Equity education initiatives within Canadian universities: promise and limits

Abstract

A multitude of forces are driving Canadian universities, as well as many other institutions across the country, to enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion (‘EDI’). All organisations instinctively turn to educational initiatives to instil and promote EDI. The value of EDI education, notably training about unconscious bias and how to mitigate its adverse impacts, has received considerable academic attention and the promise and drawbacks of EDI education, in general, are well-documented. Yet the value of EDI education for universities, especially in Canada, has not before been subject to scholarly assessment. This essay undertakes an analysis of EDI education within universities, examining its potential to stimulate organisational change and render postsecondary institutions more equitable, diverse, and inclusive. The essay further examines the limitations and potential of EDI education, and presents the conditions under which it stands to make the most significant contributions to EDI in the contemporary Canadian university context.