This blog was provided by our partners at the York University School of Continuing Education.

Olivia Nuamah is the National Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging Leader at PwC. She is an accomplished, senior leader in the government and nonprofit sectors promoting social and economic justice, leading and implementing national anti-poverty strategies before undertaking a PhD in computer science.

Recently, Olivia contributed her expertise as a program advisory council member for the School of Continuing Studies new Certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in action.

Olivia took some time to speak with us about her career journey and why she is excited about this new program.

Could you tell us how you started working in DEI?

I was born and raised in downtown Toronto. I went to UofT and after I graduated, I went to London. I ended up in a neighbourhood in London where a young black man was murdered while waiting for a bus and the community was up in arms because of the way it was investigated.

This starts a protest movement around the inability of the police to protect black communities, and I become one of the coordinators of this movement. So, over time, we develop a platform for police reform and law reform.

When this happens and it picks up steam, the Labour government comes into power and they say yes to an official judicial inquiry into the police handling of the murder and how black communities of colour are treated by the police. I then become the secretariat to that piece of work. And so, at that point, I became a civil servant doing DEI work. After working with the police for about six years, I moved into other policy areas, mostly working with the Labour government.

What benefits does an organization experience by implementing DEI initiatives?

So, for some of our most revered companies, be it TD, Google, or IBM, one of the things that they do well is culture. Culture building sustains an organization because people don't rotate, they feel like they're being treated both fairly and well, and they feel like they're able to grow in an organization. All that stems from how you treat people in a way that they can be authentically themselves so that when they come to work for you, there's not only the actual product of the work but there's the desire to feel like they're contributing to something meaningful.

I do start from that very selfish notion of let's talk about how these concepts benefit you as an individual first. If we can talk about how it benefits you as an individual, you're more likely to mirror the behaviours that you benefit from so that other people around you benefit. And if that's happening, the organization benefits, because you come to work more. You're more willing to innovate because you feel that sense of surety.

What will students learn in this program?

Ultimately what they will learn is how to identify themes that mutually benefit everybody in the context of DEI in their workplace, and then move the issue forward based on that identification of mutual benefit. So they will learn how to work in partnership, create collaborations, identify priority areas, or identify gaps in their organization, organize people as to how to address those gaps, moving through to developing a strategy or a policy. They'll also learn the dynamics that affect people every day, that stop them from contributing and participating, and how to negotiate around some of those dynamics.

What kind of interpersonal skills are crucial for someone working in DEI?

I think a sense of empathy. They will certainly learn that. But also things around seeing status more clearly, such that you can address how to make people feel equal in a conversation.

Also, supporting people to feel more assured, and reassuring them that they can trust a space to open up about their own experiences. A growth mindset is another. That's where you are more able to feel signals that come from different cultures and areas that are less familiar to you and grow your ability to see what's happening around you more clearly.

What types of professionals will benefit from taking this program?

The reason the program excited me and the reason I wanted to participate was because I did see it as ideal for someone later in their career, only because they can negotiate. They understand their workplace environment. They understand the push and pull factors. They're perhaps more senior. They're more experienced in their career. So I do see it less for an entry-level, junior professional, or early career professional, but somebody who's either middle or higher.

DEI can be applied in all workspaces, be it healthcare, finance, law, banking, whatever. It's agnostic that way-public and private sector organizations, I think can all benefit.

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