For Some Of Peter Nygard’s Victims, Justice Was Delayed But Not Denied

Posted on November 27, 2023 by Guest Contribution

“For some of Peter Nygard’s victims, justice was delayed but not denied,” by Joanna Pozzulo, Carleton University

Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard was charged with five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement occurring in his downtown Toronto office related to incidents between the 1980s and 2005. On Nov. 12, he was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault and acquitted of one count of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement.

Nygard faces numerous other sexual assault charges dating back decades in Québec, Manitoba and the United States.

In 1967, Nygard founded a multi-million-dollar fashion house, Nygård International. He was one of the few Canadian designers who were successful in global fashion, and the company would remain a mainstay in womenswear in North America for decades.

Prevalence of Sexual Assault

At the height of the #MeToo movement in 2017, several high-profile defendants were charged with sex crimes. In these cases, it was common for defendants to have numerous victims with assaults taking place over decades-long timespans.

Former film producer Harvey Weinstein had more than 80 women accuse him of sexual harassment or assault as far back as the 1970s. He has been found guilty of numerous charges.

Former Canadian radio host Jian Ghomeshi was accused by eight women of sexual abuse, with alleged incidents occurring in 2002 and 2003 — five charges were laid in 2014. Ghomeshi was acquitted of all charges in 2016.

According to Statistics Canada, police-reported cases of sexual assault were at their highest in 2021.

Factors Impacting Verdict And Perceptions

A delay in reporting sexual assault can decrease the likelihood of charges being laid. Although this decrease is not necessarily specific to sexual assault, physical evidence like blood and semen is lost if not collected soon after the crime, potentially making a conviction more difficult.

In sexual assault cases, it may become a matter of victim versus defendant credibility. Although a defendant’s race can impact case outcomes, with higher rates of minorities being incarcerated, the interaction of defendant race and status in these types of cases is less clear.

Our research investigated how juror decision-making could be affected by defendants’ occupational status and race, along with the number of alleged victims and the delay in reporting a sexual assault. We presented 752 mock jurors with a fictional trial transcript and asked them to provide a verdict, a rating of guilt, and ratings regarding their perceptions of the victim and defendant.

Results indicated that mock jurors were more likely to reach a guilty verdict and perceive the defendant less favourable and the victim more favourable when the defendant was white (as opposed to Black), and when there were multiple allegations against the defendant.

A delay in reporting sexual assault was not influential for mock jurors’ ratings, nor was occupational status. It is possible for high-profile defendants to be held accountable numerous years after committing their crimes. Multiple allegations may provide credibility to the accusations.

Nygard’s Accumulated Charges

Several alleged victims of assaults by Nygard are awaiting their day in court. Additional allegations of sex crimes perpetrated by Nygard will continue to be tested in court, with an upcoming court date in Québec in the new year.

Neither Nygard’s high-profile status nor the delay in reporting from his victims protected him. For some of Nygard’s victims, justice was delayed but not denied.The Conversation

Credits

Joanna Pozzulo, Chancellor’s Professor, Psychology, Carleton University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Share our story!
Posted in Life | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Rise Of The Irate Customer: Post-Pandemic Rudeness

Posted on November 22, 2023 by Guest Contribution

“The rise of the irate customer: Post-pandemic rudeness, and the importance of rediscovering patience,” by Laura Hambley, University of Calgary and Madeline Springle, University of Calgary

If you find yourself being more impatient than ever before when interacting with people in customer service roles — or if you’ve noticed other people having a shorter fuse and snapping more quickly — you’re not alone.

Recent news stories have shed light on how toxic customers are causing employees to reach their breaking point. The resulting epidemic of “quiet quitting” and resignations is further fuelled by a post-pandemic labour shortage in the service/hospitality industry.

The shortage of staff perpetuates this cycle of frustration, with remaining employees experiencing further impatience and uncontrolled emotional reactions from customers. How can we break this unhealthy cycle?

Understanding the underlying causes of our decreased patience, and why our emotions are heightened, is essential.

Perpetuating A Cycle Of Frustration: Rudeness

First, as a society, the pace of change and the speed with which we get information and answers has rapidly increased. We want everything faster: answers, service and our problems to be solved. This ultimately sets up challenging, and sometimes unrealistic, expectations for those who are trying to serve us.

Furthermore, the widespread transition to remote work during the pandemic resulted in reduced face-to-face interaction. And with a decrease in the time spent with our fellow humans, it has likely been more difficult to develop empathy and patience. Too much screen time may have caused “keyboard courage” to bleed into our day-to-day conversations, leaving us more abrupt and even rude in our communications.

Another cause of heightened emotions is the overall challenges people in the world are facing, including polarization, war, the underlying stress of inflation, supply chain issues or looming economic uncertainty. All of these factors are pushing people to their limits and resulting in an increase in burnout, frustration, and impatience in their interactions with others.

Uncertainty breeds stress, and both are at all-time high levels, as evidenced by the American Psychological Association 2021 Stress in America Survey and more recent Gallup polls.

rudeness

Stress and Burnout

The field of industrial-organizational psychology seeks to apply psychological concepts and theories to the workplace to enhance the well-being of employees, leaders and organizations. As industrial-organizational researchers working in applied settings, we strive to bring best practices to the workplace.

When it comes to this topic of heightened emotions and decreased patience and tolerance of customer service post-pandemic, we know that a greater understanding and awareness are key to better mitigating our behaviours and their impact.

Decreased patience and increased emotionality are real problems for service-based organizations and employees, along with the quiet quitting, “great resignation” and ensuing shortage of talent they fuel. The impact on those who remain in customer service roles is harmful, increasing their stress and potential for burnout due to increased work demands.

Impatient, rude and abrupt behaviour is not only exhausting but unsustainable for workers’ emotional health and well-being. It’s also been found that when employees suppress their emotions and are forced to engage with complaining customers, this is related to an increase in depression and anxiety symptoms.

Employees feel that they are punching bags for customers’ anxieties and frustrations, which has been found to affect employees’ internal self-worth. And what’s worse is that employees believe that bad behaviour from customers is now a much more common occurrence.

A poll conducted by The Institute of Customer Service of 1,000 customer service workers and 1,000 members of the public, found that half of the employees in customer service industries experienced increased hostility and rudeness from customers during the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is particularly problematic, as according to Gallup’s Trends that Leaders Need to Navigate in 2023, quiet quitting in the workplace ultimately threatens customer retention.

Rudeness: Implications For Businesses

The implications of this are severe. Not only are business owners struggling to find employees to fill these roles, but customer service employees are refusing to re-enter the workplace. This lack of service workers further feeds into supply chain issues, an increase in rising costs of products, and general fear and uncertainty.

In another survey analyzing the state of health and well-being of contact centre employees, research indicated that 96 per cent of employees felt acute stress on a weekly basis. Employees do not feel like they are being treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve, and the toll is too much for them.

Although it seems that these toxic customer behaviours are here to stay, this trajectory is reversible. This new pattern of behaviour must change, otherwise, we risk not having a customer service industry. In this chicken-or-egg situation, customers need more compassion and empathy for employees, while employees must recognize that customers may be lashing out for reasons outside of their scope.

Here Are Some Practical Strategies To Consider:

Reversing this important trend requires first looking at our own behaviours as customers and how we may be inadvertently contributing to this problem. Where can we soften our approaches, and in turn, positively influence others around us?

1) Take the challenge of smiling at the person (for example, a cashier, teller or server), asking how they are doing and genuinely making a human connection with them.

2) When you feel impatient or frustrated, put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Take a moment to pause, breathe and give them the benefit of the doubt. Most customer service people want to help you, but they are likely dealing with high pressure and a lack of resources and support. Kindness towards them goes a long way.

3) Lastly, think about how you would want to be treated. Consider the implications of how your words and rudeness will impact not only this employee’s day but perhaps their feelings of self-worth. Ask yourself if what you’re about to say will have a positive or negative impact, and whether you can potentially bring some hope and optimism into this person’s day.The Conversation

Credits

Laura Hambley, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Calgary and Madeline Springle, MSc student in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, University of Calgary

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Share our story!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

On World Children’s Day, Let’s recognize That Children’s Rights Include Mental Health

Posted on November 20, 2023 by Guest Contribution

“On World Children’s Day, let’s recognize that children’s rights include mental health,” by André Plamondon, Université Laval; Nicole Racine, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa, and Tracy Vaillancourt, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

World Children’s Day is Nov. 20, when we celebrate the importance of children’s rights and of safeguarding adequate physical, mental, spiritual and social development for every child around the world.

These rights, laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, should be universally accepted and supported, but this is often not the case for many children around the globe, even in wealthy nations such as Canada. Canada continues to fall behind regarding the mental health and well-being of children, ranking 30th out of 38 wealthy nations in UNICEF’s 2020 report card on the state of children and youth worldwide.

The poor standing of mental health and well-being of children and youth in Canada highlights the need to invest and prioritize mental health supports and services for children and their families, a call that pre-dates the pandemic. The best time to act was then; the second-best time is now.

Children’s Mental Health Challenges In Canada

Children’s mental health challenges have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence shows that substance use, eating disorders, and anxiety and mood difficulties have increased. Pediatric hospitals in Canada saw an increase in the number of cases presenting to emergency departments for mental health concerns.

Canadian studies show that nearly 25 per cent of parents report that their children’s mental health has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. With an increase in mental health needs, it follows that the need for services and support has also increased.

A Crisis In Child Mental Health Care Access

Children’s Mental Health Ontario and the #KidsCantWait campaign demonstrated that before the pandemic, there were more than 28,000 children on waitlists for mental health services, sometimes waiting up to 2.5 years. Last summer, a survey revealed that more than 50 per cent of parents say their children are still experiencing negative impacts of the pandemic.

In Spring 2022, we found similar results in Québec based on a sample of 2,500 parents surveyed by our research group at Université Laval. Indeed, more than 50 per cent of the parents of children and adolescents between ages six and 17 years perceived that their child had needed help with emotional or behavioural problems in the past six months. These results are striking when compared to a 2014 study in Ontario, where 18.9 per cent of parents perceived mental health needs for their children.

Not surprisingly, children’s mental health service providers across the country have reported extensive increases in mental health service demand, including a doubling of calls for services and wait times. In addition to the consequences for children and adolescents, increases in perceived unmet needs during the pandemic were shown to lead to increases in parental depression and anxiety.

This pandemic has been described as a generational catastrophe, particularly for children and youth from equity-deserving groups, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children, children from racialized communities, gender and sexually diverse youth, and young people with disabilities. Every child, regardless of background, social status, or location, should have access to high-quality mental health assessment and support.children's rights

Children’s Rights: Call To Action

1. Preventing mental health challenges: Earlier is better

The best way to address increases in mental health needs is to implement services and policies that prevent their development. Targeting the early years of life makes sense because most mental health difficulties in early adulthood have their origin in childhood. As such, improved access to early childhood services, awareness of early childhood mental health, support and education for caregivers and community providers, as well as community-based early mental health promotion, are critical.

2. Supporting children and adolescents by supporting adults

The most consistent assets of resilient children and adolescents are caring families, healthy schools and good peer relationships. Prevention efforts must therefore not only address children but also the environments in which they grow. The adults in children’s lives must be healthy and supported for children and adolescents to flourish. Resiliency is not ingrained; it is fostered by strengthening individuals, families and environments. If it takes a village to raise a child, we need to build and maintain a village that promotes resiliency.

3. Increasing funding for child and family mental health services

The Canadian Mental Health Association and other allied organizations have put forward a call for increased funding for child and youth mental health services to address service gaps. In addition to the benefits for individuals, results show that the return on investment for every dollar spent on preventing and treating mental health difficulties in youth is $23.60. These investments not only lead to increases in well-being but are also good economic policy.

4. Improving service access

Access to mental health services needs to improve across the country. For most children, mental health services are obtained through schools. With increased funding and support, mental health promotion and intervention in schools can provide increased access for children and adolescents. Alternatively, ongoing access to virtual approaches to mental health services can provide accessible and efficient options for mental health support with a high potential for broadened reach across the country.

National Child Day in Canada

In addition to World Children’s Day, in Canada National Child Day is also celebrated on Nov. 20 to recognize our country’s commitment to uphold children’s rights. This day is also a good opportunity to take a moment to look back on the commitments, initiatives and policies that have been implemented, as well as look forward to those that should be put in place. Now is not the time to wait. Our children’s future starts today.The Conversation

Credits

André Plamondon, Full Professor, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Université Laval; Nicole Racine, Assistant professor, School of Psychology, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa, and Tracy Vaillancourt, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in School-Based Mental Health and Violence Prevention, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Share our story!
Posted in Features, Life | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Women In Politics: To Run Or Not To Run?

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Guest Contribution

“Women in politics: To run or not to run?” by Semra Sevi, University of Toronto

Editor’s note: This story is part of a series that includes live interviews with Canada’s top social sciences and humanities academics. Click here to register for In Conversation With Semra Sevi, on March 15 at 1 p.m. ET. This is a virtual event co-hosted by The Conversation Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Despite progress towards gender equality, women’s representation in Canadian politics falls short. With only 30 per cent of seats in the House of Commons held by women, there is still a long way to go for Parliament to capture the diversity of the population it represents.

Several factors contribute to the persistent gender disparities in the political process. Research on women in politics has identified multiple obstacles that hinder women’s representation, with three factors emerging as the most prominent explanations.

Three Obstacles To Women In Politics

The first is that voters might have a gender bias. This is the idea that, for various reasons, voters might prefer a man over a woman candidate.

The second is that women may not be interested in running as candidates. This is the idea that women might be more risk-averse when it comes to campaigns and elections, or that women may lack self-confidence and have lower levels of political ambition compared to men.

The third obstacle is that even when women are willing to run, parties tend to choose men over women. This might be because they believe the likelihood of men winning is higher than for women. That means that while parties have the tools to diversify candidate slates and address electoral underrepresentation, they frequently act as gatekeepers.

Chart showing percentage of women in the population, candidates and MPs
Only 30 per cent of seats in Canada’s House of Commons are held by women. Semra Sevi, the Author provided

Testing The Theories With Data

I have spent several years gathering data and conducting experiments to examine these theories explaining why women are underrepresented in politics.

I built an original longitudinal dataset that tracks all candidates across elections since 1867 in Canadian federal elections. This is the first publicly available comprehensive data on candidate election returns in Canada.

These data include all candidates who ran for elections at the federal level and include socio-demographic information about them such as their gender, age, whether they’re incumbents, occupation, Indigenous origins if they identify as a member of the LGBTQ2+ community and so on. I have also collected similar information for candidates at the Ontario provincial level.

I have used these data to examine whether women get fewer votes than men at both the federal and Ontario provincial levels.

I find that while women used to receive fewer votes, this is no longer the case. Women who run are just as likely to win as their male counterparts.

However, if we believe voters are biased against women, we would expect to see this even after they are elected. Therefore, I also examined whether incumbency advantage is gendered. Here also I did not find any evidence to suggest that voters are biased against women incumbents.

Not Less Willin To Run

More recently, I revisited the second explanation that women are more risk-averse to campaigns and elections with my PhD adviser, André Blais. We designed an online laboratory experiment during the peak of the pandemic. This was an interactive experiment with three elections: 1) a lottery election with no campaign; 2) an election with votes but no campaign; and 3) an election with votes and a campaign.

We find that women are just as likely as men to be candidates in all three types of elections. In other words, women do not appear to be less willing to run in elections with campaigns.

Political Party Recruitment

In summary, my work suggests that the underrepresentation of women in politics is not due to a shortage of qualified women candidates or voter bias against women candidates. By process of elimination, my future work will examine whether the gender gap persists because parties tend to prefer male candidates over female candidates.

We see some evidence of this when we look at memoirs written by politicians.

We know that women are less likely to be encouraged to run for office than men. Memoirs written by men politicians in Canada show a consistent pattern. They reveal that although they believe they were born to lead someday and were looking to fulfil a lifelong dream, they were more likely to be recruited by multiple sources to run for office.

Women, on the other hand, are more likely to say they entered politics because of a specific policy concern and, if they were recruited, it was by fewer sources and on fewer occasions.

Unlocking the bottleneck for women in politics requires a closer examination of the party recruitment process. By identifying the obstacles that women face, we can pave the way forward towards a more inclusive Parliament.The Conversation

Credits

Semra Sevi, Banting Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Political Science, Columbia University. Incoming Assistant Professor of Canadian Politics, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Share our story!
Posted in Life | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How Small Acts Of Kindness Can Make You Happier

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Guest Contribution

“How small acts of kindness can make you happier and healthier,” by Meena Andiappan, University of Toronto

How to optimize the pursuit of well-being and happiness is a question researchers have tried to tackle from a range of angles. The social effects of the pandemic led many people to focus more closely on their mental health and buffer against threats to well-being — in short, to pursue happiness.

As a social scientist, I study the intersection of ethical behaviour and well-being. Last year, my colleagues and I decided to explore ways that people could increase their sense of well-being and decrease the increasingly common feelings of anxiety and depression that arose during the pandemic.

Given the recent popular movement towards ideals of self-care and focusing inward, we wanted to further investigate the best way to increase one’s happiness and mental health.

We compared people who chose to treat themselves by spending money, time, or some form of resources on their happiness (anything from painting their nails, to watching their favourite movie), versus those who treated others (again, anything from opening the door for someone at the grocery store to donating goods to charity). In both cases, people largely did simple, low- to no-cost acts daily.

actsCommitting To Acts Of Kindness

What we found was surprising: for people who didn’t consistently enact behaviours outside of their normal routine, kind acts did not affect their well-being. However, for those who fully engaged in the study by consistently enacting behaviours outside of their normal routine, acts of kindness had bigger boosts to their well-being and mental health compared to those who treated themselves.

Not only that but for those who fully engaged in their kind acts, those acts were associated with reductions in both anxiety and depression.

Our study joins a long line of research findings that concur. Why does research find these effects? Some have found that spending our energy on other people (particularly those less fortunate) makes our troubles seem less pressing.

Others have noted that treating others often means spending time with them, building and reinforcing relationships — and we know that strong social relationships are one key to happiness. Relatedly, when other people are present, we tend to smile much more — essentially experiencing positive emotions more frequently.

Research has also suggested that leading a meaningful life is a significant predictor of feeling good. Spending your limited resources and energies on other people can likely help boost this sense of meaning, making life more fulfilling and worthy of living. In contrast, spending — whether time, money or effort — on yourself doesn’t seem to have the same benefits.

Predictors Of Happiness

We are now conducting a follow-up study, trying to better understand if all of the kind acts people may engage in are equal predictors of happiness, or whether there are particular characteristics of certain acts that may make them more helpful in increasing positive feelings.

Interestingly, we have found that as long as you don’t do the same act over and over (for example, baking cookies for your neighbour every day), you are sure to gain benefit from your kindness.

However, three factors make certain acts particularly beneficial to happiness.

  • First, doing something outside of your normal routine — for example, driving your neighbour to his doctor’s appointment — affects your happiness more than routine acts, such as helping your spouse with the dishes.
  • Second, changing the kind acts that you do is important. For example, one day you might help a co-worker finish their tasks, while another day you might choose to spend time helping your niece learn to play soccer. So, variety is key.
  • Third, happiness is boosted when you receive positive feedback about the kind act that you did. Knowing how you have helped someone or receiving gratitude and appreciation for your act amplifies your positive feelings.

Trying to increase your happiness and mental health doesn’t have to be hard, time-consuming or expensive. It can be done in 60 seconds without much effort or money at all — just consider holding open a door for a stranger or complimenting your colleague.

Although engaging in kind acts isn’t a universal remedy for emotional needs, these little acts of kindness can all add up to the adage: in helping others, you really can help yourself.The Conversation

Credits

Meena Andiappan, Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations, University of Toronto

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Share our story!
Posted in Inspirational, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Stuck In The Waiting Room: Why Women And Minority Groups Are Still Underrepresented

Posted on November 8, 2023 by Guest Contribution

“Stuck in the waiting room: Why women and minority groups are still underrepresented in top management,” by Louise Champoux-Paillé, Concordia University and Anne-Marie Croteau, Concordia University

Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of research looking at how well women are represented in top companies. The findings continue to be distressing.

Whether in Canada or the United States, the proportion of women in top management in large organizations still hovers around five per cent.

Can we expect this percentage to increase over the next few years? Will today’s pool of up-and-coming female talent ensure a substantial increase in the number of female CEOs, or will other strategies be required to change the game?

As dean of the John Molson School of Business and a decades-long expert on the place of women in the upper echelons of the business world, we are interested in explaining the current standstill.

Diversity in the C-Suite

A recent study published by Stanford University professors David F. Larcker and Brian Tayan provides us with some interesting information on this subject. The study aimed to identify the potential for women and members of cultural communities to be appointed to CEO positions in the top 100 U.S. companies. The authors evaluated those who hold positions that report directly to a CEO.

The conclusions of this analysis are worrying:

  • only 25 per cent of women hold such positions;
  • few women can be found in the functions that have the greatest potential for promotion, i.e. operations (15 per cent), financial services (14 per cent) and legal services (35 per cent);
  • the functions that offer fewer opportunities for promotion to CEO, according to the criteria used to select potential CEOs, are occupied to a greater extent by women (head of human resources, risk management, communications, etc.).

The greater presence of women in these support functions illustrates the leadership labyrinth, i.e. the complex, dead-end detours that women face in their careers due to stereotypes, biases and family responsibilities that they continue to shoulder alone, despite better sharing of these functions with their male partners.

Why, after so many decades of efforts to increase female representation in decision-making bodies, do so few women manage to hold these positions? We are proposing three sources of indirect discrimination as an explanation for this.

Lack Of Experience, A Discriminatory Criterion

In a recent article published by consulting firm Spencer Stuart, it was noted that the demand for experienced CEOs had almost quadrupled since the turn of the century, rising from four per cent in 1997 to 16 per cent in 2019. According to executives consulted by the firm, those in charge of selection processes assume that prior CEO experience is a predictor of the impact a candidate will have on shareholder value.

The findings of another study by the same firm on the life cycle of CEOs and their performance cast doubt on the assumption that there is a link between prior experience and shareholder value.

After analyzing the performance of 855 S&P CEOs over 20 years, the firm found that first-time CEOs produced a higher rate of shareholder return (TSR) than experienced CEOs. These non-experienced CEOs also demonstrated the advantage of staying in the job longer and having a less volatile performance overall.

According to the results of another study carried out a few years ago by Professors Michel Magnan of Concordia University and Sylvie St-Onge of HEC Montréal, less than 10 per cent of the differences in the stock market performance of the major Canadian banks can be explained by factors specific to each bank. These include the decisions and initiatives of the incumbent CEO, as well as the bank’s employees, customer base, business location and business mix.

The criterion of prior CEO experience, and the importance attached to it, is a factor of indirect discrimination that prevents women, members of cultural communities and young talent from having access to these positions. In addition to being discriminatory, this criterion perpetuates the status quo and limits access to such positions to a restricted group of individuals.

Underrepresented: Hiring People Who Look Like Us

The concept of “cultural fit” aims to select talented individuals who align with the company’s culture, i.e. its values, vision, role, objectives and other elements that make up its character.

While using this criterion to recruit has the advantage of attracting talent who will integrate and perform quickly, it has the disadvantage of favouring the status quo and majority rule. It also means we surround ourselves with people who resemble us, whether in terms of gender, age, cultural origins or other differences that might be seen as disrupting the status quo.

A study from the Center for Talent Innovation clearly shows that innovation thrives in an environment where leaders accept differences, are open to change and disruption, and encourage free expression.

The Underestimated Financial Value Of Diversity

A group of researchers from Bryant University and Concordia University carried out an empirical study of the financial performance of CEOs at the head of publicly traded U.S. companies. More than 11,600 observations were made each year over 15 years (1998-2013).

They found that women of colour and white women outperformed men of colour, who outperformed white men. According to the authors, these results can be explained by the fact that from a very young age, people from minority backgrounds are told by those around them that they need to develop resilience and that if they want to succeed, they need to be smarter and do better than anyone else.

More Human Leadership

In a world where volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity prevail, the leadership qualities that are appropriate to such a context should guide selection processes. These qualities — agility, adaptability, empathy, humility — can be found in both men and women. These are what we call “soft skills.”

According to a study published in August 2022, the quest for these qualities has become increasingly important in job descriptions for senior management positions over the past decade. Prioritizing the qualities that allow us to identify the best candidates is the only way to ensure a level playing field for women and men alike.

Companies can benefit from recognizing the importance of diversity in talent and leadership styles. By promoting the best people to positions of power, companies will become more efficient and more humane.The Conversation

Credits

Louise Champoux-Paillé, Cadre en exercice, John Molson School of Business, Concordia University and Anne-Marie Croteau, Dean, John Molson School of Business, Concordia University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Share our story!
Posted in Lifestyle, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mental Health Needs To Be A Cornerstone Of Equity

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Guest Contribution

“Mental health needs to be a cornerstone of equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives,” by Keshav Krishnamurty, York University, Canada

Equity, diversity and inclusion programs have become ubiquitous in the workplace. As organizations publicly express their commitment to diversity and inclusion, there is a growing concern that these concepts are merely buzzwords to make organizations look more socially responsible.

There has also been a growing backlash against the diversity, equity and inclusion movement. So, too, is the recognition that diversity statements can backfire against diverse applicants or reek of tokenism. They can result in unintended consequences, like making organizations less likely to notice discrimination or forcing job applicants to tone down their racial identity to increase their chance of a callback.

There is evidence that bias and diversity training that isn’t grounded in research can be ineffective or even have the opposite of the intended effect. Poorly executed equity, diversity and inclusion programs can provoke resentment among certain groups, like white men, or provide a smokescreen for increased discrimination.

On the bright side, the need to take diversity seriously has grown, too. Arguments for successful equity, diversity and inclusion programs (EDI) often point to how they can grow the bottom line or improve innovation. Others seek to reconcile the business and social justice cases for diversity.

But there is another part of this conversation that is rarely acknowledged: the universal human right to mental health.

Mental Health Is A Human Right

Oct. 10 was World Mental Health Day; a day when the World Health Organization seeks to educate people about mental health and combat the stigma associated with it. This year’s theme was “Mental health is a universal human right.”

This message carries significant weight, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns, which led to a worldwide surge in substance abuse, mental health issues and lingering feelings of fear and anxiety. These issues have a broad societal impact, particularly in the workplace, where people typically spend most of their adult lives.

Individuals from marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by mental health issues in the workplace. These challenges can encompass a range of issues, from anxiety and depression to feelings of loneliness and exclusion.

Part of this is due to the harassment and discrimination women and marginalized individuals experience. According to one study, racial and ethnic minorities suffer race-specific discrimination four to six times more often than their white counterparts, while women are three to four times more likely to face gender discrimination and sexual harassment than their male peers. Belonging to more than one disadvantaged group further increases the likelihood of workplace discrimination.

equity

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the mental health challenges faced by marginalized communities, placing additional strain on their mental health.

Additionally, structural racism has led to workplace cultures where fear of retribution silences victims of discrimination, preventing them from speaking out.

As such, marginalized employees are at risk of losing more than pay or promotion — their voices may be ignored when it comes to planning and implementing the policies that are supposed to benefit them. This situation is exacerbated by the increased emphasis on workplace meritocracy, which can lead to hidden discrimination.

The Perils Of Meritocracy

Meritocracy is the idea that there is a clear standard of merit and that individuals can be assessed, judged, ranked or sorted accordingly.

However, the idea of selection by merit tends to create a bias against marginalized employees. They’re assumed to have gotten their position because they belonged to a particular category rather than having deserved it.

Additionally, racialized individuals, particularly those of Asian descent, often face the pressure of conforming to the “model minority” stereotype and not speaking out about their needs. They are implicitly expected to work harder and be smarter than others.

When individuals are unable to meet these artificial standards, they may blame themselves for not being able to succeed. Poorly executed EDI programs can worsen the situation.

Far too many individuals suffer in silence, rather than seek treatment. A survey from 2016 found that Asian Americans were 51 per cent less likely to use mental health services than European Americans.

The pandemic has further compounded these challenges for East Asian Canadians, who have been experiencing increased levels of anti-Asian discrimination. Even indirect experiences of racism can lead to higher levels of anxiety and depression.

More Effective EDI Initiatives

In light of the pandemic, workplaces committed to diversity and inclusion mustn’t overlook the importance of addressing mental health concerns.

Workplace initiatives that support equity, diversity and inclusion should also target mental health. This means any EDI initiative should also address the core problems that cause common mental health issues. There are several potential strategies workplaces should consider:

1. Embrace diverse perspectives: Workplaces should actively encourage diverse personalities and attitudes while fostering a culture of inclusion.

2. Understanding intersectional discrimination: Intersectional discrimination refers to the fact that individuals may face discrimination based on multiple aspects of their identity, such as race, gender and sexual orientation. Recognizing and addressing these unique challenges is essential.

3. Empowering women: Initiatives to help women succeed in the workplace, like mentorship and sponsorship programs, are critical. These approaches have shown positive outcomes in breaking down barriers for women in various industries.

4. Fostering a sense of belonging: Ensure employees from diverse backgrounds feel like productive and valued members of their work community. This can help organizations tailor their mental health strategies to be more person-centred and holistic.

5. Building workplace communities: Promote the development of a strong sense of community within the workplace. This can enhance the overall well-being of employees and contribute to a more supportive and inclusive environment.

6. Culture-specific interventions: Implement community-based mental health strategies that take into account the unique cultural backgrounds and experiences of individuals and adapt support accordingly.

These suggestions are only the beginning, however. What truly matters is setting up EDI and mental health programs in the workplace that are based on evidence. While there is still a long road ahead, the integration of EDI and mental health initiatives represents a significant step towards more inclusive, equitable and mentally healthy workplaces for all.The Conversation

Credits

Keshav Krishnamurty, Part-time Instructor, Schulich School of Business, York University, Canada

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Share our story!
Posted in Life | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Breast Cancer Awareness Is Not Enough

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Guest Contribution

“Breast cancer awareness is not enough: Public health strategies need to be based on prevention,” by Jane E. McArthur, University of Windsor

I’m tired of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Forgive me, but as a researcher studying how we understand information on links between environmental and occupational exposures and breast cancer, I’ve grown weary of yet another October decorated in pink, promoting the same message of awareness. The message itself has become tired, and awareness-raising alone is an ineffective solution to the breast cancer epidemic.

Year after year, we miss opportunities for critical interventions in the primary prevention of breast cancer. For my dissertation research on awareness of environmental breast cancer risks, I interviewed women workers at the Ambassador Bridge, where there are high rates of breast cancer. Larissa* pointed out:

“I know it is out there. I know it happens. You see breast cancer awareness everywhere, but it’s pink. That’s what you see. You don’t see information on what we can do to prevent.”

Screening and early detection programmes are widely promoted, advocacy for treatments continues and survival of breast cancer for some groups of women has improved. These are crucial pieces for tackling breast cancers that develop. But comparatively little effort seems to go into primary prevention, which means stopping cancer before it starts.

The focus persists on advising women to exercise, eat well and limit alcohol intake. Messaging about the need for policy, regulation, legislation, strategies and programs that prioritize primary prevention from environmental exposures to breast carcinogens is inconspicuous.

Lifetime Risk Is 1 In 8

I recognize that Breast Cancer Awareness Month provides an opportunity for contribution, engagement and hope. And I understand why women and their allies support these initiatives. It offers a chance to feel some power over a disease that creates so much fear and suffering.

Nearly 630,000 women across the globe died from breast cancer last year. The overall global incidence of breast cancer continues to rise with marginal improvements in five-year survival rates. North American women face a one in eight-lifetime risk for breast cancer, with almost 525 new diagnoses of breast cancer each week in Canada. Fourteen Canadian women die each day from breast cancer. Incidence is rising in younger women, specifically in premenopausal women.

Only five to ten per cent of cases are related to genetics, with family history, lifestyle and behaviour factoring into overall incidence. Fewer than 50 per cent of breast cancers can be explained by known or suspected risk factors. Research suggests that environmental factors may contribute in 70 to 90 per cent of breast cancer cases.

When I interviewed Annie, she said:

“I am a big proponent of government taking care of us citizens. To me, that is what government is for. Regulation is important to me. I feel that that’s key.”

With Annie’s words and those of other women in mind, I recently wrote to governmental leaders, ministries, public health agencies and the Canadian Cancer Society. I conveyed my concerns about the focus on awareness that highlights lifestyle factors and omits exposures in our living and working environments. I suggested we need more action on primary prevention to limit or eliminate exposures to known and suspected breast carcinogens.

My letter also reflected Erin’s thoughts:

“I think that ensuring that people have the knowledge of what is really going on is a big issue. And then, with the knowledge, change policy or the way that things are being done, so that people are not at risk.”

breast cancer awareness

Breast Cancer Awareness: Primary Prevention

To implement practical primary prevention activities, we need to draw on the science of the associations between breast cancer and risky exposures in our social environments. For example, when we know women are being exposed to identified breast carcinogens in their workplaces, why are we not reducing or eliminating these exposures to prevent breast cancer?

When we know that there are endocrine-disrupting chemicals in personal care products, and these are associated with an elevated risk for breast cancer, why are we not eliminating or replacing these substances?

When science tells us that women in areas with high volumes of air pollution, especially vehicle exhaust, are at a higher risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer, why are we not putting controls on pollutants or developing alternatives?

When we know there are disparities in breast cancer incidence and survival across groups of racialized women, why are we ignoring social determinants of health in our strategies to mitigate risk and prevent the disease?

Scientific Evidence

Science provides evidence of exogenous exposures that contribute to the development of breast cancer. Many of these exposures are outside of the control of individual women; they are involuntary exposures not modifiable with lifestyle or behavioural changes. Instead, systemic changes — regulations, legislation, policies — with the protection of the public are fundamental to prevention. We need the political will and those with power to enact these critical changes.

Pink products and awareness-raising are not enough. At this time, when COVID-19, climate change and political turmoil dominate our thoughts, it is tiring even to begin to think of adding yet another struggle to the list. But to effect real change against the breast cancer epidemic, we need more powerful, structural strategies that prevent exposures to known and suspected breast carcinogens in the places we live and work.

*Pseudonyms are used to protect the identities of study participants.The Conversation

Credits

Jane E. McArthur, Doctoral Candidate, Sociology-Social Justice, University of Windsor

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Share our story!
Posted in Life, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How Corporate Landlords Are Eroding Affordable Housing

Posted on October 25, 2023 by Guest Contribution

“How corporate landlords are eroding affordable housing — and prioritizing profits over human rights,” by Ateqah Khaki, The Conversation and Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation

One factor driving the housing crisis across the country is a shift away from publicly built housing toward large corporate-owned buildings where, as today’s guest Prof. Nemoy Lewis puts it, “housing is treated as a commodity, not a human right.”

For many people living in Canada, housing has emerged as one of the most challenging issues. This is especially true in our largest cities, where financial stress plagues many households.

Housing Is Scarce

Homeownership is widely out of reach and for renters, housing is scarce, expensive and precarious.

In Toronto, Canada’s largest city, vacancy rates are at their lowest levels in nearly two decades and average rents have jumped nearly 10 per cent — the sharpest increase in more than a decade. Last week’s rent strike in Toronto is just one indication that Canadians need solutions.

According to today’s guest, Prof. Nemoy Lewis from the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University, one of the factors driving this affordability crisis has been a shift away from publicly built housing toward large corporate-owned buildings. And the result, he says, is that now: “housing is treated as a commodity, rather than a human right.”

Prof. Nemoy discusses the disproportionate impacts these corporate landlords are having on Black and low-income communities — in income-polarized cities that are increasingly accessible to only a small group of wealthy people.

Read more in TC

Resources

“The Uneven Racialized Impacts of Financialization” (A Report for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate, June 2022) by Nemoy Lewis

The Tenant Class By Ricardo Tranjan

The Rise of the Corporate Landlord

Ethno-racial and nativity differences in the likelihood of living in affordable housing in Canada by Kate H. Choi and Sagi Ramaj (Housing Studies)

North York tenants join hundreds of Torontonians striking against above-guideline rent increases

Thorncliffe Park tenants protest above-limit rent hike (The Toronto Observer)

Listen and follow

You can listen to or follow Don’t Call Me Resilient on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.

We’d love to hear from you, including any ideas for future episodes. Join The Conversation on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok and use #DontCallMeResilient.The Conversation

Ateqah Khaki, Associate Producer, Don’t Call Me Resilient, The Conversation and Vinita Srivastava, Host + Producer, Don’t Call Me Resilient, The Conversation

Credits

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Share our story!
Posted in audiobooks, Lifestyle | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

How Women In Israel And Palestine Are Pushing For Peace — Together

Posted on October 23, 2023 by Guest Contribution

“How women in Israel and Palestine are pushing for peace — together,” by Siobhan Byrne, University of Alberta

On Oct. 4, 2023, just days before the Hamas attacks on Israel and the retaliatory Israeli aerial bombardment and siege on Gaza, thousands of Israeli and Palestinian feminist peace activists gathered in Jerusalem and near the Dead Sea.

Representing Israeli-based Women Wage Peace and Palestinian-based Women of the Sun, this feminist peace coalition called on political leaders to negotiate an end to the bloodshed and resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Three days later, Hamas militants attacked Israeli communities along the Gaza border, killing more than 1,300 people and kidnapping as many as 190, according to Israeli officials.

Israel has responded with an all-out siege of Gaza, cutting off power, water and food and initiating a punishing aerial bombardment that has killed hundreds of Gazans and displaced countless others. A massive Israeli military ground invasion appears likely, but there is nowhere for more than two million Palestinians to flee in a territory under siege.

Difficult Statement

Following the Hamas attack, Women Wage Peace posted an image of a bloodied dove on their social media feed.

A week later, the movement issued a full statement on the rapid escalation of violence in Gaza:

“Every mother, Jewish and Arab, gives birth to her children to see them grow and flourish and not to bury them. That’s why, even today, amid the pain and the feeling that the belief in peace has collapsed, we extend a hand in peace to the mothers of Gaza and the West Bank.”

This was undoubtedly a difficult statement to write through their grief and anguish. Veteran Canadian-Israeli activist Vivian Silver, a founding member of Women Wage Peace, is among those Israelis presumed kidnapped or murdered in the Hamas attack. And today, Palestinians struggle to stay alive under Israel’s campaign of collective punishment in Gaza.

But this statement of cross-community solidarity — steadfastly insisting on peace in the face of war — is emblematic of the power and resolve of feminist anti-war collective action.

Both Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun were founded after the 2014 Gaza War, a 50-day conflict that caused mass displacement and injury and left more than 2,250 Palestinians dead. That included more than 550 children, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

In 2016, Women Wage Peace organized a mass March of Hope — which included 30,000 people in Israel and 3,000 Palestinians from the West Bank — carrying a message of peace in the wake of violence and death.

Women of the Sun was founded in Bethlehem by Palestinians living under occupation to empower Palestinian women and call for peace. Today, the partnership between the two organizations results from earlier iterations of women-led peace activism throughout the conflict.

palestinePalestine: Other Peace Movements

For example, the Women in Black movement, forged during the early years of the first Palestinian uprising in the late 1980s, brought together Israeli peace activists in Jerusalem to hold weekly vigils carrying signs that simply read “End the occupation.”

The movement went on to inspire similar vigils in Israel and cities worldwide. The global Women in Black movement has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and maintains an active network today.

Similarly, in the mid-1990s, Palestinian and Israeli feminists formed a feminist peace initiative called the Jerusalem Link following the Oslo peace process, initiated in 1993. Jerusalem Link brought together Israeli women affiliated with the women-led Bat Shalom peace movement and Palestinian women affiliated with the Jerusalem Centre for Women, based in East Jerusalem.

These are hard-fought feminist peace movements that are difficult to sustain amid occupation and war.

I once interviewed Palestinian and Israeli peace activists representing Women in Black and the Jerusalem Link while researching feminist peace communities in Israel and the occupied West Bank in the mid-2000s.

I was buoyed by the solidarity and careful dialogue women developed with each other but also dismayed by how difficult it was to maintain joint action as construction on a new Israeli wall began to choke off the West Bank and Israeli settlements expanded through the occupied territory.

The joint Women Wage Peace-Women of the Sun initiative is another call for peace. The international community — including states that claim to have a feminist foreign policy, like Canada — should elevate their voices.

Entrenching Divisions

But when political leaders like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cast Palestinian solidarity demonstrations as “a glorification of violence,” it entrenches the very kinds of divisions that Israeli and Palestinian people are working to overcome every day.

Trudeau’s portrayal of demonstrations as celebrations of Hamas violence was similar to the actions of London police, who criminalized pro-Palestinian protesters, and total bans in France and Germany of demonstrations of Palestinian solidarity.

The 1993 Oslo Peace Accords introduced the “two-state solution” and initiated a “peace process,” calling for Palestinian self-government and promising Palestinian political autonomy. But elections held under an intensifying occupation and limited autonomy without sovereignty don’t amount to a Palestinian state.

In 2000, the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security mandated the inclusion of women’s participation in conflict resolution and peace-building, including support of local women’s peace initiatives.

This month, the UN celebrates the 23rd anniversary of the resolution. Canada is set to release its third National Action Plan on the resolution soon as part of its ostensible commitment to a national feminist foreign policy.

Resolution Worthless?

As the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, outgoing UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism, remarked:

“We’ve had 20 years plus of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. And if that agenda doesn’t mean something now, it’s worthless.”

The peace community is awaiting news of Silver, the missing Women Wage Peace activist.

Speaking with the BBC, her son Yonatan Ziegen imagines what his mother would say to the world: “This is the outcome of war. Of not striving for peace, and this is what happens.” Today, Palestinians in Gaza are living this reality following Israel’s warning to evacuate.

If our national commitment to women, peace and security and our feminist foreign policy means anything at all, we must stand together for human rights and justice and endeavour to elevate the many voices of solidarity and peace.The Conversation

Credits

Siobhan Byrne, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Intersectionality Studies, University of Alberta

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Share our story!
Posted in Life | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment