{"id":56078,"date":"2026-05-22T13:07:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/56078\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T13:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:07:24","slug":"air-canadas-2025-workplace-benefits-awards-win-supporting-dei-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/56078\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Canada\u2019s 2025 Workplace Benefits Awards win supporting DEI strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Read: Air Canada wins award for enterprise-wide DEI strategy<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

The airline won the DEI Program award at the 2025 Workplace Benefits Awards<\/a> for its efforts to embed DEI initiatives across frontline, operational and corporate teams. In recent years, Air Canada has expanded its DEI champion network, growing from 50 to 120 employees across the company. The champions receive training to help guide conversations around inclusion, supporting their colleagues and amplifying awareness of DEI initiatives within the workplace.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re intentional about that progression because we do train our DEI champions,\u201d Scott explains. \u201cSome of these topics can be very challenging, so they need to understand how to navigate those conversations, where to send people and what the parameters are of their voluntary role.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

One of the biggest shifts over the past year has been the growing independence of ERGs and DEI champions in leading grassroots initiatives. \u201cThe champions and our employee resource groups are becoming more and more independent, really driving some of the change from the grassroots level,\u201d she says. \u201cThat maturity level has really kicked in and that\u2019s what we\u2019re talking about when we\u2019re talking about embedding DEI \u2014 that it\u2019s not driven solely by us.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0Employers downplaying DEI sending wrong message to employees: expert<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

The organization has also adjusted its DEI training strategy to become more targeted across different parts of the workforce. \u201cBefore, we were giving blanket training across the organization and now we\u2019re being far more intentional about addressing particular areas of the workforce where we see challenges or struggles within the workplace. That shift is thanks to the feedback we\u2019re getting from the champions.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

One ongoing challenge is ensuring DEI messaging reaches employees across Air Canada\u2019s global workforce, particularly frontline workers who may not regularly access corporate communication channels.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have individuals who are on the ramp and who aren\u2019t necessarily in front of a computer or in front of corporate communication channels,\u201d she notes. \u201cTrying to engage everybody and debunk some of the misconceptions around DEI continues to be a challenge.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Read:\u00a0How investment organizations\u2019 DEI strategies are helping attract, support BIPOC talent<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Despite some organizations scaling back DEI initiatives, Scott says diversity remains closely tied to Air Canada\u2019s business strategy and long-term workforce goals. \u201cWe are an airline \u2014 the nature of the work we do is connecting people from different cultural backgrounds. The more perspectives you have around challenges, the better your end product is.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Employee resource groups have also helped shape aspects of the customer experience, including cultural offerings in airport lounges. \u201cThat\u2019s the value that comes when you have a diverse workforce. The Canada of 2040 is going to be very different from the present day and employers that haven\u2019t embraced this will find themselves behind the eight ball.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Enter the 2026 Workplace Benefits Awards\u00a0here<\/a>. The deadline is June 30\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Read: Air Canada wins award for enterprise-wide DEI strategy The airline won the DEI Program award at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56079,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24687,24690,17,13186,24688,24692,24693,24689,2932,24691,2836,20125],"class_list":["post-56078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-2025-workplace-benefits-awards","tag-attraction-and-retention","tag-canada","tag-communication","tag-dei-strategy","tag-employee-belonging","tag-employee-resource-groups","tag-gender-equity","tag-human-resources","tag-inclusive-workplace","tag-leadership","tag-people-of-colour"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56078"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56078\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}