Pursuing DEI: Insights For Your Workplace

Pursuing DEI, a virtual event held Wednesday, April 24, delivered on its promise to generate discussion and demonstrate the challenges and benefits of fostering diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces across all sectors of the construction industry.

Attracting and retaining more workers from under-represented populations to fill the thousands upon thousands of jobs currently available in Canada’s construction sector, and the even more that will open in the coming years, is a strategy that can only benefit the industry.

During the event, speakers representing multiple aspects of the workforce, including the mechanical trades, provided insights into real world issues and solutions to growing the labour pool through creating a more accommodating work environment.

Recognizing Bias

Keynote speaker Rubiena Duarte shared that addressing your inherent biases is key to attracting new workers into the industry.

The keynote speaker, Rubiena Duarte, vice president, global diversity and inclusion with Procore Technologies, led off the day with a presentation entitled Navigating Unconscious Bias.

“Last year, it was reported that Canadian construction companies missed out on $9.6 billion in revenue opportunities because of the labour shortage,” said Duarte.

Given the massive number of job openings, she explained that companies need to think about how to entice the next generation of workers to the industry, including Gen Zs, as well as new Canadians, women, Indigenous communities, and other equity deserving groups that are under-represented on construction jobsites.

We all inherently carry unconscious bias in our minds based on our personal experiences, and when surrounded by others we can all sense when people may be evaluating us based on their own impressions based on how we look, she explained.

“It’s not a negative thing if you have biases,” notes Duarte. “Just be aware of what they are and how they’re showing up.”

There are different types of bias, including affinity bias—where individuals tend to give preferential treatment to others who are like them. And there is conformity bias, where in certain environments individuals adjust their behavior, attitudes or beliefs, so they fit in with the dominant group (even if they personally disagree).

This conformance could be a desire to fit in, to avoid social rejection, and to seek approval from others. Duarte explained that if you have a culture where someone’s doing this, it’s likely because they don’t feel they can be themselves, and that behaviour is going to impact a company’s worker retention.

Researchers found that 48% of employees have looked for another job while in their current role when they have perceived bias at work. She encourages leaders to make a list of those they are engaging with and consider, do you engage with them all in a similar way? Are you showing up differently for certain individuals? And then consider the other peoples’ experience and how they could be feeling.

Positive Culture

Affinity groups can help encourage and support under-represented groups in the trades, shared Fair-Trades Toolbox’s Brandi Ferenc.

The first panel discussion addressed how to build an inclusive culture and the challenges that exist. Entitled Building and Maintaining Your Culture of Inclusion, it was moderated by Kenny Leon, vice president of marketing innovation and industry collaboration at the Canadian Construction Association.

Panelists included: Brandi Ferenc, of Fair-Trades Toolbox; Graeme Aitken, of the Electrical Contractors Association of Ontario; Maraika De Groot with Maven Consulting; and Luanne Whitecrow with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

The panelists discussed the steps you can take to establish a culture of inclusivity and provided tips on communicating (and enforcing) a positive company culture.

“I [as a woman] represent less than 0.4% of my industry, and that needle hasn’t moved in 20 years,” said Ferenc, a Red Seal 313A refrigeration mechanic/gas fitter 1 journeyperson.

She believes in the power of affinity groups (such as women’s groups within workplaces and industries) to help encourage and support others in the field, but more importantly she believes under-represented groups in the trades need allies among their co-workers – colleagues who will support, guide, defend and encourage their growth.

She shared a story of a young woman she mentors who was inappropriately touched by a male co-worker. There were five other guys that saw it happen and all returned to working.

“If just one of them had said, ‘That’s not okay,’ it would have been a way they could break that conformity bias,” said Ferenc. “Unfortunately, 99% of the time, they’re going to stick with the status quo, because they don’t want to be called out.”

She also shared her definition of inclusivity: “To me an inclusive culture doesn’t mean everyone is given a pair of work boots, it means everyone gets a pair of work boots that fit and the ones that they want,” she said. “It’s so critical for employers and industry leaders to try to shift that mindset and ensure that everyone feels included and like they belong.”

The panelists agreed that leadership needs to play an active role in being champions of change, but more important is having all employees engaged and participating to create an inclusive culture.

Having a company policy cannot be a one-and-done effort, and the establishment of a DEI committee is not a guarantee of success. As Aitken put it, “A committee is not enough, unless you simply want to check a box.”

Leadership also needs to make clear what is acceptable and what’s not acceptable, noted De Groot. “If it’s really clear what isn’t acceptable you can shut that down and make sure it’s shared,” she said

Recruitment

Sharing interview questions in advance and inquiring about any accommodations that candidates may require can help create a fair and inclusive hiring process, said Emco Corp.’s Kim Rutherford.

The next panel, moderated by Martin Luymes, vice president, government and stakeholder relations with the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI), was called Putting Your Culture of Inclusive Recruitment into Practice.

The session featured Bill Ferreira of BuildForce Canada, Kim Rutherford from Emco Corp., Viktoriya Syromyatova of Boralex and Craig Swanberg from PCL Construction.

Ferreira outlined how over the next 10 years the Canadian construction industry is going to need to hire about 350,000 new workers to replace the retiring workforce and keep up with a growing industry.

Rutherford offered a few recruiting tips to ensure a fair and inclusive experience, such as sharing interview questions with candidates in advance, which can make for a much better experience for neurodiverse individuals (i.e. those with ADHD, autism, dyspraxia, and dyslexia). She also recommended asking candidates, “What can we do to make this the best experience for you?” to ensure your workplace will provide an equitable experience for them.

“When I joined the industry, and even now, I still represent a minority in terms of a disabled woman in a male dominated industry,” said Rutherford, who is hearing impaired. “What has helped me in my career is having a sponsor, somebody who has political leverage within the organization and industry who will advocate for my success.”

As for reaching out to diverse communities to attract new talent, PCL’s Swanberg shared that it’s important to get in front of the people with messages that let them know that your workplace is somewhere employees can be their authentic selves.

These messages may finally be resonating, as Ferriera noted that the industry is seeing a significant rise in the number of female apprentices in the trades. The number of women in the 15- to 24-year-old age bracket is up by about 37% from 2022 to 2023.

Best Practices

Biases and stereotyping does not make one bad, but communication and understanding are required to to break that cycle, said Meg Mathes of Modern Niagara.

The final panel for the day was Leveraging Your Inclusive Workplace and Becoming an Employer of Choice. Moderated by Michelle Branigan, CEO, Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC), this panel included Meg Mathes of Modern Niagara, Elaine Carelse of Orion Construction, and Lindsay Janca from Hatch.

Branigan highlighted that employers are competing in a tight labour market across the country in every sector, and job seekers are reporting that a diverse workforce is important for them when they evaluate job opportunities and offers.

Mathes encouraged people to learn about intersectionality—the acknowledgement that everyone has their own unique experiences of discrimination and we must consider everything and anything that can marginalize people including gender, race, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, and more. This also creates a responsibility to take the time to understand the many sides of the individuals in your own workforce, she said.

Stereotyping and having biases does not make us bad, but it takes communication and understanding to break that cycle. As a transgender woman, Mathes saw meaningful action by the leadership at her employer that provided the courage to be her true self.

A key takeaway from this panel was the importance of communication and education about diversity, equity and inclusion, both internally and externally, in order for organizations in construction to both grow their workforces and retain the talent they have.

“Organizations that can build truly inclusive workplaces are going to have the edge when it comes to both the recruitment and retention,” said Branigan.

The Pursuing DEI virtual event was produced by HPAC Magazine along with sister publications Electrical Business and On-Site; all part of the Annex Business Media family.

Sponsors of the event included: Procore Technologies (platinum); Jacques Cartier + Champlain Bridges (gold); Electricity Human Resources Canada (EHRC) and EMCO Corp. (bronze).

Recordings of every session from the Pursuing DEI event are available for viewing online at hpacmag.com/virtual-events.