History & Context of EDI at SFU

We have heard from our community

From 2016-2020, four extensive EDI reports were completed in support of addressing areas related to equity, diversity and inclusion.There have been 4 additional sets of recommendations addressing issues related to EDI. These reports outline more than 100 recommendations. Additionally, the Aboriginal Reconciliation Council process took place in parallel.

A collected summary of all the recommedations can be found here.

SFU Salary Equity Working Group (2016)

The Salary Equity Recommendations Committee was tasked with preparing a report that addressed the following:

• Possible methods of dealing with current inequities identified in the 2015 Gender Disparity report
• Mechanisms for preventing future inequities from developing
• Establishing a process to monitor for emerging salary inequities on a continuing basis

Canada Research Chairs EDI Action Plan (2017)

• The federal government required all institutions with more than five Canada Research Chairs to develop an EDI Action Plan
  
• SFU’s action plan was developed with a steering committee
  
• 19 identified objectives to address potential inequities in the program

Special Advisor's Final Report to SFU Executive (2019)

• SFU’s Provost and Vice-President, Academic, commissioned a community conversation to understand the perspective of the SFU community on issues of equity, diversity and inclusion
  
• Over the course of a number of months, in-person community conversation sessions were held with students, staff and faculty
  
• What was shared in those sessions has now been captured in a Report authored by Kim Hart, Special Advisor to the Provost on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity Meter: Insights Report (2020)

• In November 2019 SFU launched the Diversity Meter survey to gather demographic and inclusion data on faculty and staff
• 2,100 active staff and faculty members responded (38.3% of those surveyed), surpassing the average response rate for staff and faculty surveys at the university
• Report includes recommendations from the Canadian Centre for Diversity on next steps

ARC Report (2017)

• In 2017, the Aboriginal Reconciliation Council (ARC) released its report, Walk This Path With Us
• The report is informed by broad consultation with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities both on and off campus
• 34 Calls to Action were set out to guide the University in reconciliation efforts over the next three years
• $9 million in dedicated funding has been allocated to support the first steps in addressing the Calls to Action

Additional Inputs

• In August of 2020, SFU Academic Women released a report relative to EDI at SFU called Radical Inclusion: Equity and Diversity Among Female Faculty at Simon Fraser University
• In June of 2020, the EDI Advisory Council released a statement in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and provided six calls to action for the university
• Disability audit conducted by Rick Hansen Foundation made recommendations