Canada's Best Diversity Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 46
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CANADA’S BEST DIVERSITY EMPLOYERS (2025)
Vancouver Coastal Health creates safe spaces for all
and conversations aren't always
easy — it’s uncomfortable to look
at yourself that way — but they’re
necessary.”
“I work with a lot of families
that are refugees, newcomers to
Canada or Indigenous, and their
child may have physical and
developmental challenges. So,
having that EDI background is key
to providing the best possible care.
And on a personal note, I came to
Canada as a refugee. I’m a woman
of colour. So, it’s so important to
me to be working for an organization whose values align with
mine and an organization where
I feel like my lived experience is
respected and valued.”
At Vancouver Coastal Health, everyone at the organization is connected by care.
W
hen Yasmin Jetha
joined Vancouver
Coastal Health
(VCH) as a program
manager in 2005, the organization’s chief operating officer
(COO) asked her to meet for
coffee.
“I remember being amazed that
the COO wanted to meet with
me,” says Jetha, vice-president,
regional community services. “We
walked through the hospital, and
he knew nurses and staff members
by name. During our conversation, he wanted to know about my
career, but he also wanted to know
about me as a person. I remember
thinking, this is the kind of leader
I want to be.”
“And I have had many mentors
and allies along my journey since
and it really does feel like you’re
part of a family here.”
Part of that sense of family
comes from VCH’s focus on equity,
diversity and inclusion (EDI),
says Sally Phung-Ip, a pediatric
social worker. “It creates a sense of
psychological safety for the staff,
knowing that you're working for
an organization that values your
experience. I feel like I have a safe
space where I can speak up. I can
be honest about my experience,
and I feel that my opinions are
valued.”
On a formal level, this includes
programs such as ongoing
Indigenous cultural safety training
and anti-racism training for
staff and medical staff, as well as
investing in Indigenous patient
navigators who work with patients
and their families to help ensure
their experience is culturally safe.
“The training I have done
helps me and my colleagues
unpack unconscious bias and
helps us relearn a lot of things,”
Phung-Ip says. “Those sessions
It's so important
to me to be
working for an
organization
whose values align
with mine and
an organization
where I feel like my
lived experience is
respected.”
— Sally Phung-Ip
Pediatric Social Worker
Jetha says EDI is woven
throughout VCH’s health care
delivery strategy to ensure
accessible and equitable care
across the region. For example,
clinicians and leaders look at
all clinical services through a
population health lens. “Using
stroke services as an example,
we look at our population and
geography to understand access
