October 22, 2021 – In a signing ceremony last month, Electrical Business Magazine became an Advocate under Electricity Human Resources Canada’s Leadership Accord on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

As an Advocate, EBMag pledges to “actively engage in outreach and promotion of the Accord and the principles for which it stands”, and encourage its network to become signatories themselves.

To paraphrase, the Leadership Accord proposes action to expand the breadth of the skilled workforce, ensuring that under-represented groups are afforded opportunities and, once employed, are fully supported and provided with opportunities for success.

EBMag is a small team, but we endeavour to share news and stories from electrical disciplines all across Canada, including those traditionally under-represented. We’ve made it a point to seek out and speak with women in the electrical sectors; we’ve increased our coverage of Indigenous power projects and proponents.

In short, we’re not fabricating anything that isn’t there. We’re simply taking that extra step to find those stories… and tell them.

I don’t pretend to know everything there is to know about diversity, equity and inclusion. The way I see it, it boils down to being willing to listen, to seek understanding, and to change what’s broken. It’s about taking that first step… then another.

I was joined in the ceremony by industry colleague and friend, Michelle Branigan, EHRC’s CEO. “At the end of the day, it’s all about progress and change,” Michelle says. “I’ll be glad when we don’t actually have to have these conversations any more. But we’re not there yet.”

— Anthony Capkun, acapkun@ebmag.com.

This column—plus more great content—appears in the October 2021 edition of Electrical Business Magazine. Even more back issues are located in our Digital Archive.