People: Our Most Valuable Resource

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement of the Surety Association of Canada

As we pursue our mission of promoting the interests of the surety industry, the Surety Association of Canada recognizes that success can only be achieved by optimizing our utilisation of the skills, talents, perspectives and experience of its collective workforce and other contributors. It is a truism to say that any organization or industry will only be as strong and effective as the people who serve in it, and it is our human resources that will always be our most valuable asset.

With this in mind, the association strongly embraces the principle that each and every human being has the potential to become a key contributor to our success. Every individual brings their own distinctive combination of strengths, skills and specialties and the challenge for any organization will be to identify, harness and deploy those strengths.

For our association, the first step in meeting this challenge will be ensuring that all workers, members, and contributors; be they staff, management, directors or volunteer workers, are given the opportunity and incentive to fully participate in our activities and initiatives.

In support of this resolution, the association pledges to undertake the following actions:

1. Encourage and facilitate a culture of inclusion among member firms. Recognizing that biases, conscious or otherwise, will continue to find their way into human resources decisions; even among the most well-intentioned decision makers, the Surety Association of Canada will:
   
   a.   Create a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resource Centre, to be housed in a newly established area of its website. This will include written articles, publications and videos that provide helpful information to assist members in identifying and minimizing the impact of those biases that can exclude the contributions of otherwise qualified participants.
   
   b.   In support of the same objective, host a series of webinars and/or information sessions on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion issues. This will be open to any and all SAC members and will include human resources experts as presenters.
   
   c.   Establish an annual award to the member firm which best demonstrates its commitment to workplace diversity and inclusion.
   
   
2. In its own activities and day-to-day conduct of its business, the Surety Association of Canada remains committed to maintaining a fair, tolerant and inclusive workplace. Specifically, the association will not tolerate disrespectful or intolerant conduct of employees, or volunteers toward co-workers, outside stakeholders or anyone else they encounter during the conduct of association business.
   
   Further, we will always seek to maintain an all-inclusive approach when recruiting staff and volunteers in order to bring the broadest range of perspectives and ideas to our efforts and serve our stakeholders most effectively.
   
   
3. Foster a spirit of identification and inclusiveness for those seeking to learn more about the industry and association by establishing a Board of Directors apprentice/mentorship program. As part of its mandate, this program will allow directors to appoint a designate participant of diverse background, ethnicity and perspective to observe and participate in the activities of the association’s Board of Directors.

Only by embracing across-the-board inclusiveness can we foster a work environment that is productive, sustainable and ultimately beneficial to the organization and all who work in it. Only through diversity of participation can we bring the full range of perspectives and viewpoints to our endeavours. This is not only morally and socially responsible; it is simply good business.