UVic one of Canada’s best diversity employers for 12th year running

The University of Victoria has been recognized as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for the 12th consecutive year. Winners of the 2023 competition were announced March 7, with UVic among two BC universities to be honoured.

We are proud to be honoured as a top diversity employer. Through the university’s Equity Action Plan, we continue to pursue vital initiatives to address systemic barriers to equity and inclusion on our campus and create an inclusive environment for everyone. Our dedicated staff are essential to our efforts to provide a welcoming environment for students, employees and community members.

AVP Human Resources Kane Kilbey

The national competition, which has been running for 16 years, recognized 75 employers that are leading the way in creating inclusive workplaces for employees from five diverse groups: women, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples and 2SLGBTQIA+ peoples. This year’s honorees stood out, according to MediaCorp, by “driving change with progressive policies and programs that translate into real action and are backing it up with transparency and accountability."

UVic was selected for a range of leading diversity initiatives, including:

• In 2022, establishing the role of Vice-President Indigenous, who has the responsibility of furthering the university’s commitment to truth, respect and reconciliation. Central to the role's responsibilities is the development of a strategy that integrates Indigenous cultures, histories, beliefs and ways of being and knowing across all aspects of the university’s mission.
• Hosting the fifth annual Five Days of Action: 365 Days of Commitment event. Participants were invited to attend virtual events and workshops and to listen, reflect, dialogue, engage and show solidarity toward ending discrimination, harassment and sexualized violence.

Other diversity initiatives that have previously been recognized include:  

• UVic's Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities (CARSA) for its improved accessibility, space for transgender individuals, and space for CanAssist.
• Establishment of the world’s first Joint Degree Program in Canadian Common Law and Indigenous Legal Orders.
• Appointing the world’s first Chair in Transgender Studies to further research related to the lives of trans and gender non-conforming people.
• Creating the position of Associate University Librarian–Reconciliation in 2020.

UVic has been recognized as one of BC’s Top 100 Employers for 2022 and 2023, and as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers seven times.

• See UVic’s full profile and the complete results of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers 2023