development opportunities while improving the communities’ environmental performance.

In another example, Fort Severn First Nation — the most northern community in Ontario — powered up a 300-kilowatt solar energy system late last fall. This array is expected to significantly reduce the community’s diesel consumption and deliver more than $300,000 in annual energy savings, which will be used to build much-needed housing. In addition to delivering economic and environmental benefits, this project has also created well-paying jobs in the community. Going forward, residents hope to build on the progress made to date by installing solar panels on other band-owned buildings and developing wind generation. Developing the energy leaders of today and tomorrow is an important aspect of this work, and a vital contributor to long-term success. In partnership with Opiikapawiin Services LP and Relay Education, we will launch the Plugged in to a Brighter Future program this year. This program will provide hands-on training to youth in Wataynikaneyap owner communities with the goal of building their energy knowledge and developing their skills for future employment in the energy sector or a related field. A reliable supply of electricity can power opportunity. Indigenous leadership is an essential component of Ontario’s clean energy transition — and the momentum for change continues to build, delivering valuable results for communities and for the province as a whole.

Lesley Gallinger President & CEO, Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)

Visit ieso.ca/ get-involved/ indigenousrelations to learn more. This article was sponsored by the IESO.

Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Through the Joy of Sailing In 1998, the Broad Reach Foundation for Youth Leaders was formed to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Toronto sailing community.

W Randall Withell

ith only one sailboat, the sailors who launched the Broad Reach Foundation for Youth Leaders were determined to change the complexion of the sailing community in a completely innovative way. They would reach out and engage under-served youth who had never had the opportunity to step aboard a 40-foot sailboat with a 60-foot mast.

Sharing the value of sailing The founders understood the many barriers that prevent BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and underserved youth from experiencing the sport, science, and adventure of sailing and from gaining the values that can be developed through the discipline of sailing — values that can shape and enrich a lifetime. The first barrier is economic. So, for almost 25 years, Broad Reach has provided our Summer A-Float programming absolutely free of charge. We remain the only sailing-based charity in Canada whose programming is free for everyone who participates.

Celebrating diversity, equity, and inclusion In 2020, increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion remains at the heart of Broad Reach. Our program participants are recommended by almost 40 social agencies that support underserved youth. They represent cultures from the Middle East, Pakistan, the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan, India, and the First Nations. And 60 percent of our participants are females between the ages of 13 and 29. Some of our youth are in difficult circumstances: on the street, in conflict with the law, living in homeless shelters, experiencing inter-generational tensions, or dealing with the challenges of autism or epilepsy. But everyone is welcome, and everyone is given the opportunity to discover skills that they never knew they had, or to start their progress toward a new horizon that they never knew was possible. And, just as our participants celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion, so our leadership team also demonstrates those principles. Our current President of the Board, Charles Waterman, is a dedicated sailor who brought

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BROAD REACH FOUNDATION

his talents to Toronto from Barbados. He’s the first Black President of any sailing-based charity in Canada, and he leads a Board whose volunteers include women and men from the Far East and the Indian sub-continent.

Expanding our reach Today, our mission and vision remain the same, but our revised name, Broad Reach Canada, reflects our ongoing progress. Since 2017, our digital and hands-on programming has expanded to include 6,000 participants on the East Coast, in the St. Lawrence, on the Great Lakes, and on the Pacific. We now have four vessels in Toronto and partnerships with seven tall ships. But we didn’t stop there: in 2021, one of our participants was from as far away as Nunavut! We think that speaks strongly to our success with increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion among wind, wave, and water.

Looking for work? We can help! ACCES assists jobseekers from diverse backgrounds facing barriers to employment, to integrate into the Canadian job market. We provide customized employment services that meet your unique needs and we help you to build connections with employers who are hiring.

Please contact our CEO Marguerite Pyron at marguerite. pyron@ sailbroadreach.ca or 416-850-5755 to learn more about Broad Reach Canada.