Annual Progress Update (JEDI)

annual progress update

on Oxfam Canada’s work to grow as an anti-racist, feminist and inclusive organization

Introduction

Oxfam Canada is working toward a just and sustainable world by fighting inequality and patriarchy to end poverty and injustice. We are a feminist organization with a deeply held conviction that ending poverty begins with advancing the rights of women, girls and gender non-conforming people –in all their diversity. However, we cannot fight inequality, or end poverty and patriarchy, unless we understand and challenge intersecting systems of oppression –racism, colonialism, sexism, cissexism, heterosexism, classism, ageism, ableism, xenophobia and others – especially if they are present in our organization.

Oxfam Canada first established a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) committee (which later became the Anti-Racism and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee) in 2017. The committee’s work was guided by Oxfam Canada’s 2018 Feminist Principles. In 2021, Oxfam Canada released its Strategic Framework 2021-2025 with a clear commitment to grow as a feminist, anti-racist and inclusive organization, as well as the first Plan of Action on Anti-Racism, Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) 2021-2022. This Plan of Action focused on three main areas:

a) organizational strategy, internal culture, policies and systems;

b) ongoing learning and dialogue and

c) programming, outreach and advocacy.

The Strategic Framework 2021-2025 committed to publishing regular updates on actions taken in support of our anti-racism strategy. This report will look at the work undertaken by Oxfam Canada to support this action plan and identify next steps.

on Oxfam Canada’s work to grow as an anti-racist, feminist and inclusive organization

Oxfam Canada Staff Retreat 2022

Organizational strategy, internal culture, policies and systems

To ensure that our internal culture, policies and systems support an anti-racist, diverse and inclusive workplace, Oxfam Canada needs to articulate and demonstrate this goal in our organizational and operational strategies. We also need to examine our internal culture, policies and systems and identify where and how we need to change.

Transformation

Acknowledging the experiences of our staff is essential to growing as a feminist, antiracist, diverse and inclusive organization. Oxfam Canada’s present and past staff must feel heard, valued and respected. This is why we commissioned the independent study “Centering Accountability and Transformation – April 2022 JEDI report”, which examines the personal experiences of current and past (last five years) Oxfam Canada staff members, identifies systemic barriers to creating a culture of JEDI in our organization and provides recommendations to address the barriers.

The report identified Oxfam Canada’s strong commitment to JEDI, anti-oppression, feminist values and decolonial practice, but it also uncovered several challenges and important shortcomings in our organization:

• Missing infrastructure for sustainably embedding JEDI principles.

• Inconsistent application of feminist values.

• Organizational priorities, culture and practices significantly impacted by donor/funding relations and governance structures.

At the core of these issues, the report identified a) paternalism, white saviorism and white feminism both internally within the organization’s culture and practices, and externally with respect to the communities being served and b) colonial legacies, culture and practices of Oxfam Canada and Oxfam International and rooted in the international development/aid sector.

The report uncovered that current and past staff have experienced racism and oppression in the workplace at Oxfam Canada. Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) staff shared having routinely experienced covert or socially acceptable forms of prejudice, discrimination and oppression that feed into a culture of fear of reprisals. Examples included a lack of followup on accommodations required by staff; the minimization or dismissal of lived experiences; the dismissal of people’s ideas and the exclusion of people from relevant processes after they

Oxfam Canada’s work to grow as an anti-racist, feminist and inclusive organization

“Centering Accountability and

April 2022 JEDI report”

raised concerns. Respondents also reported experiencing microaggressions and being labeled as troublemakers after raising concerns. The report also highlighted how current and past staff felt that there was limited clear accountability and inconsistencies in dealing with issues when concerns were raised.

We must address our shortfalls. The consequences for not addressing them are too significant.

Progress highlights

Oxfam Canada took some important steps to support the refocusing of our organizational strategy, internal culture, policies and systems. We understand that baseline research and data are essential to monitoring progress. To that end, Oxfam Canada undertook several research efforts:

• We designed and launched our first demographic profile survey, providing vital information about the multiple identities of its staff.

• We commissioned the “April 2022 JEDI report” which outlined the experiences of past and present Oxfam Canada employees.

• We internally conducted an initial analysis of our work against the Center for Global Inclusion’s Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks. Oxfam Canada will continue to monitor our annual progress against the benchmarks with the hope of achieving a rank of progressive or higher in all categories by 2025.

From a human resources perspective, Oxfam Canada created a new Deputy Executive Director position mandated with advancing the organization’s commitment to growing as a feminist, anti-racist and inclusive organization. We adopted a new Board Composition and Nomination Policy, committing to improving board diversity. We are also working toward creating regular opportunities for Board Members to feed into the direction of our work on anti-racism and JEDI and identifying appropriate training and support needed for Board Members. Each department and the senior leadership team has developed an anti-racist and JEDI plan to be updated annually, and there are JEDI-specific goals integrated in our Performance Management System for all staff.

As an organization, we signed on to the Cooperation Canada sector wide anti-racism framework which outlines key commitments for change in administration and human resources; communications, advocacy and knowledge management; and program design, monitoring and evaluation.

Starting in 2023, Oxfam Canada will begin reviewing our internal policies and practices related to board and staff recruitment, professional development and management through a JEDI and anti-racism lens.

on Oxfam Canada’s work to grow as an anti-racist, feminist and inclusive organization

Highlights from Oxfam Canada Demographic Survey 2022

DIVERSITY HIGH POINTS

• Representation from Women in our Board and in Staff at all levels.

• Representation of those who self-identify as Black and People of Color in Oxfam Canada staff (specially at non-management levels); within people hired in the last 2 years; and in Board.

• Representation from immigrants within our staff.

• High number of staff with indeterminate contracts

• Richness of languages, religions and countries of origin

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

• Representation from staff who have a (dis)ability or willing to disclose having a disability.

• Representation from staff who are First Nations, Inuit or Métis in both our Staff and Board.

• Representation from BIPOC in management levels

Representation from people under 24 years and over 45 years, especially over 55 years.

Representation from gender diverse people.

Ongoing learning and dialogue

Oxfam Canada must provide our staff and Board with ongoing learning and dialogue opportunities to understand and engage with our anti-racism and JEDI work and to apply an anti-oppression approach to all of our work.

Progress highlights

Senior management took the recommendations from the “April 2022 JEDI report” seriously. To encourage feedback from staff and provide an opportunity for discussion, the senior leadership team offered debriefing spaces and anti-racism and JEDI drop-ins to encourage meaningful conversations. They also held one-on-one conversations to delve deeper into the issues raised in the report. New staff are briefed on the “April 2022 JEDI report” and the work the Oxfam Canada is doing to address its findings.

Staff must continue to be engaged in this important work. Oxfam Canada resourced and supported staffled cross-departmental committees on Anti-Racism and JEDI, Indigenous Rights and Justice, Feminist Principles, and Organizational Culture. Furthermore, the Communications department conducted an ethical content gathering and storytelling training in 2021 and provided one-on-one coaching to program staff focused on Oxfam’s ethical content guidelines, on content gathering, management and use and on upholding the rights of people being photographed.

For dialogue to be effective, Oxfam Canada must build relationships with other like-minded organizations. Oxfam Canada focused on building relationships with organizations led by and in support of BIPOC communities as part of its advocacy and public engagement activities:

• We invited a diverse group of activists from coast to coast at the annual Oxfam Summit.

• We funded various BIPOC initiatives in Canada through our SRHR community support fund.

• We provided financial support to several organizations driving forward feminist, anti-racist agendas as part of our in-Canada programming (Colour of Poverty – Colour of Change, Black Women in Motion, the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, the National Congress of Black Women Foundation and the Assembly of Seven Generations).

Oxfam Canada’s Bargaining Unit –Contributing to anti-racism and JEDI

CUPE Local 2722, Oxfam Canada’s bargaining unit (BU), has advanced several initiatives to respond to and reflect on the “April 2022 JEDI report,” including the following:

• Convened a biweekly, dedicated, informal and optional space for BIPOC BU members to talk about JEDI. The space was created in response to expressed member needs for a safer space to discuss JEDI in their work environment.

• Gathered BU member input on JEDI as part of the BU’s preparations for collective bargaining.

• Socialized with the BU membership CUPE National’s newly adopted Anti-Racism Strategy.

• Encouraged the BU membership to participate in CUPE National’s “Let’s Connect: A national space for Black, Indigenous, and Racialized CUPE members” online event.

• Socialized CUPE National’s new guide, “Truth and reconciliation: CUPE taking action through collective bargaining” with the BU membership.

• Continues to acknowledge that the Local is located on occupied, traditional, ancestral, and unceded

• Anishinabe Algonquin Territory, where Anishinabe and other Indigenous Peoples continue to live since time immemorial.

• Continues to address JEDI issues brought to its attention by BU members as they relate to the Collective Agreement.

on Oxfam Canada’s work to grow as an anti-racist, feminist and inclusive organization

Programming, outreach and advocacy

To improve the effectiveness of our programming, we must first improve our understanding of intersectional and anti-racism approaches. We must actively take steps to deliver and engage in policy research, advocacy, outreach and programming that is intersectional and anti-racist. This means learning from others, reflecting on our existing models and ways of working, analyzing, supporting, listening to and being guided by allies, and deepening and expanding our relationships and collaborations.

Progress highlights

We recognize that diverse perspectives are essential to ensuring our analyses are representative. Oxfam Canada increased the diversity of the Feminist Influencing Group. The group was included in the media briefing on the federal budget to ensure more diverse voices were included in the commentary. For the Feminist Scorecard 2022, Oxfam Canada consulted a wider range of allies to deepen the intersectional analysis and provided a platform for racialized, Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+ folks to share their analysis of the Liberal government’s progress.

Furthermore, Oxfam Canada conducted a cross-organizational review of Oxfam affiliate activities in support of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples and identifying lessons learned. We also approved a Plan of Action in support of Indigenous Rights outlining the steps we will take to further advance its agenda.

From a programming perspective, Oxfam Canada continued implementing our new project, Inclusive Child Care for All, funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) which aims to increase the voices and perspectives of racialized communities in policy discussions on child care and diversify the child care movement in Canada.

Decolonization

Our journey to walk the talk on our values and around anti-racism and JEDI cannot be limited to what happens within our organization but must also examine our contributions to changing the deep power imbalances within the aid sector and to getting resources directly to the local actors who are at the frontlines of the fight for social justice and human rights. This means changing our approach to partnerships, changing how we talk about and fundraise for our work and changing how we make decisions and spend the resources we are intrusted with. Oxfam Canada has committed to shifting power, influence and resources from North to South in its 2021-2025 Strategic Framework. We aim to achieve a greater global balance by ensuring that 70% of all net unrestricted funds are spent in the ‘Global South’.

Oxfam Canada’s work to grow as an anti-racist, feminist and inclusive organization

Oxfam, as a confederation, is actively involved in the Pledge for Change initiative that aims to rethink and work towards the decolonization of the global aid system. The Oxfam confederation is being challenged to shift its business model, rethink our understanding of partnerships and change the way in which they design programs, disburse funds, communicate and fundraise. The confederation has committed to becoming smaller, more nimble and closer to the activists driving change. Currently, of the 21 Oxfam affiliates, only 6 identify themselves as being from the Global South: India, South Africa, Mexico, Colombia, Turkey and Brazil. The confederation also committed to welcoming new affiliates like Oxfam Philippines and Oxfam in the Pacific this year.

There is still much for us to unpack to determine what this global shift means in practice: the implications for our departments and for us as a northern affiliate, and the way forward to not only devolve power, money and voice to local communities, but also to reinvent our role in building a just and sustainable world.

Oxfam Canada has created a separate Decolonization Working Group with representatives from various departments to provide advice on decolonizing our ways of working, shifting power and resources to partners and contributing to power shifts within the Oxfam confederation and the broader international development and humanitarian ecosystem. This group has its own Terms of Reference and will advance its own process while looking for ways to connect to the efforts of the other cross-organizational committees, particularly the Anti-Racism and JEDI committee, the Indigenous Rights and Justice Committee and the Feminist Principles Committee.

There are no easy answers or solutions to the very complex and deeply rooted challenges around decolonization, but we are committed to finding ways to accelerate these changes and make it sustainable. This will require recognizing that the work comes with several tensions and contradictions, as well the fact that as an organization we have a limited sphere of influence. However, we are committed to advancing this work, guided by the new Oxfam Canada Decolonization Working Group.

Internally, Oxfam Canada has been advancing conversations with staff regarding the decolonization of Oxfam Canada (including in all departmental retreats and the Oxfam Canada all-staff retreat). Furthermore, all staff participated in a workshop on decolonizing development led by PopWorks Africa and participated in conversations with Oxfam Canada’s Board of Directors on the history and future of Oxfam’s work as an anti-racist organization. Staff also participated in a session organized by the International Programs Department regarding localization vs. decolonization: a discussion on the differences and Oxfam’s role.

Oxfam Canada is also implementing international programming that reflects decolonized approaches. The International Programs Department is piloting changes to the way international programs are designed to ensure that more funds are allocated to country teams and partners and that they have greater ownership of the program design and objectives. We are also aiming to lessen the burden of GAC requirements on international partners.

on Oxfam Canada’s work to grow as an anti-racist, feminist and inclusive organization

The Women’s Voice & Leadership project IN GUATEMALA

This project (2019-2023) is led by the Tz’ununija’ Indigenous Women’s Movement in Guatemala with funding from Global Affairs Canada. Guatemala faces high levels of violence and widespread violations of women’s rights, which disproportionately impact Indigenous women. Through core funding, program support and capacity strengthening, Oxfam is working with Tz’ununija’ to support the strong, autonomous Indigenous women’s rights organizations best placed to advance gender and racial equality and Indigenous women’s rights in Guatemala.

For Oxfam, how we approach projects is just as important as their outcomes. Therefore, a key component of this project is shifting power to Tz’ununija’ to co-design and co-implement the project and the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) process for it. The result is an initiative led and owned by the Indigenous partner, and whose processes and tools entirely reflect their specific needs and worldviews.

The global Women’s Voice and Leadership program hints at what a decolonized approach to programming might look like: funding is partner focused rather than project focused, and the partners are defining the issues for which they want support. It was specifically designed to meet the needs of local women’s organizations and thus, enables such an approach.

https://www.oxfam.ca/publication/indigenous-women-rising-up

Oxfam Canada’s work to grow as an anti-racist, feminist and inclusive organization

Members of the San Luis Women’s Group, one of the 20 Tz’ununija’ member WROs participating in WVL-Guatemala, Alta Verapaz, 2019.

Conclusion

Oxfam Canada recognizes that not addressing our shortfalls has profound negative repercussions. These include adverse impacts on the physical and mental well-being of our staff; a low sense of belonging to the organization, especially among BIPOC staff; challenges to advancement for equity-denied groups; inter- and intra-departmental tensions; a deterioration of trust at various levels of the organization; a decrease in staff raising legitimate concerns out of fear of reprisal; and challenges in recruitment and retention, among others.

At the all-staff retreat of 2022, Oxfam Canada’s Executive Director apologized to our staff on behalf of herself, the senior leadership team and the organization for the harms staff experienced while working at Oxfam Canada, unacceptable under any circumstances, but particularly unacceptable in a feminist, social justice organization. The senior management team recognizes that the work the organization has been doing constitutes just the first steps in a long, hard and complex process to undo harm, address injustices and build a true culture of belonging and trust for all staff and a process towards decolonizing Oxfam Canada.

Our next steps include:

• Drafting a new strategy and action plan for 2022-2025 on anti-racism and JEDI.

• Developing a set of Oxfam Canada anti-racism and anti-oppression principles linked to a new version of our feminist principles and engaging our staff in discussions and sensitization on what it means to live up to these principles.

• Developing a new Anti-Racism and JEDI Policy for the organization.

• Implementing the Action Plan in support of Indigenous Rights.

In future reports, we will be reporting not only on the commitments that are yet to be fully realized from the 2021-2022 Plan of Action, but also on new commitments we will make for future Plans of Action. The work has just begun!