Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
WHAT TOOK PLACE IN 2024
April 19, 2024 – Rainbow Entrepreneur Roundtable
Surrey Board of Trade Conference Room (#101, 14439-104 Avenue) from 12-1:30pm.
The Surrey Board of Trade in cooperation with the Surrey Pride Society is pleased to invite you to the Rainbow Entrepreneur Roundtable, designed to be an open and supportive dialogue among entrepreneurs within the LGBTQ++ community. This event brought together a diverse group of rainbow entrepreneurs and those that support rainbow entrepreneurs to discuss the unique challenges and opportunities they face, and to explore avenues for mutual support, action and collaboration.
Who Attended?
This event is open to LGBTQ++ entrepreneurs, business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in supporting and fostering inclusivity in Surrey?s business community.
Why?
Gain valuable insights from experienced rainbow entrepreneurs.
Connect with a network of like-minded professionals.
Discover resources and opportunities to help your business thrive.
Collaborate and share experiences with the rainbow entrepreneur community.
Contribute to building an inclusive and supportive business community.
We are proud to belong to the Community of Accessible Employers!
Is your BC business working towards accessible employment? Join the community.
Do you want to be a more inclusive and accessible employer? Take this 15 minute Disability Inclusive Employer Self-Assessment to gain a deeper understanding of where you’re doing well and where there’s room to improve.
Creating Accessible Workplaces Training
The Surrey Board of Trade, in partnership with the Presidents Group, is offering access to free training to help build your skills and confidence in employing people with disabilities. The content is relevant to anyone involved in hiring or managing people.
This 5-part course can be completed online at your own pace. Each module takes about 30 minutes to complete. You’ll learn the business case for inclusive workplaces, legal requirements, and terminology, and common workplace barriers employers can address. Upon completion of the course, you will receive a certificate and your company can be listed on the accessibleemployers.ca website.
The course includes the following modules:
- Legal Requirements of an Inclusive Employer
- Accommodations in the Workplace
- Elements of Inclusive Workplaces
- Removing Barriers
- Knowledge into Action
How to Register:
To register for the Creating Accessible Workplaces Certificate Course, please go to learning.accessibleemployers.ca, then click on the square “Do you have an enrollment key?” and enter the following information:
Enrollment Key Name: SBOTMember
About the Presidents Group:
Presidents Group is a network of 25 change-driven BC business leaders who are champions for more accessible, inclusive workplaces. Leaders of businesses of all different sizes and sectors are represented, and nearly 60,000 British Columbians are employed at the Presidents Group’s member organizations. These leaders meet quarterly to share best practices amongst one another and serve an advisory role to BC’s Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction. Presidents Group also supports the Community of Accessible Employers, which gives employers beyond the 25 members the chance to join the movement to accessible employment, through free events, networking, and curriculum. Currently, over 250 different companies from across the province have staff signed up for our Community.
DIVERSITY INSTITUTE IMPACT REPORT
Impact Report
LINKS
How to Make Your Online Job Application More Accessible and Inclusive
International Day of Living Together in Peace
World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness & Visibility Day
Enabling disability inclusion in the workplace
Employers’ Lessons Learned in Hiring, Retaining and Advancing Employees with Disabilities
How to Talk About Disability Sensitively and Avoid Ableist Tropes
Resources
WorkBC
WorkBC Assistive Technology Services provides assistive technology or support to individuals with disabilities to assist them to gain and sustain employment or community attachment.
Small Business BC (SBBC)
Small Business BC helps British Columbia’s entrepreneurs grow successful and sustainable businesses through expert business advisors, educational services, easy-to-use free resources, and engaging community events.
Small Business BC is proud to be a diverse and accessible employer. Watch this video to learn how they encourage and uplift their team through the inspiring stories of Roop Johal, Business Development & Sponsorship Manager, and Tom Conway, our CEO.
Hire For Talent
Hire for Talent– is an Inclusive Canadian Workforce with a national project that will deliver a Canada-wide awareness campaign aimed at increasing the confidence of employers when hiring people with disabilities.
Their awareness campaign also aims to increase employer awareness about how people with disabilities are a talented part of the workforce and will provide resources to help employers tap into this talent pool during their search for skilled workers.
Neil Squire
Neil Squire with the use of use technology, knowledge, and passion Neil Squire empowers Canadians with disabilities.
Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA)
PHSA provides educational opportunities and courses for learning about gender diversity and creating gender-affirming environments. To know more about the courses and the registration process, click here and for training opportunities, click here.
