In October 2013 the DISE Equity and Diversity Committee was formed, to pursue issues of equity and diversity in the Dept. of Integrated Studies in Education.
The committee has been tasked with the responsibility of exploring, and proposing concrete strategies for improving, what have been identified as issues of concern and importance to the department in a series of reports, including the 2009 FEDEC Report to previous Dean Perrault, the faculty Undergraduate Program Revisioning Report (2010), the Principal’s Task Force on Diversity, Excellence, and Community Engagement (2011), and, most recently, the Report on Diversity and Equity in the Faculty of Education (2013) authored by Rosalind Hampton, VP of Diversity and Equity, EGSS.
The Committee is chaired by Professor Bronwen Low.
Two motions put forward by the committee and passed by the department are posted below for your information. Please contact Professor Low for further information.
Motion re. hiring policy, passed Nov. 19th 2013
Given that the Mcgill Employment Equity Policy includes a commitment to:
• fulfilling its mission within an institutional environment that embraces diversity; respecting the equal dignity and worth of all who participate in the life, work and mission of the University;
• developing policies, programs, practices and traditions that facilitate the full participationand advancement of members of historically disadvantaged groups in Canada (indigenous peoples, visible minorities, ethnic minorities whose mother tongue is neither English nor French, persons with disabilities, women, and persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities) (hereafter, “designated groups”) by eliminating direct, indirect and systemic discrimination;
and, in furtherance of these objectives, will:
• seek to increase the range of applicants for all academic, administrative and support staff positions to reflect the diversity of the pool of potential candidates with appropriate qualifications from designated groups;
• ensure that, where candidates do not differ in merit, employment decisions are guided by the University’s policy on employment equity;
We propose:
1) that the following language be included in ALL future tenure track academic position announcements:
“A strong asset will be an intimate knowledge of and connection to marginalized communities, inviting applicants to become part of a diversifying faculty.”
2) That this asset be one of the search committee’s criteria for reviewing and assessing the strengths of each application.
“Safe Space Statement” Motion, passed January 21st, 2014.
As part of the process of clearly signaling the department’s commitment to creating a pedagogic space for continuing anti-oppression work, DEDC is proposing a safe space statement that would become a mandatory component of all graduate and undergraduate course syllabi in the department:
We are committed to nurturing a space where students, teaching assistants, lecturers, and professors can all engage in the exchange of ideas and dialogue, without fear of being made to feel unwelcome or unsafe on account of biological sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race/ethnicity, religion, linguistic and cultural background, age, physical or mental ability, or any other aspect integral to one’s personhood. We therefore recognize our responsibility, both individual and collective, to strive to establish and maintain an environment wherein all interactions are based on empathy and mutual respect for the person, acknowledging differences of perspectives, free from judgment, censure, and/or stigma.
We envision this statement as a catalyst for both an initial and ongoing classroom conversation about this commitment to creating anti-oppressive teaching and learning environments.
Education Graduate Students' Society 