Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Update

Three YWCA staff committees – Truth & Reconciliation, Gender Inclusion and Racial Equity – have been busy supporting and advancing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) across YWCA Metro Vancouver.  

What have they been up to? 

Truth and Reconciliation Committee 

Members of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee planned and helped coordinate staff participation in the Women’s Memorial March on February 14 in honour of the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. April Beaver, committee co-chair, designed and created beautiful buttons for participants. The committee is continuing to organize Truth and Reconciliation training for staff throughout the year, and is looking to provide an annual workshop on creating more meaningful and purposeful land acknowledgements for employees.  

Gender Inclusion Committee 

The Gender Inclusion Committee champions inclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ folks within departments and across the organization. The committee provided integral guidance on Prism, a new YWCA employment program that will be run in partnership with QMUNITY to deliver employment skills training and support to queer, trans and Two-Spirit folks in BC. We have also initiated an exciting new partnership with TransFocus, an organization providing guidance and training to facilitate growth within workplaces and organizations to make them more inclusive of gender diversity. 

Racial Equity Committee 

The Racial Equity Committee continues to issue a Monthly Awareness and Acknowledgement Calendar for staff, highlighting diverse community events and cultural celebrations, and recently authored blog posts to commemorate Asian Heritage Month and Black History Month. This committee also hosted two equity talks for staff, facilitated by Bakau: Fundamentals of Anti-Racism and Active Listening. They also completed a project in recognition of The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which includes artwork from our greater community. Stop by to see the finished product at the YWCA Program Centre, located at 535 Hornby Street in Vancouver. 

All three equity committees provided important feedback on the organization’s new vision and mission statements, and we are grateful for their time and commitment.  

For more information, contact Tamara Robertson-Fry at trobertsonfry@ywcavan.org | 604 895 5860.   

This article is part of the 2022 Spring/Summer edition of our Contact Newsletter. 

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