Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 11
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AIR CANADA
CANADA’S BEST DIVERSITY EMPLOYERS (2025)
Montréal-based Air Canada provides unconscious bias training to talent acquisition partners and recruiters.
The Exclusion of Inclusion
Employers in Canada and the U.S. have dramatically diverged in their approach to diversity
I
f there is any element that has now
come to differentiate Canada and the
United States in their employment
practices, it is in diversity, equity and
inclusion (DEI). Over the past decade or
more, on both sides of the border, quality
organizations like the winners of Canada’s
Best Diversity Employers (2025) instituted
measures to ensure that all kinds of people
get a chance to apply for all jobs, to be
treated the same way once hired and to be
heard at the discussion table.
But in the United States, that changed
almost immediately upon the change in
administration brought about by the last
election. On the first day of the new
administration, federal government
departments and agencies were directed to
terminate all DEI programs and close all
DEI offices and positions. A day later,
Trump issued an order to “encourage” the
private sector to get rid of their DEI
policies as well. By then, sensing the
political winds, many prominent
companies had already begun eliminating
their DEI programs, even if the legality of
such orders was not yet clear.
Yet in Canada, there has been very little
sign of such a trend. In fact, says Kristina
Leung, managing editor at Mediacorp
Canada, which runs the competition,
there has been a marked increase in
applicants for Canada’s Best Diversity
Employers (2025) in recent years, and many
other employers put special emphasis on
their DEI achievements in entries to other
competitions in the series.
“It has become seamless, in that
diversity is not something separate, but
essentially an HR best practice that
defines top employers in Canada,” she
says. “An inclusive organization is one that
puts its people first and tries to understand
what they bring to the table.”
Leaders of Canada’s Best Diversity
Employers (2025) have constantly said that
a diverse workforce which feels inclusive
boosts their bottom line, offering a wider
range of ideas and perspectives. And most
feel DEI is now embedded in their
organizations. Says Air Canada executive
vice president Arielle Meloul-Wechsler:
“For us, it’s not just a program, it’s in our
DNA. You don’t pare back on who you
are.”
– Berton Woodward
