Governor Tiff Macklem explains why including people from all backgrounds is good for the Bank of Canada and the entire economy.
Watch Governor Macklem speak in a virtual fireside chat with students from universities in Atlantic Canada. Read the full speech.
While diversity is a fact, inclusion is an act
Diversity has many dimensions. Different people bring different approaches to learning, solving problems and working together.
And over the past decade Canadian workplaces have become increasingly diverse.
But to truly benefit from diversity, organizations like the Bank of Canada must ensure that everyone feels genuinely included at work.
Diverse and inclusive groups make better decisions. That’s because they can avoid the groupthink that happens when decision-makers all have similar backgrounds and approach problems in the same way.”
The Bank takes diversity and inclusion seriously
Diversity and inclusion are core to our success as a central bank that serves all Canadians.
So we do our best to ensure that our hiring is free from bias. And our scholarships for under-represented groups provide opportunities at the Bank and elsewhere in Canadian economics and finance.
We’ve also created several employee resource groups made up of people from equity-seeking groups and their allies. These groups help build a truly inclusive culture.
And we’re listening to more Canadians so we can serve them better:
- We asked different groups of Canadians for their input on inflation and our monetary policy. This feedback will inform our review of the inflation-targeting framework with the federal government.
- We consult Canadians on whose portraits they’d like featured on their bank notes.
- We work with the CNIB Foundation to make sure bank notes are accessible to people who are blind or partially sighted.
- And we helped found the Central Bank Network for Indigenous Inclusion to help us understand the economic realities that Indigenous peoples face.
Becoming a more diverse organization helps us be more open to feedback, so we can gain a better understanding of the needs of all Canadians.”
Diversity and inclusion are good for the economy
A more inclusive economy is a bigger economy—a more prosperous economy with room to grow without creating inflationary pressures.
Drawing more workers from diverse communities into the labour market is:
- good for workers
- good for business
- good for the whole economy
But the COVID-19 pandemic has had very uneven economic effects. Low-wage earners, women, youth and racialized Canadians have borne the brunt of job losses because they work in the hardest-hit sectors.
A complete economic recovery is a shared one, with good job opportunities for everyone—including those who have been hurt the most.
Monetary policy is a broad macroeconomic instrument. We can’t use it to target specific groups. But what we can—and must—do is keep the benefits of inclusion in mind while implementing monetary policy.
The pandemic makes fostering an inclusive economy more important than ever. We won’t fully heal the economy until we address these unequal impacts.”
Watch Governor Macklem answer questions from the media following his speech.
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