Enbridge named again among Canada's Best Diversity Employers
Practically speaking, diversity means inclusion . . . and inclusion means opportunity.
For the second straight year, Enbridge has been named among the annual list of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers. Our total workforce surpassed 11,500 employees and provisioned contractors last year – and we continue to expand, as we engage in a $44-billion growth capital program, the largest in company history.
A diverse and inclusive workplace allows us to benefit from different perspectives, experiences, skills, and abilities in pursuit of our vision – to be a North American industry leader in energy delivery.
“Our primary goal is to recruit the most qualified and talented people to help us achieve our objectives as a company . . . and to do that, we need to remove any barriers that might keep qualified people from working with us, or growing with us,” says Lori Campbell, Enbridge’s manager of diversity.
For Enbridge, as with other employers, says Campbell, that means taking the time to ensure job postings aren’t targeted to a limited audience, or offering necessary accommodations in a job interview, or even recognizing unconscious biases that discourage certain groups from advancing in the company.
The 2015 Canada’s Best Diversity Employers list, with a total of 65 employers, is compiled by Mediacorp Canada, which also rates Canada’s Top 100 Employers list every year. The competition examines a range of diversity initiatives, including programs for five major employee groups – women; members of visible minorities; those with disabilities; Aboriginal peoples; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered/transsexual (LGBT) employees.
The 2015 Canada’s Best Diversity Employers index was announced on March 31 with a special publication in the Globe and Mail.
Enbridge was named to the 2015 list for a variety of reasons, including:
- Our employee resources groups (ERGs), employee-led affinity groups that provide a supportive environment and aim to create a stronger sense of community;
- The efforts of FEMINEN (Females in Engineering), an Enbridge employee resource group that’s dedicated to attracting, retaining, and engaging female employees, and recently piloted a mentoring initiative in Edmonton for female Aboriginal high school students;
- The Women@Enbridge network, which supports the career advancement and professional development of female employees;
- The launch of EnBrace, a resource group for internationally educated professionals;
- And its management of the Oasis Coordinator Project, which employs adults with developmental disabilities to maintain company kitchen spaces.
Having the right people with the right skills and experience in the right roles “is critical to helping us realize our company vision, and deliver our purpose,” says Campbell.
“If that means we need to work a little differently, and make a little more of an investment to remove barriers and help people get integrated into Enbridge, that will be worth it.”
