The Globe & Mail – Diversity and inclusion in the workplace is a challenge – and an opportunity
This article is published in the Globe and Mail.
FoodShare Toronto recently started paying interviewees for their time to come in and talk about a potential job.
“It’s something that we had been thinking about for a long time,” says Paul Taylor, executive director at the non-profit food justice organization. “We’re doing everything that we can to centre justice and equity – and this just made a lot of sense.”
The company wants to compensate people for what Mr. Taylor says is “labour that’s been made invisible” – referring to unpaid work that goes unnoticed, unacknowledged and unregulated.
We tell companies this all the time: ‘Don’t shy away from DE&I conversations; your greatest strength is your people. So bring them to the table, have these conversations, learn from each other and hear their lived experiences.”— Marcie Hawranik, founder of DE&I strategy firm Canadian Equality Consulting
He notes that some job candidates need to take time off work to come for interviews, commute, or pay for child care. By paying people for their time, Mr. Taylor says FoodShare is helping make interviews more accessible, which ensures its work force is a more accurate reflection of the city’s socioeconomic diversity.
It’s an example of the ways companies across Canada are deploying new diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives in response to continuing calls for greater justice and equity in all facets of life.
FoodShare Toronto has many other DE&I initiatives, including a minimum wage of $24 an hour (Toronto’s living wage is $22.08) and benefits that begin when you start work at the organization. The company also has a set wage ratio, ensuring the highest-earning staff is paid no more than three times that of its lowest-earning staff.
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