Our Commitment to EDIA

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility (EDIA) in STEM drives everything we do. It’s why we exist and essential to our mission and impact. 

We believe when equitable and accessible spaces are created, diverse voices are welcomed and will stay. Diversity leads to innovation, creativity and better and more informed decision-making that can disrupt traditional ways of thinking and open doors for the next generation.

Since our incorporation almost 30 years ago, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) in STEM have been at the core of Actua’s mission. Our commitment to advancing EDIA extends to every part of the organization, from our workplace to our governance. 

Across the organization, we believe an equitable, diverse, inclusive and accessible workplace is where all employees feel valued, respected and successful regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, cultural background or religious beliefs.

As a leader in EDIA, we are committed to modelling the best practices and policies for Canada’s STEM sector and prioritize strengthening our understanding of the complexities of EDIA within our workforce to inform our approach to talent management and governance.

 To provide informed, authentic leadership for equity, Actua strives to:

• Maintain equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) as central to our mission and critical to ensure the well-being of staff and those we serve
• Acknowledge and dismantle persistent inequities within our policies, programs and services, and continually update and report organization progress
• Promote and sustain board-level thinking about how systemic inequalities impact our organization’s work and how to address these inequities in a way that is consistent with our mission
• Invest time and resources into increasing diversity within our Board, staff and partner organizations, coupled with development and access to resources and training to ensure the entire Actua team can help to sustain this diversity
• Partner with organizations who share our commitment to EIDA

Actua also undertakes the following actions to help promote equity, diversity,  inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) in our workplace:

• Ensuring we live up to our statement on solidarity as treaty people
• Advance cultural competency within our organization and network by creating substantive ongoing learning opportunities and policies
• Develop and present sessions on EIDA to provide information and resources internally and to members, our Board, the community and the STEM industry
• Cultivate and preserve an inclusive work culture that prioritizes EIDA throughout everything we do 
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative research related to EIDA within and outside of the organization
• Regularly access EIDA efforts against our goals to make incremental, measurable progress throughout all levels of the organization
• Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes EIDA in STEM
• Challenge systems and policies that create inequity, oppression and disparity

In 2022/2023, Actua has committed to:

• Critically examining our current policies and practices to determine how to intentionally infuse EDIA policies and practices into Actua’s annual strategic plan
• Creating an internal EDIA Committee to support EDIA practices, activities and policies at Actua
• Developing a staff training program that begins with capacity building workshops focused on anti-racism, gender inclusion, accessibility and disability inclusion, and cultural sensitivity training, and grows as needed 
• Encouraging regular and open conversations with employees about what EIDA means to them and conduct an annual staff survey 
• Participate in the 50-30 Challenge from the Government of Canada by achieving:
  • 50% women and/or non-binary people on Actua’s Board and senior management team; and
  • 30% representation on Actua’s board and senior management team  of other equity-deserving groups: Racialized, Black, and/or People of Colour (“Visible Minorities”), People with disabilities (including invisible and episodic disabilities), 2SLGBTQ+ and/or gender and sexually diverse individuals, and Aboriginal and/or Indigenous Peoples.