The Diversity Imperative

Hello and welcome! This week, Erin and Hannah are joined by Stacey Redford, Head of Human Resources and Dan Wright, Head of Seeds, with Syngenta Canada to talk human resource (HR) considerations as they relate to an organization's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategy. Stacey, who joined Syngenta in January 2022 and leads Syngenta’s renewed “people strategy”, answers a number of questions we have about HR’s role in supporting employees and as always, Dan candidly shares a few of his leadership strategies and gives us an update on Syngenta’s DEI journey. Dan and Stacey leave us with a number of great practical strategies you won’t want to miss.

So, you’ve been learning about diversity, equity, and inclusion, and you want to contribute to building an inclusive culture in your community or at work, but how do we make that desire actionable? How can each of us work within, and grow our “sphere of influence” to build an inclusive culture?  

This week, Erin and Hannah share a conversation where we discuss these important questions with Claire Cowan, entrepreneur and facilitator in the seed industry. We also discuss her workshop, Creating Inclusive Cultures, created specifically for the agriculture sector, that allows participants to build pragmatic and specific skills in these areas, and to practice those skills, like disrupting bias. Claire also shares some excellent tips on what to do if you’re on the receiving end of some tough feedback about your own actions.

For Mental Health Week, we’re passing the mic to The Do More Agriculture Foundation for a candid conversation on mental health and inclusion. The Do More Agriculture Foundation (DMAF) is the national voice and champion for mental health in Canadian agriculture. 

Megz Reynolds and Himadry Singh of DMAF in conversation with Amy Vanderheide, farmer from Nova Scotia and Stuart Chutter, farmer from Saskatchewan, discuss and share their perspectives on important topics such as the power of language to build community and overcome mental health stigma, the importance of representation, understanding our own mental health to help others, and so much more!

Welcome back to Season 2 of the Diversity Imperative! Erin Gowriluk and Hannah Konschuh are back with a focus on practical leadership strategies we can all implement in our daily lives when it comes to building inclusive cultures. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Melissa Horne, Director of Client Experience at Dialectic, about 4 ways we can lead more inclusively and the core concepts that drive inclusive leadership.

Thanks to our sponsor, Syngenta, for their continued support.

Welcome to the Summer Series, where we get to talk to the authors behind the articles and books that really made us think. In episode 8, we’re joined by Dr. Sarah Carter, Professor and Henry Marshall Tory Chair in the Department of History and Classics, and Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta. We discuss Sarah’s book Lost Harvests; Prairie Indian Reserve Farmers and Government Policy, where she provides an in-depth study of government policy, the response of First Nations people to those policies, and the socio-economic condition of the reserve communities on the prairies after treaties were signed. A must read/listen for all prairie people and agriculturalists alike.

We also welcomed back Dr. Melissa Arcand, Assistant Professor and Soil Biogeochemist from the University of Saskatchewan. What a treat to have her back for this conversation!

Welcome to the Summer Series, where we get to talk to the authors behind the articles and books that really made us think. In episode 7, we’re joined by Dr. Terri Cooper, Principal and Vice Chair of External Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Deloitte to discuss her article “The inclusion imperative for boards”. Dr. Cooper also walked us through the 6 traits of inclusive leadership that she’s worked to develop; some bonus content! The agriculture sector has so many boards of directors, responsible for many important decisions, so no surprise that this article was at the top of our summer reading list.

We also welcomed back our podcast partner Dan Wright, Head of Seeds with Syngenta Canada to discuss some key moments for him from Season 1 of the Diversity Imperative podcast and he stuck around to join us for our conversation with Dr. Cooper too. Enjoy!

You can find "The inclusion imperative for boards” here: https://diversityimperative.ca/episodes/

In episode 6 we’re joined by Dr. Melissa Arcand, Assistant Professor and Soil Biogeochemist, from the University of Saskatchewan. Melissa is also the academic advisor for students in the Kanawayihetaytan Askiy program, which trains students to work in resource management and land governance in Indigenous communities across Canada. We discuss how Melissa’s work as a natural scientist intersects with that of Indigenous knowledge systems, and we get the history lesson you wished you would have had years ago when it comes to Indigenous agriculture on the prairies and the oppressive policies put in place by the government of the day. Melissa also shares the work she leads that empowers First Nations land managers.

Update! The Diversity Imperative podcast has officially gone seeding for #plant21! We’ll be back for our summer series in a few weeks’ time. Until then, check us out on social media and @ the diversityimperative.com to see some of the great resources from season 1. 

In episode 5, Erin and Hannah are joined by Julia Romagnoli, Production Ag Specialist with John Deere from Guelph Ontario, and creator and curator of the Pride in Ag Instagram account. We discuss how Julia is using this platform to create community and connect people that identify as LGBTQ+ in agriculture, plus so much more! Julia leaves us with a few small but powerful and meaningful ways we can all make positive change for LGBTQ+ inclusion in agriculture. 

We’re talking accountability for agricultural organizations on episode 4, featuring guests Joe Dickenson, beef producer and director with Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO), and Chantelle Donahue, grain farmer from Saskatchewan and Vice President & Commercial Leader for Global Edible Oil Solutions-North America, for Cargill. We discuss the ways BFO and Cargill, two very different organizations, are working to hold themselves accountable when it comes to building diversity, equity, and inclusion into their organizations. Erin and Hannah also discuss some learning they did on transactional and transformational leadership.

To celebrate #IWD2021, Erin and Hannah are joined by Canadian Agriculture's leading women, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. They discuss her path to politics and the agriculture sector, and what it was like to be the first female Minister of Agriculture in Canada.

Minister Bibeau also discusses the governments 50-30 challenge, an initiative to accelerate diversity actions in Canadian organizations and why our sector should #choosetochallenge. Hannah and Erin discuss why targets should be considered when it comes to lifting your diversity and inclusion goals off the page.

On episode 1 of The Diversity Imperative, hosts Erin Gowriluk and Hannah Konschuh talk to Dan Wright, Head of Seeds for Syngenta Canada about his shift in moving towards the important conversation of diversity, equity, and inclusion. They discuss how to get over your fear of talking about diversity, as well as Syngenta’s strategy to create an equitable company culture.