The Road to an Inclusive Economic Recovery

The Honourable Dr. Jean Augustine, the first African-Canadian woman to be elected to the House of Commons, and Gary Anandasangaree, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, recently joined Wendy Cukier, Founder of the Diversity Institute and Academic Research Lead for the Future Skills Centre (external link, opens in new window)  (FSC), for a fireside chat at the 2022 Future Skills Summit (external link, opens in new window)  to discuss the importance of inclusion in Canada’s recovery. 

Wendy Cukier opened by noting that our attention on systemic discrimination, racism and the barriers facing equity deserving groups has been heighted in recent years. We know our public education system is the foundation of the high rates of social mobility in Canada, but it has not served everyone equitably. COVID made it worse (opens in new window) . Similarly, well documented barriers to employment (opens in new window)  and wage gaps for women, racialized people including those who are Black, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and those who identify as 2SLGBTQ+ have been exacerbated by the pandemic. 

Parliamentary Secretary Anandarsangaree unscored the profound impact of COVID on the unpaid work of women, particularly racialized women. He reminded the audience that the federal government’s plan to roll-out affordable and accessible childcare across the country should lower barriers for women struggling to enter or fully participate in the workforce because of prohibitively high childcare costs. Cukier agreed that the investment in childcare was transformational, noting that research has shown the impact of access to daycare on women in Quebec who are more likely to be in leadership roles.

Dr. Cukier pointed to DI research that shows (opens in new window)  that the barriers to internet access are not just in rural areas: Thirty-seven percent of racialized residents in the GTA whose children experienced online learning stated that their child was unable to complete their schoolwork because they did not have access to a computer at home. Forty-one percent of these respondents reported that their children had to complete their schoolwork on a cellphone. Learning loss among youth, especially Indigenous and Black youth, requires immediate intervention.

Dr. Augustine added that the challenges young people now face threaten to curtail efforts to advance diversity and inclusion for generations. Innovative approaches that address gaps in education, employment, and skills development could change the tides. Dr. Augustine explained that after-school programs are also key, since many parents do not have the luxury of working from home.

The Jean Augustine Centre for Young Women’s Empowerment (external link, opens in new window)  supports women and girls, some as young as seven years old, with programs around financial literacy, STEM, community engagement, and more. This work is designed to help youth build self-esteem and networks, find role models, and connect with mentors. Importantly, they are also designed to help young people feel like they belong.

“When you educate a woman, when you educate a girl, the whole family benefits from that education. As we build back better, as we look to the future, we need to invest in our youth,” Dr. Augustine stressed.

The Centre was an active participant in the Study Buddy (opens in new window)  program and requested that the online tutoring support program be made available for grades K-8 to help meet these needs.

Dr. Augustine also noted that she has seen employers far more aware of issues of diversity and inclusion over the past two years but that employers also need to translate their good intentions to action. Cukier noted that she is optimistic about the potential contribution of The 50 – 30 Challenge (external link, opens in new window)  led by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, a voluntary code (external link, opens in new window)  encouraging businesses to strive for gender parity and significant representation of other equity-deserving groups in leadership roles. To date, the Challenge has amassed over 1,450 participating organizations.

Anandasangaree underscored the importance of investments in entrepreneurs and SMEs—the engine of the Canadian economy. The Black Entrepreneurship Strategy is one key component of this work.

“The Black Entrepreneurship Fund (external link, opens in new window)  is close to $300 million now and accessible to Black entrepreneurs, which is very unique in the sense that we have never had anything anywhere close to this,” Anandasangaree said. FSC and DI research has reinforced the importance of these investments as SMEs and entrepreneurs (opens in new window)  have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic. 

Diverse entrepreneurs, specifically women (external link, opens in new window) , Black women (external link, opens in new window)  and Indigenous entrepreneurs (external link, opens in new window) , have also been deeply impacted. FSC has stressed that investments in SMEs (external link, opens in new window)  and entrepreneurial skills (external link, opens in new window)  are critical to supporting growth and sustainability as we rebuild better. 

More than 3,500 people registered for the Summit, presented by the FSC (external link, opens in new window)  and the Conference Board of Canada (external link, opens in new window) , to share new insights and discuss innovative ideas to shape the future of skills and work.

Watch the fireside chat (external link, opens in new window)  to hear more from Dr. Augustine, MP Anandasangaree and Dr. Cukier.

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