Dimensions: Equity, diversity, inclusion

The University of Windsor is proud to be an endorser of the Government of Canada's Dimensions Charter. This charter is foundational to the Dimensions pilot program to foster increased research excellence, innovation and creativity within the post-secondary sector across all disciplines, through greater equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).

The Charter was signed by Interim President Douglas Kneale on June 26th, 2019.

Interim president Douglas Kneale makes the University of Windsor the latest signatory of the Dimension Charter, with federal science minister Kirsty Duncan and (standing) VP research K.W. Michael Siu; Kaye Johnson, executive director of the Office of Human Rights, Equity, and Accessibility; and acting provost Jeff Berryman.

The Charter outlines a number of important principals:

1. The post-secondary research community has the greatest potential to thrive when members experience equitable, inclusive and unbiased systems and practices.
2. To advance institutional equity, diversity and inclusion, specific, measurable and sustainable actions are needed to counter systemic barriers, explicit and unconscious biases, and inequities. This includes addressing obstacles faced by, but not limited to, women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities or racialized groups, and members of LGBTQ2+ communities.
3. Institutions require qualitative and quantitative data to measure, monitor, understand and publicly report on challenges and progress made. The analysis of the data should inform a comprehensive, in-depth, intersectional understanding of the contexts, manifestations and experiences that result from inequities, underrepresentation and exclusion among all post-secondary community members.
4. When equity, diversity and inclusion considerations and practices are integral to research participation, to the research itself, and to research training and learning environments, research excellence, innovation and creativity are heightened across all disciplines, fields of study and stages of career development.
5. To contribute to reconciliation, research with, by or impacting Indigenous Peoples must align with the research policies and best practices identified through ongoing engagement with First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples and their organizations.
6. Advancing equity, diversity and inclusion is a shared responsibility that requires dedicated resources and strong leadership at all levels. Senior leadership demonstrates commitment through public endorsement, by ensuring the work involved is resourced and distributed fairly, and by embedding changes in institutional governance and accountability structures.
7. Issues of institutional and individual safety, trust, belonging, privacy and power differentials must be recognized and pro-actively addressed; this will be most successful when those impacted are directly engaged in defining the actions.
8. Achieving the overall objective of the Dimensions program—to foster increased research excellence, innovation and creativity within the post-secondary sector across all disciplines through increased equity, diversity and inclusion—involves institutional collaboration, transparency, and the sharing of challenges, successes and promising practices.

You can read the full Dimensions Charter online.