Sign of the times: Visionary new award celebrates diversity, inclusion

A new award being premiered today by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) is the perfect antidote to the daily news.

The Inclusion Vanguard Award, presented by Deloitte, celebrates the positive impact of one individual on Canada’s diversity and inclusion landscape. Its introduction, when diversity and inclusion are being threatened south of the border and in other parts of the world, couldn’t be better timed.

“You can look geopolitically at a number of recent events from across the world and I think the political and moral imperative around inclusion has probably never been stronger,” says Miyo Yamashita, managing partner, talent, at global consulting firm Deloitte, who will be presenting the award at the WXN Top 100 Awards gala on Nov. 24.

The Inclusion Vanguard award is just one indication of the broader mandate that WXN has undertaken since Sherri Stevens became the new owner and chief executive officer of the nearly 20-year-old organization in early 2016. WXN has traditionally been dedicated to the advancement and recognition of women in professional roles, providing mentoring and networking opportunities and celebrating their successes with its annual Top 100 Awards.

But under Stevens, the organization is beginning to widen its lens to include people of all genders, abilities and cultural backgrounds. The Inclusion Vanguard award is the only Top 100 distinction that isn’t required to be bestowed upon a woman.

The recipient of the inaugural award is Sandra Stuart, president and CEO of HSBC Bank Canada, which has been lauded for its comprehensive approach to ensuring diversity at every level of its organization.

Recognizing the importance of diversity in Canadian organizations isn’t just a passing fad or a way to differentiate ourselves from other countries. It’s a business imperative, according to Yamashita, on more than one front.

Yamashita points to Canada’s aging population as a Miyo Yamashita, managing partner, talent, at Deloitte, will present WXN’s inaugural Inclusion Vanguard Award, sponsored by her company. real challenge for businesses in the coming decades. Last year, for the first time ever, there were more people in Canada aged 65 and over than under the age of 15. By 2030, it’s estimated that the number of seniors as a percentage of our population will increase to 24 per cent from 15 per cent in 2013, according to Yamashita. And if the trend continues, she says, the current ratio of working-to-retired people in Canada will shift from four to one to two to one.

“Our point is that inclusion is going to be critical for the country’s economic success going forward,” she says. “There are a number of ways we can tackle this. We can tackle this through productivity … and you might also tackle it through immigration.”

“With these numbers, we just can’t afford to have any talent opting out.”

Yamashita, who points out that Deloitte’s Canadian workforce of 8,800 mirrors the Canadian population in terms of diversity, firmly believes that people representing a range of ages, genders, abilities, educations and cultural backgrounds always come up with better solutions than would a uniform group.

“If companies only employ people who are from the same educational and professional backgrounds and share some of the same demographic characteristics, the chance of having a wide variety of ideas narrows,” Yamashita says. “If we are truly going to wrestle some of what we at Deloitte call ‘wicked problems,’ like problems that our clients present to us as well as broader societal problems, such as water shortages and aboriginal poverty, we need all minds around the table.”

The simple fact that it’s now the 21st century is another good reason for diversity, Yamashita says, echoing the powerful statement that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made last year when he presented a diverse and gender-balanced cabinet. He told reporters the reason for the historic move was: “Because it’s 2015.”

“It was such a short but powerful line,” says Yamashita. “And now, in 2016, Canada is moving toward having a workforce and leaders who reflect the populations around us.”

Sharing the stage with Sandra Stuart and Sherri Stevens on Nov. 24 will be a proud moment for Yamashita.

“This award marks the contributions by some outstanding Canadians at various levels and different fields of expertise who have made real contributions to building the kind of diverse and inclusive society we all treasure in Canada,” she says. “I’m hoping that feeling of celebration and optimism will really permeate the room.”