- About
- Submit
- Tools
- Guides
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion guide
- Multimedia Consent Guide
- Formal studio portraits
- SFU News
- Brand guide
- Communication strategy
- Editorial style guide
- Media guide
- Project management
- Self-recorded video
- Social media
- Website content guide
- Website project guide
- Website Design Guide
- What makes a good story?
- URL request guidelines
- Blog
- C&M staff
Why EDI?
As communicators at SFU, we have an incredible opportunity to create a sense of belonging on campus and to advance EDI through our work. On the flip side, it is also possible for communicators to cause harm and reinforce systems of discrimination and oppression as a result of unconscious biases. By making EDI a priority in our interactions with our community, our planning and our content, storytelling and imagery, we are making an intentional effort to reduce instances of racism and oppression in our work.
To fulfill SFU’s mission of creating an inclusive and supportive campus environment where everyone feels welcome, safe, accepted and appreciated, this is the work we must do.
"Here's to doing what is right and not what is easy."
Layla F. Saad, Me and White Supremacy
About the guide
Equity, diversity and inclusion work is an ongoing process of learning and unlearning—about bringing critical perspectives and a questioning mindset to all that we do. Therefore, this guide is not intended to function as a series of checklists or things to get ‘right’. Rather, it is meant to be a guide that helps you ask questions, understand best practices and point you towards more equitable and inclusive approaches to your work.
Because we believe that EDI should be embedded in everything that we do, these resources have been spread all throughout the Communicators Toolkit. The table of contents can help you navigate to a particular section or topic that you may be looking for. In addition, the guide is meant to be an entry point to this work. Each topic is separated into short sections and scannable points, with links to additional resources if you want to take a deeper dive.
The topics and information found here were themes that we identified from our EDI Communicators Network event and EDI Communicators Survey, but we know that EDI is a complex and evolving subject, and the guide will grow as we learn more.
If you have comments, questions or content suggestions related to this guide, please submit them to the appropriate email on our Contacts page.
Acknowledgements
The C&M EDI Guide was created by the SFU Communications and Marketing EDI Working Group (Fiona Burrows, Kevin Cherney, Carolyn Lee, Marcel Da Silva, Natalie Lim and Ian Young), in partnership with anti-racism consultant Taib K. Boyce (TKB Consulting).
Our gratitude to Taib for his guidance and leadership as we navigated the process of creating this guide.
Our gratitude to those at SFU whose good work this guide references, and whose expertise we are lucky to have at this university. We also acknowledge that this guide is built upon the scholarship, knowledge and lived experiences of people who are racialized, members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community and living with a disability, both at SFU and around the world. Thank you for your labour and for paving the way to a more equitable and inclusive future.
And finally, our gratitude to you, the communicators—for your feedback, for holding us accountable and for doing this work alongside us.