Diversity pays off | Montreal Magazine

If I had one piece of advice for someone new to communications, it would be to specialize in Diversity, Inclusion, and Equality.

June 2, 2021: Yolande James has been appointed Executive Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Radio Canada.

“Ms. James will contribute to achieving the objectives of the Public Broadcasting Corporation in terms of recruitment, promotion and development of talent in terms of diversity, both in programming and in the workforce,” the press release read.

September 23, 2021: Rachel DeCoeste appointed Director of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the National Film Board of Canada.

November 8, 2021 By : Yolande James announces the arrival of Lily Nguyen as Director of Culture and External Engagement in the Diversity and Inclusion Department at Radio Canada.

November 8, 2021: Cathy Wong has been appointed Vice President of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Official Languages ​​at Telefilm Canada, a newly created position.

Monkle Cup?

In November 2020 AD^I The opposition accused Wong, who was responsible for combating racism in the city of Montreal, of discriminating against old age.

“How can we make room for the next generation and diversity if some elected officials stick to their seats, mandate after mandate, decade after decade, and seek new mandates each time? Then it becomes very difficult, if not impossible, for diversity and the next generation to replace it. “.

I only hope in his new position at Telefilm, that it will be Mr.^I Wong wouldn’t replace the word “elect” with “a diverse white director over 50,” as in the sentence: “How to make room for succession and diversity if some white directors over 50 stick to their films and seek new funding for their respective time?” “

What diversity are we talking about?

All for virtue. Likewise, everyone advocates diversity, inclusion, and equity.

But I still have some concerns when I see the proliferation of these new bureaucracies.

I quote from my colleague Mathieu Boc-Cottier: “A society which locks up everyone in their origins and turns the individual into a representative sample of society inevitably falls into the logic of quotas.”

When Radio-Canada, Telefilm, and NFB tell us they want to better represent the community, what does that mean? Are we going to set quotas?

that if ‘society’ represents 5% of the population, it must also represent 5% of fictional characters? Will creators have to think of their business in terms of statistics, with a tape measure in hand?

That only homosexuals would be able to personify homosexuals, and that only transgender people would be able to write transgender people?

In an organization where an integration directorate has been set up, do we give the green light to a scenario like this little life It was removed and then brought back online with a warning?

But above all, the question I ask myself the most is this: When we talk about the importance of diversity, do we include in this diversity… opinions?