Recognizing leadership of trans, Two-Spirit and non-binary students, faculty and staff
Arig al Shaibah, Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion
March 31 is Trans Day of Visibility, an intentional opportunity to celebrate and recognize the valuable contributions of trans community members, but also to reflect on how we can all contribute to inclusion.
This year, I would like to recognize and thank all of the students, faculty and staff at UBC Okanagan who sat on the Trans, Two-Spirit and Gender Diversity Task Force for their work to create a more trans-inclusive UBC.
Launched in March of 2020, the Task Force worked diligently to deliver a set of recommendations that will guide university’s efforts in the area of gender diversity.
As a university, we are committed to advancing equity and inclusion. Yet, when only 58 per cent of trans, Two-Spirit and non-binary (T2SNB) student, faculty and staff respondents to the 2021 Gender Diversity Audit report a sense of belonging at UBC – compared to 79 per cent of their cisgender counterparts – it signals that more must be done to support their full inclusion. To make that happen, however, we also understand that we need to provide more educational opportunities, supportive processes and structures that can help cisgender staff and faculty in particular show up more effectively for trans students and colleagues.
With the release of the Task Force final report and the results of the Gender Diversity Audit on March 30, 2023, I have hope that with this renewed and clear direction of where to focus our efforts, we can make significant improvements to T2SNB students, faculty and staff’s experiences at UBC so that they can thrive.
I look forward to continuing efforts to support the implementation of all the Task Force’s recommendations under the guidance of the emerging Strategic Equity and Anti-racism Framework and Roadmap to Change.
We can all support trans leadership and work to enhance a sense of belonging for trans students, faculty and staff. I encourage you to explore the new Positive Space Foundations course, familiarize yourself with the use of chosen names and pronouns, and well as resources for T2SNB employees and their managers.
If, as a member of the T2SNB community, you have concerns related to your experience at UBC, please contact our office at trans.inclusion@equity.ubc.ca for support.
I encourage you to read the final report and explore some of the relevant resources of interest below.
Arig al Shaibah
Associate Vice-President, Equity and Inclusion
Resources of interest
- Trans, Two-Spirit, and Gender Diversity Task Force, UBC Equity & Inclusion Office
- Gender diversity hub, UBC Equity & Inclusion Office
- UBC trans & non-binary student guide by trans and non-binary students at UBC
- Human rights advising, UBC Equity & Inclusion Office
- Getting support as a transgender, Two-Spirit, and non-binary employees, UBC Human Resources
- Positive Space: Foundations course, UBC Workplace Learning Platform
- Peer advice for incoming trans & non-binary arts students, Faculty of Arts
Relevant events:
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- Check out our Instagram post for events.
March 21 is International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination
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 anti-semitic.
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 websitededicated 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
Silvia D’addario, PhD
Director, Community & Capacity Building
Campus: UBC Vancouver
Pronouns: she/her; they/them
Email: silvia.daddario@ubc.ca
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.
Apply to serve on UBC’s Accessibility Committee
UBC is taking steps to establish an Accessibility Committee to support disability inclusion and guide future direction at the university. Students, staff, and faculty are invited to apply to serve on the inaugural Committee.
The Committee will be tasked with providing on-going guidance and advice to the university on the identification, removal and prevention of barriers to accessibility and to help fulfill the university’s legal obligations and commitments to disability inclusion and justice principles.
Of the 18-member committee, the UBC Executive will appoint six members for key offices and hold three seats for student leaders representing the Alma Mater Society (AMS), Graduate Student Society (GSS), and Students’ Union of Okanagan (SUO).
Nine at-large UBC community members will be selected through this open call for applications, of which there shall be at least two students, two staff, and two faculty members.
Public sector organizations in British Columbia are required to establish an accessibility committee, an accessibility plan and a build tool to receive feedback on their accessibility. Committed to building a more accessible campus environment and in accordance with the Accessible British Columbia Act, UBC is now undertaking steps to meet these legislated requirements by September 1, 2023.
Application process
Student, faculty, and staff interested in applying to serve on the Accessibility Committee should:
- Review the Terms of Reference to ensure alignment of eligibility and interests with the mandate and commitment required;
- Submit an online application for consideration by the UBC Executive selection committee. Members will be selected so as to meet the compositional diversity requirements of the Act.
Deadline to apply is March 13, 2023.
Please note that you will be submitting your application using UBC Qualtrics. For alternative application options, please email avp.eio@equity.ubc.ca.
Member appointment and selection
In accordance with the Act and UBC’s Terms of Reference, Committee members will be appointed and selected with consideration of the following compositional diversity goals:
- The members are from the UBC community (student, faculty, and staff) representing both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses;
- At least half of the members are persons with disabilities or individuals who support or are from UBC organizations that support persons with disabilities;
- The members described in (b) reflect the diversity of persons with disabilities in British Columbia;
- At least one of the members is an Indigenous person;
- The committee reflects the diversity of persons in British Columbia.
To the extent possible and as informed by responses to a voluntary self-identification survey, UBC will strive to constitute a committee with at least half of the members identifying as having a disability.
Win a Black Care Basket
The Black Care Baskets are a Black History Month initiative created in 2021 to support the wellbeing of Black students, faculty and staff.
This year, the Equity & Inclusion Office is partnering with UBC’s Black Caucus and the Student Experience Office to bring back the Black Care Baskets for the third year.
Students, faculty and staff who identify as Black can enter to win one of ten Black Care Baskets by attending any of UBC Okanagan’s Black History Month or EMERGE events. An entry form will be available via QR code at participating events.
Don’t miss out on self-care products, including bonnets, hair picks and soap, and food items like hot sauce, tea and hot chocolate, as well as other treats. Be sure to check out all the UBC Black History Month and EMERGE events.
Winners will be announced at the end of February.
The Black Care Baskets initiative was created in 2021 by the Equity & Inclusion Office, Global Engagement Office, Campus Health, Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office, UBCO Provost Office and the African Caribbean Student Club, with additional support from community organizations and campus partners.