By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Use appropriate terminology related to disability and persons with disabilities.
- Better understand disability, its prevalence in Canada and its impact on the workplace.
- Implement strategies and principles to improve inclusion for persons with disabilities in the workplace.
- Recognize instances of ableism and able-bodied privilege around them.
The Building an Inclusive Workplace Series is comprised of 5 individual webinars that will discuss the importance of creating an inclusive environment and address inequities faced in the workplace. These webinars will provide registrants with a deeper understanding of systemic issues faced by equity-seeking groups and provide tools and strategies to support an inclusive environment. Registrants who attend all 5 webinars will be granted a certificate from the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI).
The series is made up of the following webinars:
- Gender in the Workplace: Monday, November 21, 2022 from 9:00 AM–11:00 AM Pacific Time
- LGBTQ2+ Inclusion in the Workplace: Thursday, November 24, 2022 from 9:00 AM–11:00 AM Pacific Time
- Indigenous Inclusion in the Workplace: Monday, November 28, 2022 from 9:00 AM–11:00 AM Pacific Time
- Including Persons with Disabilities: Thursday, December 1, 2022 from 9:00 AM–11:00 AM Pacific Time
- Race and Ethnicity in Canada: Monday, December 5, 2022 from 9:00 AM–11:00 AM Pacific Time
Roy Pogorzelski
Associate, Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion
Roy Pogorzelski is Métis from Saskatchewan and his family comes from the communities of Green Lake, Meadow Lake and Batoche in the north. He was also selected to represent UNESCO Canada at the International Coalition of Cities Against Racism and Discrimination (ICCAR) for meetings on inclusion in cities in Nairobi Kenya. In 2016, Roy received a Human Rights Champion Award from the John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights.
He has a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies and a Bachelor of Human Justice from the University of Regina and a Masters of Science in Cultures and Development Studies at the Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven in Belgium.
Akira De Carlos (they/them/their)
Specialist, IDEA Learning, Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion
Akira De Carlos is a Queer Afro-Indigenous facilitator originally from Luanda, Angola. Throughout their undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto and at the beginning of their time at Concordia University, their facilitation work primarily focused on providing accessible education to racialized minorities on the intersecting topics of environmental justice. They are an experienced panel moderator on youth mobilizing, climate justice and anti-Black racism, who has mobilized for affordable housing and food insecurity.
Within their work for several NGO’s, they’ve collaborated on many projects focusing on implementing an anti-racist and anti-oppressive lens to organizational objectives and practices.
Basma Sheikh (she/her/hers)
Specialist, IDEA Learning, Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion
Basma has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and later pursued a Master of Science in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. She has facilitated numerous programs and workshops both in-person and on virtual platforms with up to 150 participants.
While working with diverse populations, specifically newcomers to Canada, Basma learned that there is ample room for improvement for workplaces to be more diverse and inclusive. She learned that there are everyday struggles that are faced by individuals which range from lack of diversity in the workplace to racism.