Indigenous leadership is the next step in advancing representation in the workforce. As companies shift to adopting “inclusive” hiring strategies, it is incredibly important to extend these initiatives to creating opportunities in decision making roles.
It is known that Indigenous Peoples are disproportionately excluded from the Canadian economy as most private, public and government sectors have less than 3% representation. The limited representation perpetuates an isolated and unsupportive environment, which exacerbates systemic hurdles Indigenous people must overcome.
Industries need to build better programs and initiatives that carves out space for Indigenous peoples in leadership roles to truly have equitable representation.
Industries need to build better programs and initiatives that carve out space for Indigenous peoples in leadership roles to truly have equitable representation. Here at the Indigenous Professional Association of Canada, we are dedicated to advancing Indigenous leadership in the private, public and government sectors.
We’ve outlined a few things to kickstart your Indigenous inclusion journey:
What can we do to change?
- Educate and build awareness across your organization
- Create listening tours of diverse underrepresented groups within your organization
- Create bursaries and scholarships to become a feeder pool for diverse talent
- Invest in mentorship and sponsorship opportunities for talent
How can we change:
- Review current recruitment process and look at non-traditional ways of hiring
- Challenge ourselves beyond the obvious of “how to engage talent”
- Create a workplace where Indigenous voices are heard and valued
- Have executives take a public stance on injustices within society
Please reach out directly to IPAC for support on Indigenous inclusion. IPAC serves its members through professional skill-building, network development and is recognition for excellence from coast to coast. Through its mission, IPAC offers First Nations, Metis and Inuit professionals the opportunity to connect, learn and prosper as a community within Canada.
