March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racism

March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racism

March 21, 2023

Today we recognize the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

While we can and should reflect on our progress advancing racial equity, diversity, and inclusion to date, this day serves as a call to action for individuals and institutions to continue to work to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination, systemic racism and hate, including those that manifest as anti-Indigenous, anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Muslim and antisemitic.

Our individual and collective engagement is essential to ensuring that all members of our campus community are treated with respect and dignity. so that we can all learn and work in safety, and have equal access and opportunity to succeed in academic and professional pursuits.

As a university, we continue our engagement and investment into advancing our commitments to anti-racism.

Released in 2022, the President’s Task Force on Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence Final Report is a comprehensive account of issues of race, racialization and racism from campus community members with lived/living experience.  

In 2021, the university received support from the Canadian Race Relations Foundations to host the National Forum on Anti-Asian Racism. The discussions from this event led to the publication of a final report developed to inform and inspire people across all sectors to mobilize and take the necessary action to continue the fight against anti-Asian and other forms of racism in Canada.  

In 2020, UBC signed the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education. The Charter offers principles, actions and commitments that reflect a collective recognition of the realities of anti-Black racism, encapsulates shared aspirations to address them, and provides a concrete framework for delivering on promises. 

As part of the university’s response to these recommendations, the Equity & Inclusion Office (EIO) is mobilizing a Strategic Equity & Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework and Roadmap for Change. These initiatives will guide the implementation of the university’s anti-racism and inclusive excellence priorities, among other priorities identified in several equity-related institutional plans and task force recommendations. Explore our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about our approach and next steps related to implementation.

To learn more about what you can do to combat racism generally, visit the Government of Canada website and the United Nations website dedicated to anti-racism and this day.

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” 

Desmond Tutu

If you require confidential advising on experiences of racial discrimination, please contact our Human Rights Advising Team or submit a confidential online advising request. 

If you require strategic consultation on how to develop and enact anti-racism leadership and organizational change for your academic or administrative unit, please contact the Strategic Partnerships & Capacity Building Team in the EIO by submitting a request for a consultation.  
 

Arig al Shaibah
Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion

Messages from the AVP, News and Stories |

Silvia D’Addario, PhD

March 15, 2023

Director, Community & Capacity Building

Campus: UBC Vancouver

Pronouns: she/her; they/them

Bio

Dr. Silvia D’Addario is the Director of Community and Capacity Building in the Equity & Inclusion Office. In this role, she leads the area responsible for EDI education, inclusive leadership development, conflict engagement and transformation, community engagement, and organizational capacity building. Her work focuses on fostering systems-level change across the university through initiatives such as accessible EDI learning initiatives, equitable hiring practices, trauma-informed leadership programming, and strategic partnerships with academic and administrative units.

Previously, Silvia served as Director of Global Citizenship and Equity Education at Centennial College in Toronto, Ontario. She brings over a decade of progressive leadership in the post-secondary sector, advancing institutional commitments to equity, global citizenship, and community inclusion. With over fifteen years of cross-sectoral experience, Silvia has led professional learning in diverse organizations on topics including inclusive leadership, equitable organizational practices, human rights in the workplace, coaching and mentoring, anti-racism and anti-oppression, and accessibility.

Her community engagement work includes leading a municipal-wide initiative to make mental health and community services more accessible to historically, persistently and systemically marginalized groups. Through deep collaboration with diverse communities, Silvia has helped reimagine service delivery grounded in anti-oppression, disability justice, anti-racism and Indigenous inclusion. She secured significant funding to evaluate and expand equitable service access and worked closely with senior leadership, peer facilitators, and grassroots networks to implement inclusive models of care.

In addition to her administrative leadership, Silvia has held academic teaching positions at York University and the University of Toronto, where she designed and delivered courses on a range of EDI-related topics, employed accessible and inclusive pedagogical strategies, and facilitated respectful and critical classroom dialogue. She has also coordinated and consulted on numerous community-engaged projects in partnership with diverse communities.

Silvia holds a Doctoral degree in Urban Geography, with a specialization in equity, diversity and inclusion, transnational migration and Canadian immigration, and the geographies of home and work. She is professionally trained in Executive Coaching and holds certifications in health and wellness-related coaching practices.

Email
silvia.daddario@ubc.ca

Address:
Brock Commons South Building
6180 Walter Gage Road
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1

Community and Capacity Building Team, Leadership Team, Our Team, UBC Vancouver Team |

Celebrate International Women’s Day

March 8, 2023

Days of Significance |

Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul is supporting faculty, gender-diverse faculty to be “seen and valued”

March 7, 2023

This International Women’s Day, Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul, Senior Advisor on Women and Gender-diverse Faculty, and Academic Co-Director of the Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP) shares perspectives on a more equitable and inclusive future at UBC.

Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, in the Faculty of Medicine and a Senior Advisor to the Provost on Women and Gender-Diverse Faculty and Academic Co-Director, Academic Leadership Development Program.

What are some of the key initiatives that you are currently working on?

There are two initiatives that I would like to highlight – Maximizing Impact and Envisioning Equality.

The Maximizing Impact program was developed and created as a direct response to help mitigate the pandemic-induced challenges that impacted the ability of early career researchers (ECRs) to do research, teach and contribute to service. Importantly, we know that these negative effects were significantly compounded by the intersection of gender, disability status, ethnicity, and childcare responsibilities. 

The program provides networking opportunities, lunchtime talks by senior faculty members from across campus and one-on-one coaching. Over the past three years, over 50 diverse, early career researchers from across the university have joined this program. Senior faculty and emeriti faculty across campus stepped up to support and mentor the junior faculty. In addition, a dedicated team of coaches volunteered their time and expertise to work with the junior faculty. These coaches help faculty to focus their vision, set clear objectives and goals and act as thought partners as ECRs started to navigate their leadership journey at UBC.

“Through this program, faculty have reported an increased sense of community and self-confidence in their leadership and felt that they ‘were seen and valued’.”

– Dr. Naznin Virji-Babul

The second initiative is called Envisioning Equality Awards. When I was first appointed as Senior Advisor to the Provost in 2020 at UBC I went on a listening tour to hear about the experiences of women faculty (both cis and transgender) across campus. As I was going into many different buildings and I saw many portraits and paintings – mostly of white men I thought where are the women? Where are the racialized faculty?  I saw that the contributions and impact made by women, racialized faculty and staff have often not been highlighted – or worse that they have been dismissed or overlooked.   

With support from the Provost’s Office, the Equity & Inclusion Office, as well as UBC faculty and alumni, I was able to raise funds to create a new award to celebrate ten women and gender-diverse faculty and staff. These awards will take the form of printed banners featuring images of the women being honoured.

“The banners will be displayed later this spring and I hope will catalyze conversations about the accomplishments and impact that women and gender-diverse faculty and staff have made and continue to make at UBC – and to question traditional cultural and gender stereotypes.”

The banners will be displayed later this spring and I hope will catalyze conversations about the accomplishments and impact that women and gender-diverse faculty and staff have made and continue to make at UBC – and to question traditional cultural and gender stereotypes. I also hope that will inspire UBC to invest in creating more public art to reflect the diversity of the UBC community

What is the one thing/norm/idea you want to challenge this IWD?

Historic structural inequalities are deeply embedded within academia and have led to profound gender and racial/ethnic disparities. I have hope that all the justice, equity, decolonization, Indigenization, and inclusion (JEDII) based initiatives that are taking place across UBC will start to shift mindsets and spark culture change to value and engage with the rich diversity of all students, staff and faculty in a way that shows that UBC truly values inclusive excellence.

What’s one self-care/destress tip that has worked for you?

I make sure to exercise regularly by walking, bicycling and playing pickleball. I also love to sculpt in clay. I created this sculpture below recently at a portrait workshop that I attended at the Florence Academy of Art. It was a fantastic experience to be sculpting in a city where I was surrounded by beautiful, inspiring sculptures!

News and Stories |

Resources to build competencies related to reconciliation, Indigenization and decolonization

March 2, 2023

Compiled by Dr. Maï Yasué, Equity and Inclusion Strategist, UBC Equity & Inclusion Office

The following post provides a range of UBC and external resources curated to help students, faculty ands staff build their competencies related to reconciliation, Indigenization and decolonization.

UBC initiatives, guides, and tools

A selection of institutional and Faculty-based resources:

Indigenous Initiatives at the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT)

Indigenous Initiatives at CTLT develops and offers programming, resources, and consultations focused on Indigenous engagement in curriculum, pedagogy, classroom climate, and professional development. CTLT provides support and professional development for faculty, teaching assistants, and graduate students who are teaching in face-to-face, blended, or online classes. Sign-up for their newsletter to receive regular updates.

Learn more

Indigenous Strategic Plan Implementation Toolkit

To help guide the implementation of the ISP, the Office of Indigenous Strategic Initiatives (OISI) has developed a set of tools which units can use to help situate themselves in relation to Indigenous engagement and to start aligning their work with the Plan.

Learn more

Weaving Relations Course 

Weaving Relations is a self-directed course developed jointly by the Faculty of Applied Science and the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. Weaving Relations explores Indigenous histories, people, and contexts, as well as settler colonialism in Canada, through the lens of Indigenous-Canadian relationships. The course considers how we got to where we are now, and how we can build a better future together. 

Learn more

Respect, Sincerity & Responsibility: Land Acknowledgements @ UBC

This self-paced, online course available through the Workplace Learning Platform covers foundational knowledge about what a land acknowledgement is and why we do them, explores and addresses some of the barriers many learners experience when doing land acknowledgements, and helps participants develop their own land acknowledgements.

Enrol now

Inclusive Teaching Resource from UBC Skylight: Science Centre for Learning and Teaching

Resources provided by UBC Skylight provide suggestions for different ways in which you can make your course and classroom environment more inclusive, including in relation to reconciliation and Indigenization. More broadly, UBC Skylight is a great place to connect with others engaged in this work.

Learn more

Indigenous Peoples Language Guide

Created in partnership with the First Nations House of Learning at UBC, this useful guide from UBC Brand & Marketing provides information on how to navigate the terminology and meanings associated with Indigenous peoples in order to produce the best — and most respectful — communication results. 

Learn more

Indigenous Finance Guidelines: A jointly sponsored initiative of Vice-President Research & Innovation and Vice-President Finance & Operations Portfolios

If you are going to invite Indigenous guests or speakers to UBC engagements, the Indigenous Finance Guidelines have been created to better support gift giving and compensation in reciprocal, respectful, relationship-based collaborations between Indigenous partners and UBC. The resource is of particular interest to those inviting Indigenous speakers or guests to classes or other UBC engagements. The Guidelines describe an alternative, flexible payment process piloted by the Indigenous Research Support Initiatives (IRSI) and conclude with a recommended financial process for wider adoption at UBC. 

Learn more

Two Spirit Teachings: Honouring the Sacred Space Between and Within All of Us

Starting at 1:03, the last two minutes of this video provide valuable perspectives that every aspiring school teacher should listen to. Harlan Pruden (nēhiyo/First Nations Cree), an Indigenous Knowledge Translation Lead at Chee Mamuk, an Indigenous health program at British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, and co-founder of the Two-Spirit Dry Lab (TwoSpiritDryLab.ca) discusses the notion of saying the “wrong thing” within this video that more broadly educates about Two-Spirit people and communities.

In addition to doing the “we will all make mistakes, assume the best intention” type talk, consider to also empower folks and remind them to call people in rather than call them out. I really loved how he started the question-and-answer period where he talks about worrying about saying the “wrong thing”.

Watch now

What I Learned in Class Today, First Nations and Indigenous Studies

A resource that helps with navigating tensions and supporting Indigenous students in the classroom. What I Learned in Class Today: Aboriginal Issues in the Classroom is a research project that explores difficult discussions of Aboriginal issues that take place in classrooms at the University of British Columbia. The project examines the experiences of students, instructors, and administrators at the university to make these problems visible, better understand how difficulties arise, and to find ways to have more professional and productive classroom discussions.

Learn more

Speaker series, seminars and workshops

Speaker Series: Teaching & Learning in Science through the Lens of Indigeneity, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

This invited speaker series features prominent and influential thought leaders in inclusive STEM education. The series features guest speakers on topics relating to their expertise in inclusive STEM education that are of interest to the UBC Science teaching and learning community. Speakers will represent various disciplines (biology, chemistry, physics, geology, etc.), identities (IBPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+, etc.), and specialties (curriculum, pedagogy, research). Participation open beyond Faculty of Science community depending on availability.

Learn more

Classroom Climate Series by Indigenous Initiatives, CTLT

The Classroom Climate Series is a set of professional development workshops offered once a month through the academic year and hosted by Indigenous Initiatives. The series provides a space for all members of the UBC teaching and learning community to share teaching and research practices, and to learn more about how to engage in conversations about place, power, and social location.

Learn more

Indigenous Speaker Series by the Office of Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office, Faculty of Medicine

Offering excellent seminars, the Indigenous Speakers Series is an original and important platform to begin, continue and advance the conversation about telling the truth and reconciling for the future.

Learn more

External resources and learning opportunities

The following resources are available beyond UBC:

Decolonization Is for Everyone by Nikki Sanchez, TEDxSFU

This is a great short TEDxSFU talk on decolonization by Nikki Sanchez (she/her), a Pipil and Irish/Scottish academic, Indigenous media maker, and environmental educator. Nikki discusses what colonization looks like and how it can be addressed through decolonization. “An equitable and just future depends on the courage we show today.”

Watch now

Land acknowledgement (a remote learning assignment)

This an assignment prompt for the land acknowledgements that I’ve used. I asked different students to do land acknowledgements and it proved a great way to build a sense of community (because people share details about themselves) and to teach them the art of connecting land acknowledgements to the topic goals of a session.

Learn more

Pulling Together Teachers and Instructors Series 2022

A six-part recorded webinar series offers opportunities to learn the importance of Indigenous worldviews and how to incorporate them into your teaching style and practice; assess current curriculum and pedagogy and considering them in relation to TRC, UNDRIP, and other Indigenous policies; review ethical and relational protocols within your institutions; and locate oneself within the work and what next steps are important to tangible outcomes. The Guide for Teachers and Instructors explores how to Indigenize your practice by building new relationships with Indigenous pedagogy and knowledge.

Learn more | Access guide

Camp Suzuki at Chá7elkwnech: Professional development for educators

A professional development retreat for educators of all backgrounds and grade levels (Kindergarten through to Post-Secondary) offers interactive and engaging seminars in Squamish Nation history, language, ethnobotany, culture, stories and stewardship in a welcoming, encouraging outdoor-education setting.

Learn more

Indigenous Corporate Training

Bob Joseph, founder and President of Indigenous Corporate Training, shares blog posts that provide great tips and resources on Indigenous engagement.

Learn more | Access blog

San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program

The San’yas team is a multi-racial team comprised of Elders, facilitators, registrars, curriculum developers, evaluation/researchers, and supported by Animikii an Indigenous technology company. The virtual team is located across the country from Nova Scotia to BC, continuing the mission of the program founder, Dr. Cheryl Ward.

Learn more

Short selection of book recommendations

A limited selection of engaging and short books to build your own understanding: 

Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

“Richard Wagamese takes readers on the often-difficult journey through Saul’s life, from his painful forced separation from his family and land when he’s sent to a residential school to the brief salvation he finds in playing hockey. […] an unflinching portrayal of the harsh reality of life in 1960s Canada, where racism reigns and Saul’s spirit is destroyed by the alienating effects of cultural displacement.”

Learn more via CBC

Mamaskatch by Darrel J. McCleod

“Growing up in the tiny village of Smith, Alta., Darrel J. McLeod was surrounded by his Cree family’s history. In shifting and unpredictable stories, his mother, Bertha, shared narratives of their culture, their family and the cruelty that she and her sisters endured in residential school. […] The fractured narrative of Mamaskatch mirrors Bertha’s attempts to reckon with the trauma and abuse she faced in her own life, and captures an intensely moving portrait of a family of strong personalities, deep ties and the shared history that both binds and haunts them.” – from publisher Douglas & McIntyre

Learn more via CBC

An Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King

“Neither a traditional nor all-encompassing history of First Nations people in North America, The Inconvenient Indian is a personal meditation on what it means to be “Indian.” Thomas King explores the relationship between Natives and non-Natives since the fifteenth century and examines the way that popular culture has shaped our notion of Indigenous identity, while also reflecting on his own complicated relationship with activism.”

Learn more via CBC

Conversations with Canadians by Lee Maracle

“On her first book tour at the age of 26, Lee Maracle was asked a question from the audience, one she couldn’t possibly answer at that moment. But she has been thinking about it ever since. As time has passed, she has been asked countless similar questions, all of them too big to answer, but not too large to contemplate. These questions, which touch upon subjects such as citizenship, segregation, labour, law, prejudice and reconciliation (to name a few), are the heart of My Conversations with Canadians.”

Learn more via CBC

News and Stories, Resources |

IBPOC affinity groups: Helping to build a more inclusive campus

February 28, 2023

Written by Meribeth Deen in collaboration with staff from the Equity & Inclusion Office 

UBC’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) Task Force Final Report recommends ongoing support for people working to build communities and spaces curated for Indigenous, Black, Persons of Colour (IBPOC) students, faculty and staff. Many of these spaces take the form of affinity groups. 

One Thursday in November, a group of IBPOC women, transgender and non-binary faculty, staff and graduate students met up in the UBC Pharmaceutical Sciences Building to expand and hone a definition of a mentor: sometimes a mentor pushes you into situations you’re not ready for and helps you move your career forward in the process; sometimes they show you that it’s okay to fail; sometimes they show you that you don’t have to fit the stereotype that’s tied to your identity. Event participants also shared their personal challenges and ideas to support one another – then enjoyed a catered lunch and informal social time.  

The conversation could have been on just about any topic, but having a facilitated conversation offered a launch pad for members of the group to connect.  

Affinity groups like the above IBPOC STEM Network aim to build communities of support and well-being around some aspect of shared identities and lived experience, to provide a space where people can celebrate those identities, offer mentorship, and mobilize advocacy for equity and inclusion. The IBPOC STEM Network is funded through small contributions made by several STEM departments. By pooling resources, this Network has been able to create opportunities for connection across departments and Faculties.

The IBPOC Coffee Club fund, offered through the IBPOC Connections Faculty and Staff program by the Equity & Inclusion Office, also provided initial seed funding and staff support. 

So how do affinity groups help to build a more inclusive campus? Although not an exhaustive list, the following three ways stand out:

1. Affinity groups can make space for intersectionality. 

People form communities organically, and often, these communities are made up of people with shared identities, interests or experiences. People within the group may end up representing a very narrow margin of the people who are tied to that identity.

Affinity groups tend to intentionally bring people together under a broader umbrella which is purposely inclusive, allowing relationships to form across within-group differences. For example, the IBPOC STEM Networks connects people with different sexual orientations, IBPOC racial identities and nationalities. Sharing stories within such an intersectional space like this allows for a greater understanding of diverse lived experiences among people connected to the particular identity.  

2. Affinity groups can connect people across campus…and across hierarchies.  

An IBPOC affinity group at UBC Okanagan, for example, includes leadership, staff, faculty, grad students and post docs.

“I met people at our last meeting and I wondered, how have we never crossed paths before?” says Sanji Lacey, one of the group’s co-founders. “And there’s some networking that happens. For example, I met someone from the Sexual Violence Protection and Response Office (UBC Okanagan SVPRO) who has had racialized students come to her looking for help. Since then, she’s always looking for other IBPOC people to connect the students with, and so I said, you can connect them with me or my other colleagues. It’s about building out support for everyone.”

Strengthening networks, dialogue and learning across different types of roles and units on campus can also help to build stronger supports and also spur collaborative initiatives to create change across different units. 

3.  Affinity groups can help  counter between-group divisions, building stronger relationships between marginalized and dominant culture groups and allies. 

By providing people who belong to historically, persistently and systemically marginalized groups the space to talk about their shared experiences and exchange strategies to affect change, affinity groups can serve to validate, heal, and empower. These groups can also help build capacity among members to thrive as they navigate dominant culture in the workplace and/or the classroom. When coupled with dominant group allyship capacity building, the benefits of affinity groups can help enhance inter-group dialogue and collaboration towards change. 

Financial or in-kind contributions and support from the institution – whether seed funds from the Equity & Inclusion Office or sponsorship of activities by various offices – can go a long way in helping these groups be successful. That said, many affinity group organizers may relate to Sajni when she says, “It’s a fine balance between institutional support so that it’s not an extra labour that we take on, but also that it doesn’t get taken over by the institution”. Self-determination and community-led organizing are important principles for the success of affinity groups. 

There are many affinity groups at UBC which help to connect and support IBPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+, and disabled students, faculty and staff. Visit the Equity & Inclusion Office Connections & Support page for more information. 

News and Stories |

IBPOC STEM Network Spring social

February 27, 2023

Events |

JEDII STEM Series Spring workshops launched

February 27, 2023

Events |

IBPOC Connections faculty & staff lunch: Create joy and play

February 27, 2023

Events |

Remarks: Acts of kindness

February 23, 2023

The following remarks were delivered by Arig al Shaibah, Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion, during the annual event to mark the Anti-Bullying or “Pink Shirt Day” held on February 22, 2023 and organized by the Vice-President, Finance and Operations portfolio.

—

UBC’s campuses are located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Syilx (Okanagan) Peoples and of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil- Waututh) Nations.

My name is Arig al Shaibah, and I’m UBC’s Associate Vice-President, Equity & Inclusion.

My role has a broad mandate to champion institutional commitments and actions across both Vancouver and Okanagan campuses. 

I also oversee the Equity & Inclusion Office, which includes three functional units:

  • We provide data analysis, reporting, and project management to enable strategic planning to advance institutional equity, inclusion, and anti-racism priorities; 
  • We partner with academic and administrative units to build individual competency and organization capacity to action equity, inclusion and anti-racism commitments; and
  • We offer confidential and impartial human rights advising and resolution facilitation for campus community members who bring forward discrimination and harassment concerns and complaints. 

Canada’s Anti-Bullying Day or “Pink Shirt Day” has its origins in the actions of two brave 12th grade Nova Scotian students named David Shepherd and Travis Price who stood up against bullying after a 9th grade student was bullied for wearing a pink polo shirt – for expressing their unique self. In fact, these two students were standing up against a form of homophobia, transphobia, and gender-based violence more broadly – and, in so doing, demonstrated healthy masculinity and active bystander intervention.  

Sadly, bullying continues to be an issue, not just among adolescents, and it has extended into the world of cyberbullying, which is proving to be just as, if not more, psychically harmful. 

Bullying is fundamentally about an abuse of power. 

It is defined as physical or emotional cruelty to others, especially towards those perceived as being vulnerable or having less power and privilege.  

UBC’s Discrimination Policy addresses forms of bullying that meet the threshold of discrimination on the basis of protected human rights grounds, and the university’s Respectful Environment Statement  addresses bullying and harassment that may not meet the threshold of discrimination or do not involve protected human rights grounds. 

These policies exist because UBC is committed to fostering learning and working environments where faculty, students and staff enjoy equitable opportunities to participate in the life and work of the university, where we are free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying, and where we can all experience a sense of dignity and belonging. 

We often use a shorthand to refer to this kind of environment as a ‘culture of respect’.

A culture of respect – an environment free from discrimination, harassment, and bullying – can only be accomplished when people leaders and community members at large commit to developing and exercising competencies to counter and call out harmful behaviours.

This brings me to the theme for this Day: Acts of Kindness.

Kindness, in the context of building a culture of respect, is more than the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.

Kindness, I suggest, is an essential component of the heart set competencies (or ways of being or feeling), which complement the mind set competencies (or ways of knowing and thinking) and skill set competencies (or ways of doing and acting) that all must be developed to cultivate and nurture a culture of respect. 

In this context, kindness is fundamentally about empathy and compassion as well as humility and courage.

  • Empathy and compassion to care about others’ perspectives and experiences and to be motivated to listen and help rather than dismiss or further contribute psychological harm. 
  • Humility and courage to make ourselves vulnerable to admit the limits of our knowledge and lived/living experience in order to promote intergroup dialogue rather than contribute to intergroup distrust.

Empathy, compassion, humility, and courage are well-documented inclusive leadership qualities, and we all must expend some effort to practice and perfect them.

There are many forces around us – whether within our peer and professional circles or within society locally and globally – that seek to draw us into and encourage divisiveness across difference.

Kindness can be a unifying counter force. 

To be clear, the call for more kindness to be exercised by all is not a call to ignore abuses of power. 

Kindness is not to be mistaken for politeness.

Kindness is empowering, while politeness can often be disempowering.

Kindness is also not at odds with boundary setting, where politeness can often undermine bystander intervention, which is key to anti-discrimination, harassment, and bullying efforts. 

Finally, at the risk of stating the obvious, kindness is a necessary yet insufficient pre-requisite to our equity, inclusion, and anti-racism goals. 

We need much more than kindness to combat discrimination, harassment, and bullying. 

But we have little foundation to build on if we don’t at least have that.

Thank you.

Arig al Shaibah

News and Stories, Remarks by the AVP |