Smart and timely analysis on diversity, equity, and inclusion topics, by Future of Good subject matter experts.
Canada is home to as many as 670,000 autistic people, many of whom find group settings overwhelming. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, many social good organizations are hosting meetings with coworkers and clients over video conferencing apps, but haven’t thought about how to include autistic people.
With Black Lives Matter ushering in new momentum for racial justice, community builder Candies Kotchapaw says the non-profit sector requires an overhaul in leadership. In Canada, more than half of charities and non-profits do not gather data on employee diversity, according to a 2018 study. In order to truly serve marginalized Canadians, non-profits must prioritize racial diversity, particularly in management, says Kotchapaw.
We’re seeing the highest rates of youth unemployment in Canadian history. There’s a looming mental health crisis among young people. And youth are disproportionately feeling the negative impacts of precarious work. Canadian youth are bearing the brunt of this crisis — how can the social impact world make sure their struggles and perspectives are centred in recovery efforts?
In Canada, only 50 percent of businesses make it past five years. With mentorship, that number can jump to 70 percent. Despite such evidence, there still aren’t enough mentorship opportunities for social impact founders in Canada. What needs to change?
Women make up between 75 and 85 percent of the non-profit workers at the forefront of pandemic relief and recovery. They also take on a disproportionate share of childcare duties, both pre-pandemic and while schools and daycares are closed. Lifting some of this burden could be critical to the pandemic recovery.
Canadians are facing a long road to recovery from the pandemic, but not all have been, or will be, equally impacted. Women of colour and young women have led the country through the pandemic, and they’ll feel the most intense economic and societal impacts — so their perspectives should be at the forefront of any conversation about recovery.