Workplace Inclusion Charter off to great start

Belleville’s Director of Economic Development says they’re very pleased with the response to the city’s Workplace Inclusion Charter so far.

City Council approved the creation of a charter in March with the city being the first to sign it.

Loyalist College was the next to sign the document vowing to create a workplace advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.

Heather Candler says it’s great to hear about what each workplace that signs the charter is doing to promote inclusion.

“We’ve also had Linde sign the charter and Quinte United Immigrant Services, and just speaking with about three or four others that are cueing up. And we’ve had some other real community leaders as well that we’ve been speaking with so it’s got off to a great start. We’re really pleased.”

The charter was created as the first step for organizations to declare they are a safe and inclusive space.

“And attached to the Workplace Inclusion Charter are a number of tools that will help them to start taking their first steps down this path and determining what the right fit for their business is. So the charter is not meant to be prescriptive but it’s meant to be very enabling for workplaces to start exploring, you know, where they need to place their focus and intention to create the most inclusive workplace that they can and making workers really welcome here in the City of Belleville.”

She notes only a handful of communities across the country have introduced a such a charter but hopes that number will grow, especially locally.

Other communities across the Quinte Region have also contacted her asking for information about how they might set up their own inclusion charter.

“This is not about being exclusive this is again about being inclusive. So we’re really happy to have those conversations. We’re really happy to share our learnings with other communities and to really spread the word about this.”

She says they’ve shared everything from art work to information with other communities.

Some of the workplaces will also be sharing their strategies for making their environments more inclusive in the future.