Building a foundation of respect - Part 21 | BuildForce Canada

Building a foundation of respect - Part 21

Welcome to the BuildForce blog on Respectful Workplaces! Here we explore issues and provide advice, research, tools, and checklists – everything our industry needs to create respectful and inclusive workplaces where everyone can succeed. Who will benefit? Leaders, managers, HR staff, on-site workers and anyone who wants to understand how to create and support a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace.

Question of the month

(Each month our feature question is taken from the BuildForce Canada Respectful Workplace Online Self-Assessment Tool. This Tool allows organization leadership to assess their progress toward a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace and benchmark their progress confidentially against other construction organizations. This Tool is one of three in the BuildForce Canada online Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Toolkit.)

Does your organization demonstrate support for respectful and inclusive principles that goes beyond meeting the minimum legal requirements?

Creating and supporting a respectful and inclusive workplace requires more than just meeting legal requirements. Respect and inclusion must be a way of life throughout the organization.

Here are some examples:

  • Provide training for leaders/managers, supervisors and those involved in recruitment about the barriers to inclusion and the effects of their own biases on selection, development and advancement decisions.
  • Review working conditions to ensure they are inclusive (e.g., gender-appropriate washrooms and personal protective equipment and clothing that are appropriate for women).
  • Ensure that training on respectful and inclusive principles is provided in a variety of delivery methods such as orientation manuals/training, toolbox talks, lunch and learns, in classroom, online and social media.

For more info:

Join the conversation: Is respect and inclusion a way of life at your organization?

Remembrance Day 2018 - We remember the sacrifices that Canadian men and women have made and continue to make for our freedom and peace around the world.

OUR NEXT INSTALLMENT: Does your organization regularly share it's respectful and inclusive workplace objectives with its subcontractors, consultants and suppliers?

PREVIOUS INSTALLMENT: Are you confident that your leaders/managers and supervisors are knowledgeable about respectful and inclusive workplace principles?

Read from the beginning. Click here to start at Part 1.

To meet the challenges of the 21st century, the Canadian construction and maintenance industry must be able to recruit and retain workers with a diversity of backgrounds such as Indigenous people, women, immigrants, and young workers. This means building respectful, safe and inclusive workplaces where all workers can succeed. Some of these challenges are: A quarter of a million skilled workers retiring over the next decade. Increased globalization demands more awareness of different cultures. The changing needs of a changing workforce. Increased demands for corporate social responsibility such as fairness and equity.

The BuildForce Canada Online Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Toolkit includes: The Respectful Workplace Online Self-Assessment Tool: to assist organization leadership in assessing their current situation and identifying where they may need to make changes; The Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Online Training Course: to train workers on how to create and support a respectful and inclusive workplace; and The Respectful Workplace Policy Framework and Implementation Guide: to assist organizations in creating and implementing a policy that supports a respectful and inclusive workplace. --- All the resources you need to create and support a respectful and inclusive workplace!

Status of Women Canada logo
This project has been funded by Status of Women Canada.