This tweet didn’t make me feel good about my government in Canada, which has dragged its heels on diversity, since the Liberal’s decision not to include SAG-AFTRA members in its new chief talent office.
Diversity must be more than just words. But it is disappointing to see the initial six #Recruiting2030 talent spot had to be closed because of the resistance of senior people, according to reports.
Now, presumably these people are the same ones that immediately take over the behind-the-scenes jobs when a position becomes open, so the thinking here would seem to be that diversity is just a slogan.
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Canadians support principle of gender neutral pronouns, poll finds But let’s be real for a second. Not only does Canada suffer from an artificial shortage of female workers — all the ancillary workers for a “One Big Family” environment — but the country is seriously lacking in the under-30 demographic.
Stagnant job growth across the country, caused by immigration policy of the Conservative government of Stephen Harper (which I once called out in a much more compassionate way than this ex-prime minister ever was), have allowed such a thing to happen.
All Canadian provinces, except Quebec, are struggling with youth unemployment. In fact, young people are more likely to be out of work than they have been in 100 years.
I worry about our future tax revenues. And my future child care.
So, in a bit of a chicken-or-egg situation, I am afraid Canada is facing a similar shortage of female workers as it is struggling with a shortage of young people to work in these jobs.
Now, the Canadian employment rates among young people are twice as high as they are among females.
But you cannot blame the shortage of female workers on only women.
Why, after all, should women be left out of the talent lottery?
Oh, I know. Because older people bring more “value” than younger people.
This is not only lazy thinking; it is also pointlessly crass.
Earlier this week, Hillary Clinton implored the entire Millennial generation to move to Canada.
Because, Clinton pointed out, “unless you go in one direction, Canada is just moving ever-northward and toward a White America with its imperial power and now a Great White North where the only way to out get her is to be Canadian.”
That is definitely an exaggeration, but there are many a Canadian who would say the same thing.
It’s not just blaming the victims.
The truth is our government has missed an historic opportunity to diversify its workforce.
Diversity, as stated in Diversity’s Mission Statement, is “an essential and systematic part of how the organization in all aspects of its operation works and operates.”
That statement bears repeating.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau needs to act quickly to recruit more women into his organizations — because the talent pool is shallow and starting off with a performance deficit is not good for anyone.
Shame on Trudeau for not investing in creating a human capital pipeline to fulfil that mission statement.