Diversity & Inclusivity Taskforce
Diversity and Inclusion – Members sought
The recent world events have given us all cause to pause, reflect and determine how we want to make a better tomorrow. How is ITS Canada responding to diversity and inclusion? At the ITS Canada Board of Directors meeting on July 10, we agreed to three actions. The first was to issue a statement that ITS Canada supports diversity and inclusion through our social media platforms. The following statement has also been reflected on our website and through our strategic plan:
Diversity, inclusion and equality for all are ingrained in the DNA of ITS Canada. Together, we promote, encourage and create a culture which supports and celebrates diverse voices of our members. We embrace our differences in race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. When we say, we are the hub for mobility technologies; we mean the hub for everyone.
Our second action is to create a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force to focus on this issue and bring some tangible changes/suggestions to our 2021 conference as well as to the entire ITS Canada organization. The team will have 3-4 months to pull a draft action plan for presentation and endorsement by the ITS Canada Board. Are you interested in supporting this initiative? We invite our members to join this task force by sending an email to Janneke van der Zee, janneke[at]itscanada[dot]ca?
Our third action is to create a one-hour webinar with 4-6 panelists who are reflective of a variety of groups including: LGBTQ+, gender diversity, ethnic diversity, First Nations/ Metis/ Indigenous and others. The objective is to have a frank conversation where panelists share:
- Example(s) of a time(s) that they have experienced a negative situation during their career
- How they handled the situation
- Some ideas or suggestions on what ITS Canada and it’s members could do to facilitate these conversations and be an agent of change.
By facilitating these tough conversations, we hope that we can open the door to conversations about what more can be done to achieve our commitment to having a diverse and inclusive ITS community in Canada that is reflected in our leadership and membership. If you know of someone who might be interested in joining this webinar, please email Janneke janneke[at]itscanada[dot]ca?
If you have any questions or other suggestions, please feel free to reach out to any of the Taskforce Members below. Thank you for your interest.
Mara Bullock, WSP, mara.bullock@wsp.com
Rajeev Roy, Regional Municipality of York, rajeev.roy@york.ca
Janneke van der Zee, Managing Director ITS Canada, janneke[at]itscanada[dot]ca?