Equity-centred culture
Create an inclusive campus community that values diversity and challenges dominant systems of power, including colonization, white supremacy and heteropatriarchy, through research, teaching, curriculum, policy and practice.
Why?
During the plan’s creation, UVic community members noted that dominant systems of power continue to prevent the success of the equity work underway at UVic. In response, we must work to dismantle all forms of oppression, including colonization, white supremacy and heteropatriarchy. Addressing the ongoing and historical impacts of these systems of power will help build an inclusive culture on campus.
Committed actions
- Senior administration will champion equity by diversifying its own representation through mentorship, encouragement and sponsorship of faculty and staff from systemically and historically marginalized groups.* Lead: Executive Council
- Develop communications plans, strategies and resources that focus on diversity and a commitment to social justice and societal change. Communications should be transparent and acknowledge the dominant systems of power. UVic should be authentic and honest about the barriers and challenges systemically and historically marginalized communities face. Lead: All portfolios
- Continue to advance the principles of the Canada Research Chairs Program, the Scarborough Charter and future national and/or government initiatives related to equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging. Lead: All portfolios
- Update UVic’s Policy on Human Rights, Equity and Fairness to communicate the university’s responsibilities related to equity, diversity and inclusion. Leads: Executive Council, Equity & Human Rights
- Provide equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-oppression and cultural safety education for all members of the university. Include specific opportunities to develop Indigenous cultural competencies by learning about Indigenous histories, current realities, rights to self-determination and anti-Indigenous racism. Leads: VP Academic & Provost, VP Finance & Operations, VP Indigenous, Equity & Human Rights
- Develop an education strategy so that all students learn about equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-oppression, Indigenous rights to self-determination and colonization within academic programming prior to graduation. Leads: VP Academic & Provost, Equity & Human Rights
- Provide experiential learning opportunities that reflect and contribute to the pressing issues of our time related to equity and human rights (e.g., Indigenous self-determination, climate change, social justice, etc.). Lead: VP Academic & Provost
- Adopt policies, educational sessions and practices of inclusion that support harassment-free classrooms and other learning environments.* Leads: VP Academic & Provost, VP Finance & Operations
- Incentivize faculty and staff to prioritize building an inclusive and equitable campus including developing performance evaluation tools that incorporate and assess equity, diversity and inclusion skills, competencies and achievements.* Leads: VP Academic & Provost, VP Finance & Operations
- Create a strategy that supports the development of unit-level equity committees and encourages their engagement with each other and the Equity Action Plan (EAP). Leads: VP Academic & Provost, VP Finance & Operations, Equity & Human Rights
- Engage with external research organizations to redress under-representation and build equitable practices into the research grant selection and research recognition processes.* Lead: VP Research & Innovation
- Continue to develop pathways for Indigenous graduate students and Indigenous-led research through relational knowledge grants and other supports. Expand the existing programs for other systemically and historically marginalized groups. Lead: VP Research & Innovation
- Provide tailored training to key university governance bodies, starting with the Board of Governors and specific senate committees (Senate Committee on Academic Standards, Senate Committee on Learning and Teaching, Senate Committee on Planning), so their decisions are well informed to advance equity and build an inclusive campus. Lead: University Secretary
Barriers & targeted actions
| Barriers | Targeted actions |
|---|---|
| There is a lack of acknowledgement of and commitment to addressing the oppressive and inequitable systems of power that UVic was built on (e.g., colonialism, white supremacy, etc.) by senior academic and administrative leadership. This recreates inequitable systems of power. | Action 2: Develop communications plans, strategies and resources that focus on diversity and a commitment to social justice and societal change. Communications should be transparent and acknowledge the dominant systems of power. UVic should be authentic and honest about the barriers and challenges systemically and historically marginalized communities face. Lead: All portfolios |
| Many decision makers have not experienced systemic oppression or inequity. They may lack the skills and knowledge to consider how their decisions impact systemically and historically marginalized groups. This results in uninformed, unclear work that reinforces barriers to equity. | Action 1: Senior administration will champion equity by diversifying its own representation through mentorship, encouragement and sponsorship of faculty and staff from systemically and historically marginalized groups.* Lead: Executive Council |
| Intercultural competency and cultural safety are not prioritized or evaluated within individual units, departments or faculties. Training is inconsistent and/or voluntary. |
Action 5: Provide equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-oppression and cultural safety education for all members of the university. Include specific opportunities to develop Indigenous cultural competencies by learning about Indigenous histories, current realities, rights to self-determination and anti-Indigenous racism. Leads: VP Academic & Provost, VP Finance & Operations, VP Indigenous, Equity & Human Rights Action 9: Incentivize faculty and staff to prioritize building an inclusive and equitable campus including developing performance evaluation tools that incorporate and assess equity, diversity and inclusion skills, competencies and achievements.* Leads: VP Academic & Provost, VP Finance & Operations |
| Without a shared understanding of UVic’s core equity goals, values and definitions, equity work across campus lacks cohesion and collective action. | Action 10: Create a strategy that supports the development of unit-level equity committees and encourages their engagement with each other and the Equity Action Plan (EAP). Leads: VP Academic & Provost, VP Finance & Operations, Equity & Human Rights |
*Adapted from the Scarborough Charter
What's next
Ready to take action?
- Learn how units, departments and faculties can be part of advancing the actions listed above in the Implementation Framework and Toolkit
- Learn how you can put this goal into action as a UVic student, employee, educator, researcher or campus leader in the Reflection and Action Guides
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