At the City of Ottawa, the commitment to diversity and inclusion is deeply embedded in the culture of the organization.
“We are championing, at the most senior level, a diversity and inclusion plan based on best practices and feedback from staff,” says Donna Gray, general manager of the Community and Social Services Department. “We have taken a people-first approach, informed by what matters to our employees with concrete actions at all levels of the organization.”
Ideas flowed from employees to senior leaders through a variety of channels, says Gray, including chat groups, diversity cafés, where employees come together to learn from the lived experiences of others, and affinity groups – employee networks based on common social identity. There are five at the City – City Employees from India, the Diverse Employee Network, Employees with Disabilities, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Affinity Group, and women.net
The City has launched a range of initiatives to put the diversity and inclusion plan into action, including the creation of the Gender and Race Equity, Inclusion, Indigenous Relations and Social Development Service. Sawsan Al-Refaei, a native of Yemen, joined the organization in July 2019 as the City’s first women and gender equity specialist after 10 years working for the United Nations in the Middle East.
“My work involves raising awareness of and building capacity to advance women and gender equity for City staff,” says Al-Refaei. “In addition, I provide technical support to City staff on ways to remove systemic barriers facing immigrant and refugee women and women living in poverty. The City is committed to inclusive services for our most vulnerable populations.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gray’s department dispatched staff to priority neighbourhoods to ensure that the needs of vulnerable and marginalized groups were being met. In some cases, they held community meetings, in others they went door to door in community housing complexes.
“We hired young people to work as ambassadors alongside outreach staff in priority neighbourhoods. This not only provides development opportunities for young people, but also allows us to hear diverse voices and support residents most affected by the pandemic,” says Gray.
Al-Refaei also contributed to the department’s COVID-19 response. “I worked closely with City departments and Ottawa Public Health to make sure that everyone had access to information around equity implications of COVID-19,” she says. “One example of actual change happening to meet equity needs is the translation of COVID-19 fact sheets into six different languages.”
As part of its diversity and inclusion plan, City departments participate in the Youth Futures program to engage with young people from priority neighbourhoods. “That’s a great way for us to recruit young talent and help them understand how the workplace is supportive of diversity and inclusion,” Al-Refaei says.
The City is also trying to recruit more women into traditionally male roles such as firefighting and operating heavy equipment. Ottawa Fire Services has a well-established program called Camp FFiT (Female Firefighters in Training) for young women, ages 16-19. It exposes them to firefighting basics and the potential of a career with the service.
Meanwhile, the Public Works and Environmental Services Department is looking at establishing a general labour pool program to help women and racialized individuals who are less represented in the departments to fill entry level positions through which they will have an opportunity to train and obtain their heavy equipment operator’s licenses. “As a municipality, there are so many different career opportunities,” says Gray. “Every service is unique, so our recruitment strategies have to be targeted.”
