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A New Year of Volunteering

Can you believe it? Today is already August 18th. In some places, kids have already gone back to school. In others, they prepare to return in the next few weeks. I can hardly believe this gorgeous summer is almost over!

With the end of summer, and the start of school, comes a new year with the opportunity to volunteer. We all do it. Girl Guides, Scouts, Hockey, etc. The fall is a great time to start volunteering, and we would love for you to take the opportunity to volunteer with us!!

Volunteering certainly is very rewarding, and most of this can be done from the comfort of your own home! It’s easy get get involved!

We need volunteers for:

  • The Board of Directors
  • Committees
  • Recruitment
  • Graphic design
  • Fundraising
  • Copy writing & editing (especially for blog posts and library articles)
  • Community outreach
  • Admin/clerical
  • Promotion and Media
  • Photography and/or Videography
  • Translation
  • Nationbuilder website design
  • And so much more!!

We would love to have you involved with J2DW this fall! We’re on an upward ascent, and we’d love to have you on board!

How can you get involved? Apply online! It’s easy!!

Thank you for reading today’s post, and I hope to see your volunteer application soon!

Be sure to join us on social media!

eBay is winning at gender diversity in technology

BY MARIELLA MOON

Online auction service eBay has followed in the footsteps of other tech companies and published a diversity report of its own — one that indicates that it’s winning at gender diversity in the workplace. According to the report, 42 percent of its 33,000 employees all over the globe are women. Among those firms that shared their diversity percentages recently, Pinterest comes the closest with a 40 percent female workforce, and then Yahoo whose female employees make up 37 percent of the total. Google and Twitter tie for the last place, as women make up 30 percent of all employees in both companies (though to be fair, Google has projects to encourage more women to take up careers in technology). (Read more…)

Failing to live up to diversity, inclusion goals

BY Dan Cook
April 15, 2014

Despite efforts over the years to take diversity and inclusion in the workplace seriously, evidence continues to surface that suggests neither are organizational priorities.

The Society for Human Resource Management recently reported that, when asked if diversity was a goal included in their vision statement, just over a quarter of respondents answered “yes.” Now comes a study in which the research firm Bersin by Deloitte performed in-depth interviews with 50 D&I professionals and followed that up with a survey that gleaned feedback from 245 large companies.

The study identified a gap you could drive a Mack truck through. (Read more…)

Cancer fight puts focus on lack of minorities on stem-cell donor lists

A Quebec woman’s desperate online plea for a compatible stem-cell donor in her bid to fight cancer a second time is shedding light on the lack of minorities on official lists in Canada and abroad.

Mai Duong finds herself battling leukemia again and doctors say they would like to proceed with a transplant of bone marrow or cord blood stem cells within a month. (Read more…)

Being the token female or minority boss is better for YOUR career than encouraging greater diversity, claims new study

  • Researchers found that female or minority managers who tried to promote diversity were treated with suspicion by their bosses and peer
  • White male leaders who sought to promote diversity didn’t have the same stigma attached to them
  • Female and minority bosses actually benefited from being viewed as token minority representatives at a senior level
  • The authors wonder whether it might be better for diversity offices to be run by white males
  • ‘Almost all diversity offices are run by non-whites and women, but that further ghettoizes diversity itself and makes it so it’s not taken seriously’

By David McCormack

Women and ethnic minorities who reach executive level positions in corporate America have more to lose from encouraging and promoting diversity in the workplace than their white male counterparts, claims a new study.

Researchers from The University of Colorado found that female and minorities managers who tried to encourage greater diversity were treated with suspicion by their peers and bosses who thought they were indulging in selfish favoritism rather than promoting deserving candidates.

White male leaders who sought to promote diversity didn’t have the same stigma attached to them. (Read more…)

Back Gender diversity and the leaking pipeline

by Simon Lee 

In a number of Asian countries, women make up nearly half the formal workforce, according to national labour surveys. Yet on average, less than a quarter make it into senior positions and in some countries the figure is as low as one in ten, according to the Gender Diversity Benchmark for Asia 2014 launched by Community Business last week. Companies can do much more to avoid a ‘leaking pipeline’ of female talent in their organisations.

The research draws on employee data from 32 multinationals across six key markets: China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. The participating companies – including sponsors Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Brown-Forman and Google, and a range of other major brands including Coca-Cola, Novartis and Thomson Reuters – together employ over 240,000 people across the six markets. Each provided data for at least four of those markets. (Read more…)

That term ‘for-profit’…

I am really, really curious. When did the term for-profit, become a dirty word?

There are numerous organizations in our community that are, dare I say, for-profit. They exist to make their owners money. Lots, and lots of stinking money. Honestly, there isn’t anything that should be wrong with that. Some of these businesses are large, such as TD, Wal-Mart, and Canadian Tire. Others are small such as the Barrie-based Local Foods Mart, and Angie’s Outdoor.

No sane business owner goes into business without the intention of at least making some profit, after all it’s their hard work, sweat, tears, and capital going into the business.

So when did the term for-profit become dirty?

The circles I mix with, that certainly seems to be the case. It’s one I disagree with wholeheartedly. There’s a distinct difference between being a business with a conscience, and a non-profit. They’re not mutually exclusive.

There’s no reason a company like Canadian Tire can’t earn a profit. They have shareholders to pay. Landlords to pay rent to. However, they can do that while still being socially responsible. Donating to chosen charities, paying their employees a livable wage (if they’re not already doing so, are they?) , and generally carrying on for the greater good.

Why for the greater good? Well in theory, under market economics, if the market doesn’t like what a business is doing, then they will loose money, from a lack of sales. Does this always work? Heck no. Otherwise the CRTC wouldn’t be giving the smack down to Canada’s cell phone industry. But I am so tired of people who think being a for-profit business is some sort of evil. Like it’s the worst possible sin. Then they go buy something made in China from Wal-Mart, vs buying something locally made from a small shop that might cost more, but keeps that money in the community.

Now I should make a distinction here. When I talk about profit, I mean money left over after all expenses have been covered, and all taxes legally paid. A for-profit corporation still has an ethical duty to pay their taxes. And the government has an ethical duty to change corporate taxes more than just a paltry sum. So if a for-profit corporation is paying no taxes, then they need to be re-assessed or audited.

What we are trying to do is to teach for-profit businesses to be ethical on how they treat their workforce. Their personnel. We all face barriers in life. We want to destroy barriers to employment, and even advancement from within. Companies can save money by instead of laying off employees, to moving them elsewhere within their organizations. 

Be sure to check our our statement of values.

At the end of the day, we need to remember that the word for-profit is our friend in today’s world. But let’s have it be our friend in a way that doesn’t alienate the 99%.

Your rights as an employee

Your rights as an employee

  1. The right to refuse unsafe work. If the work you are asked to do could harm you or a co-worker, you have the right to refuse. Your employer may ask another employee to to do the work while the Ministry of Labour investigates, but it must be in your presence.
  2. Health & Safety training is mandatory in Ontario.
  3. Ontario workers are protected by both occupational health and safety and employment standards laws. Employers must pay at least a minimum wage and provide a safe and healthy work environment, among other responsibilities.
  4. The right to know. You have the right to know the hazards in your job. Your employer or supervisor must tell you about anything in your job that can hurt you. Your employer must make sure you are provided with the information you need so that you can work safely.
  5. The right to participate. You have the right to take part in keeping your workplace healthy and safe. Depending on the size of the company, you can be part of the Health and Safety Committee or be a Health and Safety Representative. You also have the right to participate in training and information sessions to help you do your job safely.
  6. The employment standards act sets out minimum standards for employers in Ontario.

Find out more at Work Smart Ontario.

The role of the healthcare provider.

We often hear about the role employers, schools and teachers, landlord’s, and so forth have in ensuring that a disabled patient can get their treatment. Things such as time off work/school, and accessible apartment, and so forth.

Which is fine, but what if your healthcare provider is exploiting that?

From the Ontario Human Rights Commission:

Ontario’s Human Rights Code, the first in Canada, was enacted in 1962. 

The Code prohibits actions that discriminate against people based on a protected ground  in a protected social area.

Protected grounds are:

  • Age
  • Ancestry, colour, race
  • Citizenship
  • Ethnic origin
  • Place of origin
  • Creed
  • Disability
  • Family status
  • Marital status (including single status)
  • Gender identity, gender expression
  • Receipt of public assistance (in housing only)
  • Record of offences (in employment only)
  • Sex (including pregnancy and breastfeeding)
  • Sexual orientation.

Protected social areas are:

  • Accommodation (housing)
  • Contracts
  • Employment
  • Services
  • Vocational associations (unions).

So the code says that someone with a disability, for example, can’t have their rights infringed. But it DOES NOT SAY that only employers, for example, infringe.

What if it is your healthcare provider infringing?

I don’t think doctors, nurses, managers, and administrators think of it as infringing on your rights. They book your appointment for 3 pm Thursday, but I might only be part time, that might be my only work shift that week. What about MY RIGHT to earn an income?

Now I’ll freely admit that most health providers can easily re-schedule most tests and procedures. But what if they insist, and you have to fill out one of those against medical advice forms to do so? In my view, that’s infringing on my rights as a disabled person.

I think we need to have a conversation on how our healthcare providers work with our professors/school, employers, landlords, etc. Everyone probably tells you that “your health comes first.” That’s total BS. Without money to pay the rent, and purchase groceries, the treatment means nothing.

It’s time to reconsider our priorities.