Equity and Diversity Initiative
Building a successful workforce for the future requires a strong commitment to equity and diversity.
More than 10 years ago, the City of Winnipeg launched its Equity and Diversity Initiative to help build and maintain a more diverse and equitable workforce. This initiative builds and manages workforce diversity by creating a respectful workplace that maximizes the potential of all City employees. We can achieve our goals for equity and diversity by:
- Valuing and capitalizing on employee differences.
- Creating a fair and respectful workplace.
- Providing special measures for designated group members to remedy past discrimination and accelerating the process of increasing the representation of designated group members across all job categories.
Diversity
Diversity is about differences (such as race, gender, family status, and education) between all people, not just designated group members. People are distinct because they differ in religions, education, sexual orientation, cultures, styles, belief systems, ways of thinking, and much more. By valuing these differences, we emphasize fairness for all and treat each individual with dignity and respect.
Successful management of diversity means capitalizing on the skills and expertise of everyone, enabling our organization to better meet its goals for employee commitment and satisfaction, increased creativity and innovation, and more responsive and affordable government.
The diversity approach is an inclusive strategy for all employees and makes good business sense for the City. To meet current and future challenges of providing responsive, affordable and innovative public service, the City of Winnipeg must continue to build a fully productive and creative workforce. A diverse workforce operates very differently than a homogenous one. Our goal is to successfully manage and motivate a highly diverse workforce.
Equity
Equity is about treating people fairly. When we treat people equally we ignore differences. When we treat people equitably we recognize differences. In order to create equity, differences are recognized, respected and accommodated when reasonably possible.