The 50 – 30 Challenge is an initiative between the Government of Canada, business and diversity organizations. The goal of the program is to challenge Canadian organizations to increase the representation and inclusion of diverse groups within their workplace, while highlighting the benefits of giving all Canadians a seat at the table.
Innovation, Science and Industry has been working with stakeholders, partners, and diversity organizations in a bottom-up approach to create the 50 – 30 Challenge. Over 500 organizations, including Humber, have signed on as early adopters. Minister Bains formally announced the initiative earlier today.
The 50 – 30 Challenge asks that organizations aspire to two goals:
- Gender parity ("50%") on Canadian board(s) and senior management; and
- Significant representation ("30%") on Canadian board(s) and senior management of other under-represented groups, including racialized persons, people living with disabilities (including invisible and episodic disabilities) and members of the LGBTQ2 community. The program and participants recognize that First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples as founding peoples of Canada are under-represented in positions of economic influence and leadership.
Humber is committed to building a diverse and inclusive community of exceptional students, faculty and staff. We have been working towards developing an EDI framework and implementation plan that will lead to concrete and measurable equity, diversity and inclusion outcomes for both students and employees. Signing on to participate in the 50-30 challenge represents an important step towards advancing diversity and inclusion on boards and in senior management.
Today’s announcement includes $33 million in funding over three years to create and access tools and resources that will help organizations advance diversity and inclusion in workplaces across Canada. Furthermore, the Standards Council of Canada, Canada’s respected standards and accreditation organization, will collaborate with the 50-30 Challenge partner organizations to develop a guidance document. The Council’s guidance document is part of a broader standardization strategy that will serve as a roadmap for organizations of various sizes and sectors across the country to achieve measurable, concrete change.
More information about the Challenge can be found here: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/icgc.nsf/eng/07706.html