Sign Of The Times: Why Companies Like J.D. Irving Are Embracing Diversity
Mark Leger is the editor and part-owner of Huddle. This is a weekly column that features opinion, analysis and reflections on Huddle stories, podcasts and business news in the region.
Early one evening last July, I was driving by the parking garage for the J.D. Irving, Limited (JDI) headquarters in uptown Saint John and a large banner caught my eye. “Happy PRIDE Week!” it said with a company logo prominently displayed beside the PrideNB logo.
It was so striking I had to pull over and take a picture. And striking, not because of the size of the banner, but because of the message it conveyed. The company embraces the diverse community that PrideNB represents: 2SLGBTQIA+. That’s a big deal in a traditionally conservative community like Saint John and there were other union and corporate sponsors too, including Brainworks from Moncton, CUPE, TD, RBC, BMO and Wyndham.
I’ve been thinking about that banner since I listened to the recent Huddle “Insights” podcast interview with Jim Irving about how JDI is growing its workforce with immigrants. The interview was part of a three-part “Insights” series on the importance of increasing immigration in the Atlantic region.
PODCAST: Jim Irving On Why We Need Immigration To Grow The Economy
What’s the connection to the Pride banner, you might ask a guy prone to meandering, tangential, thinking? Well, there’s a growing appreciation for the importance of diversity in all of its forms, and that includes embracing 2SLGBTQIA+ rights as well as welcoming newcomers into our communities and places of work. And my mind naturally made the connection between JDI’s support of Pride and diversifying and growing its workforce through immigration.
Of course, there are practical reasons for creating a more diverse, welcoming workplace. Irving himself told “Insights” hosts Don Mills and David Campbell that JDI needs to fill thousands of positions that will become vacant over the next few years, an impossible task with the projected labour pool in the region.
Irving says immigration must be part of a larger effort to grow the population, which will help companies grow the economy.
“There are always opportunities [to grow],” says Irving. “Number one, though, we’ve got to get the population up. There are going to be limited opportunities if we have a declining population.”
But embracing a diverse community is an end in and of itself. It makes the community more interesting, kind, and dynamic, and newcomers are more likely to want to settle here long term.
“If people feel welcome, they generally stay if there are reasonable opportunities,” says Irving. “Just like we tell the government, money goes where it’s wanted. Well, people will stay where they’re wanted.”
Irving’s views reflect those of the people who work for JDI. Business owners, like good politicians with voters, follow the lead of their employees. And people are demanding more progressive stances and policies at their places of work; they’re loyal to companies with social and economic missions that align with their own values.
Irving says the people at JDI’s operations in cities and small towns get along well with newcomers, finding things they share in common.
“[They] might have a different skin colour. They might speak a totally foreign language, but they’re interested in moose hunting or fishing, or hockey, or whatever else is going on,” says Irving. “It doesn’t take long and people are accepting. We find we have a really good acceptance rate from men and women who have been with us for years. They say, ‘you’ve got to bring people in.’ They embrace it.”
JDI’s efforts to embrace diversity and welcome newcomers are showing results. Irving says its long-term retention rate for immigrants for its various companies is now in the mid-eighties, around the national average, compared to the mid-50s for the rest of the Atlantic region.
And Irving himself recognizes this is part of a broader conversation about diversity in the workplace. In the podcast, he talks about a community college partnership to train Indigenous people and other visible minorities for high-paying skilled trades jobs at the Halifax shipyard.
Of course, immigrants and visible minorities from this region still face prejudice in the workplace and they often don’t get interviews or jobs because of their cultural backgrounds. We’re still working through issues of overt racism and “unconscious bias” in this region that prevent many people from succeeding here. Huddle has tackled those issues in stories and podcast conversations over the past few years.
RELATED: These Immigrants Say They Face Discrimination In Work And Life
In a conversation on the Huddle “Home Office” podcast last spring, Shauna Cole spoke about growing up biracial in Saint John and the racism she witnessed in the community and in workplaces. She is also a human resources specialist and hears firsthand the challenges that many people face here.
PODCAST: Shauna Cole On Black Lives Matter
All the more reason to highlight the corporate leaders and employees that are moving past old prejudices, of all kinds, to build more inclusive, welcoming businesses and communities.
We have a long way to go, but company leaders standing up for what’s right and saying so on large banners they hang from their buildings is a good place to start.
Tell me what you think? E-mail: [email protected]