Universities are making progress towards creating more equitable, diverse and inclusive institutions, a new report has found. But more work needs to be done to weave EDI into the fabric of university life, says the Council of Canadian Academies report, and that must be backed by robust data showing what's working - and for whom - and what's not.
The report, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion in the Post-Secondary Research System, found that the most effective EDI measures are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, rather than any one intervention being uniquely powerful in isolation. Committed leadership, strong champions, supportive organizational structures, transparent reporting and accountability mechanisms, along with consistent resourcing all need to be present to effect meaningful change and avoid the problem of limited initiatives falling apart, said Wendy Rodgers, president of the University of Prince Edward Island who chaired the 11-member expert panel that produced the report.
"Paying attention to all of those infrastructure and support aspects are critical, because we need to understand that postsecondary institutions weren't built for diversity in the first place," said Dr. Rodgers. "We know who they were built for. And that is who dominated them for hundreds of years."
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