Institutions around the world are well aware that it is important not only to increase diversity and inclusion, but to do so in a transparent and public manner.
This is probably why the new head of state of Canada made a proud statement this week about recent discussions at the highest levels of the country’s army.
Conversations about diversity, inclusion and cultural change are not incompatible with our thirst for operational excellence. I trust my senior leaders to fight culture change, “said Admiral Art McDonald, recently. posted on Twitter. “Diversity makes us stronger, inclusion improves our attitude.”
Unfortunately, the moving message was somewhat suppressed by the accompanying photo of the meeting – in which eight white men are sitting around a table.
One white woman – and another white man – was only visible on a screen with remote participants.
The post, intended to be a nod to the military’s efforts to address its shortcomings, has gone viral for all the wrong reasons.
“Are you talking about the diversity of hiring men with varying degrees of hair loss?” tweeted comedian Rob Gill.
‘Those white guys are very diverse. Some of them do not have hair. One of them hates coriander, ”tweeted another user.
Others had fun about the vague, confusing ‘soldiers speak’ of the tweet.
‘We may differ, but we can all agree that we are thirsty for excellent business. Positively wiped out due to a lack of excellent operations. Feeling dehydrated after talking about diversity, ”wrote journalist Vicky Mochama.
While criticism and ridicule piled up, McDonald, who filled the senior military role less than a month ago, later issued an apology.
‘I hear your comments and take them to heart. It is true: the leadership … is and has historically been predominantly male and white. That must change, “he wrote. “We need to reflect Canada’s diversity at all levels. We must work to remove systemic racism and remove barriers to career advancement. We are there in mind, but know there is still a lot of work to do, and we are committed to doing it. ”
Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a statement that the country continues to struggle with “the legacy of systemic racism, discrimination and lack of inclusion”.
“While defense leadership is committed to increasing diversity in our ranks, mistakes like these show that there is still unintended prejudice,” he wrote.