Sheridan partners with Pride at Work Canada to promote workplace inclusion for 2SLGBTQ+ persons

Sheridan College has partnered with Pride at Work Canada to develop new hiring and learning initiatives that further Sheridan’s ongoing efforts to foster a culture in which every person feels valued and respected.

Pride at Work Canada is a leading national non-profit organization that empowers Canadian employers to build workplaces that celebrate all employees regardless of gender expression, gender identity and sexual orientation. As part of the partnership, Sheridan now has a dedicated profile page on Pride at Work Canada’s website where individuals can learn more about Sheridan’s commitment to a diverse workplace. Current employment opportunities at Sheridan will also be featured in Pride at Work Canada’s job board database, increasing visibility of those opportunities for 2SLGBTQ+ (Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Gender Independent, Queer and Questioning) persons.

Additionally, the partnership will provide all Sheridan employees with access to free webinars and workshops about various 2SLGBTQ+ topics. Employees will be able to browse topics and register confidentially though the Pride at Work Canada webinars page.

“Embedding Inclusive practices across Sheridan’s Faculties and departments is a core institutional value that is concretized in Sheridan’s five-year strategic plan and central to our vision,” says Dr. Jane Ngobia, Sheridan’s Vice-President of Inclusive Communities. “This partnership with Pride at Work Canada will advance this commitment and help us remove burdens from our 2SLGBTQ+ colleagues who are often called upon to educate their peers on their lived experiences.”

Other steps Sheridan has recently taken to increase equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) include the mandating of unconscious bias, anti-oppression and anti-racism training for all employees; the commitment to hire six professors who self-identify as Black or Indigenous in the Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design over a two-year academic period; the launching of a scholarship program to promote recruitment and enrolment of Black and Indigenous applicants; the formation of partnerships with various youth-serving community organizations to better facilitate access and sightline to post-secondary education for underrepresented youth; a review of membership and terms of reference of Sheridan’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council to better reflect the diverse perspectives of the Sheridan community; quarterly reporting of EDI progress to Sheridan’s Board of Governors, whose meeting minutes are public; becoming a signatory to The BlackNorth Initiative; and the diversifying of boards and senior management positions to achieve gender parity and significant representation of other underrepresented groups.

“Sheridan recognizes that diversity fuels excellence, and I am tremendously proud of our ongoing commitment to embrace the richness of our community, foster a strong sense of connection and demonstrate respect for people’s rights to belong and have equal access to opportunity,” says Dr. Janet Morrison, Sheridan’s President and Vice-Chancellor. “We all share responsibility for cultivating an equitable and inclusive community within our spheres of influence. Together, we will ensure that dignity, individualization, integration and full participation are valued and respected across Sheridan.”