President and CEO Brian Porter participates in the BlackNorth
Initiative Summit
TORONTO, July 20, 2020 /CNW/ - Today at the inaugural
BlackNorth Initiative Summit, Scotiabank reaffirmed its commitment
to combatting racism and discrimination of all forms to enable
better futures for its employees, customers and communities at
large.
"For too long, many members of our communities have felt
excluded from economic opportunities because of systemic racism,
unconscious bias, and discrimination," said Scotiabank President
and CEO Brian Porter. "Our Bank is
only as successful as the societies in which we operate. When there
are individuals and communities that feel left out, we cannot be
strong. By working with the BlackNorth Initiative, we're confident
that we will see real and positive change across society, for the
benefit of all Canadians."
Porter, alongside several leaders from corporate Canada, participated in the inaugural
BlackNorth Initiative Summit earlier today. Scotiabank signed the
BlackNorth Initiative CEO pledge, which outlines seven goals for
organizations aimed at helping to end anti-Black systemic racism
and creating opportunities for all of those in the underrepresented
Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities. Porter
was recently named to the BlackNorth Board of Directors. Scotia
Capital Vice Chairman, Mark
Mulroney, was also named to the Board.
"We are building a Bank that is strengthened by our
differences–not divided by them–that calls out injustice of all
forms when we see it and that strives to use every opportunity to
make better, stronger societies," added Porter.
"We are deeply committed to fostering an inclusive culture and,
as a whole, the Bank is moving to advance diversity and inclusion
for our customers and employees through several important
initiatives," said Barb Mason, Group
Head and Chief Human Resources Officer. "We have a long history of
championing diversity and inclusion in every market in which we
operate, and we are committed to taking meaningful steps to support
the advancement of members of BIPOC communities."
Recent Efforts to Increase BIPOC Employee Representation and
Support
To strengthen its BIPOC efforts, the Bank has recently
implemented several initiatives, including:
- Standing up a BIPOC Inclusion Task Force to support the
elimination of racism and racial discrimination in society through
a coordinated strategy that will focus on employee programs,
business activities and community partnerships. The Task Force will
work closely with the Bank's Inclusion Council, which is chaired by
the President and CEO of Scotiabank.
- Ensuring a strong pipeline of BIPOC talent into the Bank. Over
50% of student hires come from BIPOC communities and the Bank
remains committed to this level of overall representation, with
special emphasis being placed on representation of Black and
Indigenous students going forward.
- Relaunching an updated employee diversity survey to better
understand its employee population and diversity representation
gaps, as well as extend reporting beyond visible minority
representation to include race and ethnicity.
- Providing senior leaders with the opportunity to hear directly
from employees who identify as BIPOC across Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. through
listening sessions.
- Supporting managers and employees to recognize and confront
racism, including anti-Black racism, with recently launched leader
guides that provide practical information and help employees build
confidence in speaking up about systemic racism, anti-Black racism,
racial harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
"We are proud of our diverse workforce and believe it helps
differentiate as us a top employer, a leading financial services
partner, and an integral part of the communities we serve," added
Mason. "We know the work to build a more inclusive Bank is never
done, and we are in the process of renewing our targets based on
our current employee diversity survey. These commitments are in
addition to our BlackNorth pledge. We remain more committed
than ever to empowering inclusion and opportunity, for every
future."
Scotiabank is here for every future
To reinforce the Bank's purpose – for every future – and
unwavering commitment to inclusion, Scotiabank recently
published a short film featuring diverse voices of
employees, customers, and community partners speaking about the
real and positive impact made by Scotiabank across its footprint.
The film has been shared with the Bank's tens of thousands of
employees.
Fostering An Inclusive Workplace for Black and Indigenous and
People of Colour
The Bank is committed to building a
workplace that is free of discrimination. In 2016, Scotiabank was
the first Canadian bank to adopt its own Human Rights
Statement at the highest level of the organization, and the
Bank continues to further foster an inclusive workplace that is
free of discrimination and provides equal access to opportunity for
Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour through the following:
- Enabling employees to acknowledge and check any biases be it
conscious or unconscious: The Bank's global diversity training
includes learning and guides on workplace safety and inclusion, and
mandatory unconscious bias training that promote a zero-tolerance
approach to discrimination and harassment in the
workplace.
- Building an inclusive culture through training and learning:
More than 30 different formal diversity and inclusion-related
learning programs are offered to all employees through LinkedIn
Learning's digital library.
- Providing a hub of inclusion resources: A new dedicated
internal website features helpful resources, Bank actions, and
other items to support employee education and action.
- Supporting the inclusion of Indigenous employees: The Bank has
prepared a detailed three-year Employment Equity Plan to promote
diversity, develop positive Indigenous relationships and respond to
Canada's Reconciliation
imperative.
- Empowering change through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs):
Grassroots efforts have established 13 ERGs that enable employees
to learn and affect change at the individual level. Among them are
an Indigenous Network, six visible minority-focused groups, a
global Pride network, and 30+ Women's Group Chapters that have more
than 8,500 employees participate globally. Many of them make up the
70 national and global chapters that host about 100 educational
events a year.
Ensuring A Diverse Pipeline For Leadership Roles:
The Bank is taking steps to ensure its leadership teams better
reflect its customers and the communities in which it operates
by:
- Championing inclusion from the top: Scotiabank's Inclusion
Council involves senior leaders across the Bank and is sponsored by
the Bank's President and CEO. It focuses on ensuring a diverse
talent pipeline of future leaders.
- Setting up an Employment Equity Advisory Forum to provide
recommendations and support the removal of barriers to ensure the
Bank continues to build a diverse and inclusive workplace.
- Adding a new promotability flag for all employees globally
within a new HR platform, providing line of sight centrally to the
strong talent across the Bank.
- Improving employment systems. The Bank is reviewing its HR
systems, policies, and practices, with a specific lens to BIPOC,
gender, LGBT+, and people with disabilities.
- Interviewing and hiring candidates from the broadest talent
pools for all levels. The Bank is applying best practices to
support managers and consulting with partners on additional
measures to ensure fair and equitable hiring, development, and
promotion.
Supporting Economic Inclusion For BIPOC Through Community
Investment
Through a variety of partnerships and programs focused on
advancement of BIPOC in the community, Scotiabank reinforces its
commitment to real and positive change. Many of these
partnerships are described in Scotiabank's 2019 Employment Equity
report.
The Bank also recently announced a $500,000 commitment to several organizations
recognized for their leadership in ending racial discrimination in
Black communities within Canada
and the U.S. Funds are directed toward providing tools and
educational resources for those groups most at risk of being
subject to individual, institutional and systemic racism, with a
focus on Black youth and include organizations such as Careers
Education Empowerment Centre for Young Black Professionals and the
Canadian Race Relations Foundation.
About Scotiabank
Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our
purpose: "for every future," we help our customers,
their families and their communities achieve success through a
broad range of advice, products and services, including personal
and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking,
corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team
of approximately 97,000 employees and assets of over $1.2
trillion (as at April 30, 2020), Scotiabank trades on the
Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit our
website and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.
SOURCE Scotiabank