Catalyst Antiracism Newsletter – Issue 19

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Anti-racism on campus 1. Facilitate a sense of belonging at work

Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and belonging in the workplace to combat prejudice and discrimination, and to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive, will be a key feature of the Inaugural Virtual Employer of Cooperative and Experiential Education (CEE). Impact Conference: The Talent Revolution, February 15, 2023.

The Employer Impact Conference will provide a platform for attendees to ask questions and engage in meaningful conversations about taking direct action to foster belonging, creating an environment of trust and understanding among employees and building a culture of inclusion and respect, among other topics.

CEEs Colleen Phillips-Davis, Associate Director, EDI and Anti-Racism, and Bryanne Smart, Associate Director, Indigenous Peoples Relations, will both be speakers on The Journey Forward: Awareness and Capacity for an EDI-R and Indigenization Strategy in your organization. This session will highlight how creating a sense of belonging at work can lead to higher levels of job satisfaction, engagement and productivity, which will benefit the entire organization.

Having conversations about EDI and implementing sustainable direct actions to foster belonging can create an environment of trust and understanding between employees and support a culture of inclusion and respect, said Colleen Phillips-Davis. It is important that employers make space for these dialogues, as this is a key factor in creating a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Indigenous communities often say, nothing about us without us, so it’s important to include those voices in changing the workplace, said Bryanne Smart. Recognizing other ways of knowing and doing is a collective responsibility and we all have a responsibility to move forward with what we know now, and not rely solely on the colonized systems approach.

Phillips-Davis and Smart look forward to further integrating EDI into outreach and community events and hope that future conferences can focus on increasing the representation of traditionally marginalized groups in leadership roles, including speakers, panelists and lecturers.

David Markin, senior manager, R&D Algorithms & Analytics, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging lead at Lumentum will be the guest speaker for this session.

Register and learn more about the event.

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2. Waterloo team visits Zimbabwe and East Africa

Originally published in Waterloo News on December 14

A team from the University of Waterloo recently visited Zimbabwe and East Africa with the aim of making local connections and helping to showcase the University’s distinguished scholarship, excellence education and groundbreaking research and innovation.

This team was led by Dr. Christopher S. Taylor, Associate Vice President, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (EDI-RO), who was joined by Akua Amin-Asare, International Recruitment Specialist and Karuna Ausman, Marketing international and recruitment specialist at the Office of Registrars.

Read the full article.

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Spotlight on Research Doing the Right Thing

Originally published in the Fall 2022 magazine

Over his 10-year career in impact investing, Majid Mirza (BA 08, MBET 09, PhD in progress) has seen the difference socially responsible investors can make by generating not just wealth but communities. greener, healthier and fairer.

Now, drawing on his spirituality and commitment to social justice, he helps private equity investors ensure that the organizations they allocate capital to also operate in a sustainable, ethical and fair way.

Read the full article.

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Alum feature Building a bridge between two cultures through a beloved game

Originally published in Fall 2022 magazine

When Jennifer Guo (BA 10) and her husband Adam Szakacs were expecting their first daughter, they thought of ways their child could connect with her Chinese and Jewish heritage in personal ways.

At the time, our family lived in Canada and we lived in New York, so we thought how difficult it would be for her to see her family regularly, Guo said. We wanted a way to keep alive the memories of family members and the experiences we had growing up.

Guo recalled how, despite the language barrier, his grandmother was able to connect with Szakac’s grandmother through their shared love of mahjong, a traditional game she had played as a child with her grandmother.

Read the full article.

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Bulletin board

In February, Cooperative and Experiential Education (CEE) will reflect, celebrate and dedicate time to the Black experience in the workplace. The unit is hosting the Elevating Black Excellence in the Workplace Roundtable on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. The virtual event will explore:

Employers are using tactics to highlight, create opportunities and foster ownership of black talent.

Ways to better prepare Black co-op students for the future.

Speakers include Norah McRae, Senior Vice Provost, CEE; Christopher Taylor, Associate Vice President, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism; Aileen Agada, founder of BeBlended; Trevor Charles, Professor and Director, Waterloo Center for Microbial Research and Shauna-Kay Jones, Founder of Motify. Register today for this free virtual event.

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