Canadian Army Trumps Diversity … with a Picture of Eight White Men

Institutions around the world fully recognize that it is important not just to increase diversity and inclusion – but to do so in a transparent and open manner, which is probably why the new Canadian Chief of Defense Staff made a proud statement this week about recent discussions at the country’s highest levels of armed forces. . “Conversations about diversity, inclusion, and cultural change do not conflict with our thirst for operational excellence.” Admiral Art MacDonald recently wrote on Twitter: “I count on my top leaders for advocacy of cultural change.” “Diversity makes us stronger, inclusion improves our organization.” Unfortunately, this exciting message has been undermined. Partly because of the accompanying photo – which showed eight white men sitting around a table. A white woman – and another white man – were just showing up on a screen showing remote participants. The post, which was intended as an indication of the military’s efforts to address its shortcomings. It is widely spread for all the wrong reasons. ”Are you talking about the diversity of employment of men with varying degrees of hair loss? “Comedian Rob Gill tweeted. Photo: TwitterCDSCanadaCEMD” These white guys are really diverse. Some of them have no hair. Another user tweeted, “Someone hates cilantro.” Others mocked the ambiguous and confusing “soldier talk” of the tweet. We may have our differences but we can all agree that we are thirsty for operational excellence. Positively thirsty for the lack of operational excellence. Journalist Vicki Mushama writes, “Feeling dry after chatting about diversity.” As criticism and ridicule grew, MacDonald, who held the position wrote A high-ranking military officer less than a month ago, an apology … It’s true: the leadership … has been, historically, mostly male and white. This should change, “he wrote. We need to reflect Canada’s diversity at all levels. We must work to eliminate systemic racism and dismantle barriers to career advancement. Canadian Defense Minister Hargit Sagan noted in a statement that the country continues to grapple with the “legacy of systemic racism” We are in a mindset but we know there is still a lot of work to be done, and we are committed to doing so., Discrimination and inclusiveness. ”Although defensive leadership is committed to increasing diversity in our ranks, errors like these show that Unintended bias still exists, “he wrote.