Calling all UVic employees!
The Equity Action Plan (EAP) sets out 5 equity goals. There is work for each of us to support the university in achieving these goals. Making long-lasting, meaningful change will require action from the entire UVic community.
As UVic employees, our roles and responsibilities related to the EAP vary, yet we all serve an important role in cultivating an inclusive, equitable and diverse campus community. No matter if your position is student-facing or not, as one of the 5000+ people that keep the university running, your daily efforts to advance and embed equity in all that we do are needed to make UVic a top choice for students, faculty and staff.
This reflection and action guide will help you find an entry point to move from personal reflection to action, while creating the momentum necessary for long-term, systemic change.
Thank you for your action, engagement and important work within the UVic community. This work benefits us all.
Reflection questions
The following questions show the many ways employees can engage with the goals in the EAP. We encourage you to take the time to reflect on the main questions, and to use the secondary questions as an opportunity to spark ideas for action.
What historical and systemic inequities influence your daily responsibilities and/or your role more generally?
For instance:
- in your decision-making processes, how do you consider outcomes/impacts across different groups (e.g., employees who identify as people of colour versus employees who identify as White)?
- how do you work to acknowledge and confront inequitable power dynamics within your team/unit/office?
- do you work to assess issues, decisions and/or actions from a diversity of perspectives?
- have you reflected on the colonial history and foundation of the UVic?
- how does that history and foundation impact your work and/or responsibilities today?
How do you and your team/unit work to cultivate relationships both across and beyond the university?
For instance:
- have you considered the importance of lived experience(s) and different ways of knowing?
- do you seek out connections/relationships with other people/teams/offices/groups committed to doing equity work?
- is relationship building a valued aspect of your work on- and/or off-campus?
How do you contribute to cultivating an inclusive and welcoming team/unit/environment?
For instance:
- how do you seek out opportunities to support and uplift your colleagues?
- do you recognize the importance of preferential and limited hiring strategies to increase the representation of historically and systemically marginalized groups?
- are you aware of and comfortable referring colleagues/students to the various resources available for mental, physical, financial and/or cultural support and accessibility?
- have you considered reasons why people may leave your team/unit?
How comfortable are you referring colleagues/students to the various processes for reporting on campus?
For instance:
- are you aware of the Discrimination and Harassment Policy and its guidelines for reporting instances of discrimination and/or harassment?
- are you aware of the Sexualized Violence Prevention and Response Policy and its guidelines for reporting instances of sexualized violence?
- how do you actively consider diverse needs when it comes to safety when leading/working in your designated work space (i.e., office, classroom, library or online environment)?
How will you ensure accountability to the outcomes of the EAP within your team/unit?
For instance:
- are you comfortable highlighting the importance of this work as a priority with your manager, supervisor and/or director?
- have you considered how you can be an ally to systemically and historically marginalized groups within your role?
What you can do right now
Having reflected on your role in advancing the EAP, consider the following list of suggested actions and/or resources.
- schedule a meeting with your team to identify which EAP goals and actions relate to the work you do
- talk to your supervisor about conducting an Equity Review in your department or unit
- check out UVic’s fair and equitable hiring resource toolkits for multiple employee groups
- take the Increasing Equity in Decision Processes online course
- encourage your students and colleagues to fill out the Better Data Questionnaire
- review the Religious Observances Calendar and mark your calendar with important dates and anniversaries (e.g., Transgender Day of Remembrance) to show up for your coworkers and avoid scheduling conflicts for programming, events, etc.
- watch Belonging, a critical piece of diversity, equity & inclusion to learn about 5 tenets to creating conditions for belonging
- learn about being an ally to Indigenous peoples with this toolkit
- find out What is Privilege? in this short video
- check out the Implementation Framework and Toolkit to start planning and implementing EAP actions
- visit the Disability Intersectionality Summit to discover ways to think more intentionally and expansively about accessibility
- conduct a disability justice audit within your faculty, department and/or unit