BC Vaccine Card Recommendations for Trans, Two-Spirit and Non-Binary People and Vaccine Verification Best Practices

October 29, 2021

The BC Vaccine Card currently discloses a person’s legal name. For many trans, Two-Spirit, and non-binary people, legal name disclosure raises fears of being outed, confronted, or referred to by a name and/or pronouns that do not reflect their identity.

The BC Vaccine Card is managed and issued by the government of British Columbia. The government is working to resolve the issue of legal name exposure, which is well known as a safety and human rights issue; however, a resolution will take time. As a result, we are publishing the following information as an advisory to the UBC community in order to reduce potential harm that may occur as a result of legal name disclosure.

Two-Spirit, trans, and non-binary people have the right to be referred to by their correct name and pronouns, and to not be outed. These rights persist even if they have not legally changed their name.

Recommendations for trans, Two-Spirit, and non-binary people

If you have not changed your legal name

It may be helpful to ensure your photo ID accurately reflects your current appearance. You can update your photo ID at an ICBC driver licensing office.

You can also ask for a “carry letter” from your doctor or counsellor. This is a letter that confirms your chosen name and pronouns and indicates that you are not attempting to perpetrate fraud by using a name and pronouns not reflected on your government-issued identification. Trans Care BC has created a template document accessible by searching “carry letter” on their site.

If you would like to change your name, follow the Trans Care BC guide on changing your name and/or gender markers.

If you have changed your legal name

The BC Vaccine Card may not display your updated legal name. To resolve this issue:

Re-generate your card. This may automatically update your name.
If your re-generated card does not update your name, call the BC Immunization Line at 1-833-838-2323. They will help you update your information.

Recommendations around vaccine verification best practices

When verifying vaccine status, the following best practices can minimize harm to trans, Two-Spirit, and non-binary people:

Ensure that the person verifying vaccine status is trained in confidentiality practices and is familiar with practices towards safety, respect and inclusion of Two-Spirit, trans, and non-binary community members.

a. Do not comment on legal name where it is different from the chosen name.

b. If more detailed conversation is required to verify vaccine status, move to a private location.

c. Do not disclose legal name information to anyone.

d. Ensure familiarity with carry letter format and content.

2. Whenever possible, confirm vaccine status once and retain a record rather than checking repeatedly.

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2020 Employment Equity Report Highlights Opportunities for Greater Diversity of UBC Workforce, Leadership

October 22, 2021

Published annually, the Employment Equity Report provides an overview of hiring and employment practices put in place to create and sustain equitable, diverse and inclusive workplaces at UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan. Using the self-identification data provided by UBC’s employees through the employment equity survey, the annual employment equity report provides comparable data on workplace demographics across occupational groups and for each of the five federally designated groups: women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized people and members of 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Trends and patterns among federally designated groups

Continuing along the trend seen in previous years, staff and faculty identifying as women again have the largest representation on both campuses, among the federally designated groups. The second largest designated group of employees is racialized people, whose representation has increased on Vancouver campus and currently exceeds national but is below regional workforce comparisons. At UBCO, while representation of racialized people has decreased it is above regional but below national comparators.

The second largest designated group of employees is racialized people, whose representation, at 36.8 per cent, has increased on the Vancouver campus in recent years and currently exceeds national but is below regional workforce comparisons. At UBCO, representation of racialized people increased slightly, at 13.5 per cent in 2020, and is above regional but below national comparators.

People with disabilities continue to experience lower levels of representation on both campuses relative to the regional and national workforce.

The percentage of employees who self-identify as Indigenous at the Vancouver campus is 2.6 per cent, slightly higher than the Vancouver workforce percentage but below the national percentage, with an overall increase of 0.7 per cent since 2015.

The percentage of employees self-identifying as Indigenous at the Okanagan campus is 5.2 per cent slightly below the Kelowna Workforce percentage, however, but is above the national percentage. The proportion of employees identifying as Indigenous has increased since 2015 by 2.5 per cent.

Greater opportunities for diversity in leadership

It is important to note is that the proportional representation of designated groups varies across Employment Equity Occupational Groups, for example in groups such as Senior Managers, University Professors, or Skilled Crafts and Trades.

Particular challenges have been noted in terms of hiring and recruitment of racialized people and persons with disabilities at senior levels. More targeted initiatives are planned and under way on an institutional level to more fully embrace and demonstrate UBC’s commitments to employment equity and inclusion.

This year’s report expands on previous reports by reporting on the status of objectives identified in UBC’s 2019 Employment Equity Plan:

Ensuring policies and practices support employment opportunities for, and representation of, designated group members at UBC;
Fostering and establishing a respectful work environment at UBC that supports the successful integration and engagement of equity group members; and
Ensuring that learning and progress evaluations are incorporated into UBC’s employment equity program through robust monitoring and accountability mechanisms.

Some notable actions highlighted in this year’s report which promote more equitable hiring, recruitment and retention practices include the launch of the Hiring Equity module through UBC’s Workplace Learning Platform; UBC’s ongoing participation in the federally funded and research-oriented Dimensions pilot program; and comparison of applicant pool demographics to new hires for Canada Research Chair searches.

UBC has administered its Employment Equity Survey in its current form for roughly 10 years and has recently revised and updated the survey to adopt promising practices in demographic data collection and embrace language and concepts that better reflect the way members of the UBC community think and speak of themselves.

In efforts to enhance data collection, management, and reporting the revised questionnaire is now available exclusively through UBC’s Workday platform. The survey remains a key source of institutional data necessary for informing and advancing a number of strategic initiatives planned and underway at UBC.

Collecting and reporting on employment equity data is valuable as it helps us assess our progress against our commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion, including in alignment with the Strategic Plan goals number 4 (build a diverse culture), and 7 (first-choice plan to learn and work); and core areas and strategies (People & Places, S4. Inclusive Excellence).

UBC is committed to improving employment equity, protecting the human rights of students, faculty, and staff, and building a community where principles of inclusion are embedded across all aspects of university life.

Access the full 2020 Employment Equity Report.

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Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Canada Research Chair Program

October 21, 2021

Research reports published on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in the Canada Research Chair Program

The Equity & Inclusion Office in partnership with the UBC Vancouver Office of the Provost published two reports examining equity, diversity and inclusion for Canada Research Chairs (CRCs). These reports are a part of UBC’s CRC Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan and focus on two actions within that plan:

1. Addressing underrepresentation of persons with disabilities; and

2. Creating more equitable experiences for current and future chairholders at UBC.

Equitable Research Productivity Assessments

The Equitable Research Productivity Assessments report examines the issues arising in hiring, retaining, and supporting scholars with disabilities into Canada Research Chairs and throughout academia, and provides some possible the solutions to these issues. The report highlights the systemic barriers, the bias, and the discrimination faced by disabled scholars. It discusses institutional ableism — for example, the report identifies how accommodations for disabilities can often be an afterthought, and the ways in which disabled people have to spend extra time and energy navigating spaces that aren’t accessible. It also expresses concerns about how the language used in hiring and selection processes can be discriminatory and overly medicalized.

The report calls for changes to the criteria for assessing scholarly activity and research productivity to recognize and celebrate excellent research contributions from a wider range of perspectives. Other recommendations include being more proactive about creating accessibility, educating staff and faculty, supporting the visibility of people with disabilities, and including people with disabilities on selection committees.

UBC’s Focus on Equity in Canada Research Chair Experiences

UBC’s Focus on Equity in Canada Research Chair Experiences is a qualitative research report regarding barriers and inequities in UBC’s program for CRCs. Research findings shared in the report show that institutional and, more specifically, departmental environments play a critical role in shaping experiences and success of a chairholder.

To address these obstacles, the report recommends mentorship, networking opportunities, equitable negotiations and program transparency, as well as more support for chairholders and greater recognition of their achievements from within UBC and through the Canada Research Chair’s national program. These measures, it is argued, would create a more equitable environment and help all Canada Research Chairholders reach their full potential.

You can read the full reports and more about UBC’s Canada Research Chairs commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion here.

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Count yourself in: Complete the Employment Equity Survey

October 19, 2021

Count yourself in using the new and updated Employment Equity Survey and help build a more inclusive UBC. While all faculty and staff are being asked to complete this year’s updated survey, employees can choose the “Prefer not to answer” response on all questions.

This survey is the primary opportunity that all faculty and staff have to self-identify, informing our understanding of workforce demographics and employment patterns and trends. This year’s survey includes updated options to self-identification and will allow leadership at all levels to have access to better employment equity data to make real change. If you completed the survey before October 7th, please do it again.

Completing the survey takes approximately two to three minutes of your time. Learn more and access the survey at https://equity.ubc.ca/ucount.

Understanding and implementing employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for innovation and excellence.

No individually identifiable personal information is shared with leadership, management or human resources. Only aggregate level information is provided and used for reporting and analysis purposes. Learn more at https://equity.ubc.ca/employment-equity.

Review the full UBC Broadcast issues on October 7th.

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National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

September 29, 2021

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Unconscious bias in the workplace

September 24, 2021

UBC is committed to building a diverse, inclusive, safe and vibrant workplace by identifying and supporting inclusive and equitable hiring, selection, referral and peer review processes.

Unconscious bias is an ever-present challenge facing search committees in their efforts to ensure an equitable hiring process. Before finding ways to mitigate the bias from hiring, selection, referral and peer review processes, we must understand it, and identify our own unconscious biases.

What is bias?

Bias is a prejudice in favour of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, and is generally considered unfair. Biases may be held by an individual, group, or institution and can result in negative or positive consequences.

Biases develop over the course of a lifetime. Starting with childhood, we are exposed to direct and indirect messages about race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation and the socio-economic status of others. These messages and learned associations directly impact our feelings, attitudes and opinions about other people.

What is unconscious bias?

Unconscious, or implicit bias is a systematic way of thinking that can cloud our judgment and impact our decision-making. It refers to attitudes based on stereotypes that we have been taught which affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. The attitudes and beliefs are often involuntarily and outside of our awareness or intentional control. Everyone holds unconscious beliefs about various social and identity groups, and these biases stem from our tendency to organize social worlds by simplistic categorization.

About This Video

Dr. Sara-Jane Finlay, Associate Vice-President, Equity & Inclusion speaks about unconscious bias in peer review, in reference letters, and in the selection and appointment process. She refers to unconscious bias studies and unpacks the ways in which unconscious bias can be mitigated and overcome.

Strategies to mitigate unconscious bias in the workplace

Overcoming unconscious bias requires work at both the individual and institutional level. There are several ways you can address unconscious bias:

Recognize and acknowledge that we all have unconscious bias

Educate yourself on the nature of bias and the strategy of categorization

Reach out to people dissimilar to you and have discussions around unconscious bias

Develop a structure and criteria for selection, hiring, evaluation and promotion, and stay the course with all applications. Do not let yourself get distracted.

Give yourself abundant time to review applications

Double-check the metrics. Do you have disproportionate number of people from different groups? Make sure you have not deviated from your structure, process or criteria

Attend trainings and workshops to further your understanding of unconscious bias.

Interested in learning more?

Explore these great resources discussing unconscious bias and strategies to address it:

Hiring equity course
Strategies to Address Unconscious Bias, University of California, San Francisco, Office of Diversity & Outreach
Types of Unconscious Biases and How to Counteract, Toronto Metropolitan University, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Unconscious bias training module, Canada Research Chairs
Implicit bias, UCLA, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
Implicit bias resources, Cornell University Graduate School
Learn what your own implicit biases are by taking Harvard’s Project Implicit Association Test

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UBC joins Pride at Work Canada to further 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion in the workplace

September 17, 2021

This year, UBC has joined Pride at Work Canada, an organization dedicated to helping create a safer, more inclusive workplace that recognizes the skills of 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

By joining Pride at Work Canada, UBC’s employees gain access to programs, benefits, and services designed to support individual and collective learning and strategies for inclusion on the basis of gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation. UBC staff will have access to educational webinars, workshops, and employee networking and leadership development programming. For UBC this means additional resources to support employees in their efforts to engage with inclusion and to support the implementation of the Inclusion Action Plan, UBC Strategic Plan, and Focus on People Framework.

“Recognizing, valuing, and supporting Two-Spirit, queer, lesbian, gay, trans, bi, and other gender- and sexually-diverse people and their families is at the core of the university’s commitment to make UBC welcoming to all 2SLGBTQIA+ community members and allies”, says Marcia Buchholz, Vice-President, Human Resources. “We recognize this important work is ongoing, and our membership with Pride at Work allows for continued conversations about inclusivity and visibility on our campuses and learning sites.”

This membership, alongside other institutional initiatives and programs, aims to support UBC employees in championing inclusion across the university and meeting the growing interest and need to support faculty and staff engagement with equity, diversity and inclusion.

UBC employees interested in accessing Pride at Work Canada programs and events open to Community Partners can register directly on the Pride at Work website (please specify your affiliation with UBC on the registration form).

For any questions about UBC’s participation in Pride at Work Canada, please contact the Equity & Inclusion Office.

More resources:

2SLGBTQIA+ Affinity Group

UBC’s Equity & Inclusion Office (EIO) is seeking leaders interested in becoming part of an intersectional leadership team for a community-led 2SLGBTQIA+ Affinity Group. Join now or nominate someone else.

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Participate in forming a 2SLGBTQIA+ Affinity Group at UBC

September 16, 2021

UBC’s Equity & Inclusion Office (EIO) is seeking to support community-led connections for 2SLGBTQIA+ staff and faculty at UBC. We bring budget and coordination support to the table; you bring a vision of a more connected 2SLGBTQIA+ community for staff and faculty, and interest in becoming part of an intersectional leadership team. The EIO has been supporting affinity group models in other contexts (IBPOC Connections and Disability Affinity Group) and we are seeking leaders interested in shaping this approach to meet queer and gender diverse community needs.

If you’re interested, we would love to hear from you. Let us know more about your interest or nominate someone amazing by October 8th, 2021 by filling out the ONLINE FORM.

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UBC recognized as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers in 2021

August 24, 2021

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Equity and inclusion in action: Summer STEM series

June 14, 2021

Events |