Dignity for Diverity

Mission

Individual Identity Visibility: To advocate and advise, for the protection of volunteers and employees, who identity on any of the protected grounds of the Human Rights code in their jurisdiction, the right to wear symbolic items reflecting their individual identities, without refusal, removal, reassignment or retaliation in Canada

DEI Transparency: To advocate and advise organizations to have their DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies and procedures on their public website.

Rationale

Individual Identity Visibility: Diversity is not always visible. Issues, like Black Lives Matter, Pro-Choice, Pro-Life, Orange Shirt Day etc are very important but the focus here is on the individuals identity with respect to the protected grounds of the relevant human Rights Acts/Charters/Codes in Canada.

Ones Identity displayed should be a celebration not a target of hate. One should be judged, not on the identity displayed, rather by the actions in doing their job as a volunteer or employee.

Let us honor those activists and allies, past and present, who worked hard to include the enumerated grounds by proudly displaying ones identity while proudly doing ones job.

From 9 Things You Should Know About Leonard Bernstein:
A Teenager’s Respective by Caroline Zaget, August 23, 2018.

“In the early 1940s, during WWII, Serge Koussevitzky, the conductor of the Boston Symphony at the time, served as Leonard Bernstein’s mentor. He had converted to Catholicism from Judaism to avoid being discriminated against and advised Bernstein to change his name to “Leonard S. Burns.” He thought that having a less Jewish-sounding name could help Bernstein with furthering his career, but the young conductor responded, “I’ll do it as Bernstein or not at all”—and that’s just what he did.”

Like Leonard Bernstein, my name, my pride, my diversities will not be put in the closet. Nor should anyone else’s.
Peter Zanette

DEI Transparency: If an organization feels that it is safe and inclusive for one to come out of their “closet”, based on an protected ground, then it is incumbent that the organization come out of its corporate/community closet by posting on it’s public website their DEI policies and procedures.

A mission/values statement is like a rainbow sticker on a window. Both must be backed up by transparent, i.e. on the organization’s public website, policy and procedure

This includes type of proactive training to staff and volunteers and the reactive anti-harassment policies and procedures. The message sent to the volunteer/employee is that knowing that one can come out, when they are comfortable, knowing that they are protected as shown on the organization’s website. It protects everyone in that DEI transparency is accountable, consistent and not any single person’s version.

Having DEI transparency circumnavigates the constraints imposed by nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements.

Many protected grounds still have a social stigma therefor by having DEI transparency saves that unnecessary and sometimes embarrassing, phone call as to weather a particular protected ground is protected.

Getting to Here

Next Steps

The first step is to advocate amendments to the relevant Human Rights Code in your province or territory. Click on the link below.

Amending the Human Rights Act/Charter/Code

The second step is for organizations to develop a good policy. Click on the link below.

Suggested Organizational Policies

Contact Email

By sending an email below you agree to the above Mission statements.
Help and constructive suggestions are appreciated.
Hate speech will not be tolerated.

contact@dignityfordiversity.ca

Created August 27, 2023

Mission

Suggested Federal Member of Parliament Question.

Rationale

Getting to Here

Next Steps

Contact Email