Equity Initiatives

Dimensions: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Canada (hereafter referred to as Dimensions is a Federal Government initiative led by the tri-council agencies – NSERC, SSHRC, and CIHR. It is designed to foster increased research excellence, innovation and creativity within the post-secondary sector in Canada across all disciplines, through greater equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). 

Dimensions consists of a Charter of Principles and a Pilot Program for post-secondary institutions seeking public recognition for their efforts in increasing EDI in their environments and across the research ecosystem.

Waterloo has endorsed the Charter of Principles and is participating in Dimensions as an affiliated institution, enabling access to a repository of tools and references as well as a community of practice on EDI.

In support of the Dimensions Project, the Equity Office is working to establish a Self-Assessment Team, an environmental scan of equity initiatives, processes, gaps, obstacles and barriers as well as a university-wide strategy for the collection and use of equity data.

For more information on the Dimensions Project, contact Tamara Zur, Project Manager, Equity Initiatives.

The Equity Office is working to improve the inclusion and celebration of religious and spiritual diversity on campus. This set of initiatives includes, but is not limited to:

• Working with the Registrar’s Office to develop a centralized academic religious accommodation process for students that is: clear, compliant with the Ontario Human Rights Code, and meets the needs of both students and instructors.
• Creating and enhancing opportunities for diverse spiritual and religious inclusion to build an increased a sense of belonging on campus.
• Establishing, maintaining and promoting a comprehensive list of religious and spiritual dates of significance, that can be used when planning events and academic requirements.
• Developing recommendations for increased spaces designated for spiritual/religious practices in key locations across campus.
• Supporting staff and faculty in accessing religious/spiritual accommodations that meaningfully reflect their needs and ensures compliance with the OHRC

Status and next steps: We are currently actively seeking feedback on dates of cultural significance.  We will be launching a survey and holding focus groups with our campus community to seek feedback on the other elements of religious and spiritual inclusion listed above.

For more information on the religious and spiritual celebration initiative, contact Emily Burnell, Equity Coordinator.

The University of Waterloo is committed to employment equity, an ongoing process to identify, prevent and remove barriers in the recruitment, selection and retention of faculty and staff. The Equity Office is focused on equitable recruitment and selection through the following key initiatives:

• Providing training to senior level hiring committees;
• Delivering in person and online training for selection committee members of faculty hiring committees, Canada Research Chairs (CRC), and Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC);
• Developing resources to assist with faculty hiring, including an Equitable Recruitment and Selection toolkit for faculty;
• Collaborating with Human Resources to embed equity in recruitment and selection processes for staff;
• Working with key stakeholders on campus to collect robust data that will help to identify, prevent and remove barriers in employment processes.

For more information on equitable recruitment and selection, contact Gina Hickman, Director of Equity.

The Equity Office aims to create more welcoming and inclusive spaces on campus. This may include, but is not limited to: 

• More spaces for spiritual or religious practices;
• More quiet rooms; 
• Accessible and inclusive classroom layouts;
• Guidelines on how to hold inclusive meetings and events;
• Access to spaces for breastfeeding/expressing breast milk on campus;
• More inclusive washrooms (e.g. physically accessible, gender inclusive, washrooms with bidets etc.);
• Access to free, or low-cost menstrual products across campus.

Status and next steps: The Equity Office will continue to pursue plans and actions to support more welcoming and inclusive spaces on campus and will engage with campus stakeholders throughout these processes.

For more information on Welcoming Spaces, contact Emily Burnell, Equity Coordinator.