Last year, the University of Toronto added breastfeeding-friendly spaces for female faculty, staff and students. While women are welcome to breastfeed anywhere on campus, the new spaces are in quieter areas close to amenities. The new spaces are the work of the university’s Family Care Office, a division of the human resources department, in collaboration […]
A group of U.S. institutional investors, including public pension funds, representing more than US$1 trillion is calling on investee companies to do more to include people with disabilities in the workforce. “Disability inclusion provides businesses with a great opportunity to improve their bottom lines, while boosting diversity and innovation,” said one of the statement’s signatories, […]
Digital employee health benefits platform League Inc. is now offering its employees and their spouses or common-law partners $5,000 per lifetime toward in vitro fertilization or other similar fertility treatment. According to Kim Tabac, League’s chief people officer, the startup began offering the IVF benefit in the last nine months, in response to interest from […]
Over the last year, Morneau Shepell Ltd. has implemented innovative strategies that have fostered openness, diversity and well-being, according to its inaugural corporate social responsibility report. The company introduced new diversity and inclusivity practices in March 2018, implementing a board diversity policy to maintain a minimum of 30 per cent women and 30 per cent men. […]
Employers are increasingly including diversity and inclusion objectives in their benefits, compensation, workplace culture and well-being initiatives, according to new research by Willis Towers Watson. The survey, which polled 535 U.S. employers, found 55 per cent of employers have promoted diversity and inclusion initiatives relating to workplace policies and culture to their employees in the last three […]
In today’s modern world, filling out paperwork to make a benefits claim feels archaic, especially considering the ease of making other life choices, such as an app for ordering coffee from Starbucks Corp. or personalized viewing suggestions from Netflix Inc. “People’s expectations are changing,” says Ofelia Isabel, managing director and client management leader for Canada at Willis Towers Watson. She […]
A workplace culture of equality is a powerful multiplier of innovation and growth, according to a study from Accenture. Research found that in Canada an employee’s innovation mindset, defined as a willingness and ability to innovate, is nearly six times higher in companies with a healthy culture of equality. This means a work environment where everyone can […]
Generation Z workers have high expectations when it comes to earnings, promotions and management opportunities, according to a new study by InsideOut Development. Those in generation Z, typically categorized as people born between 1996 and 2015 (though according to PEW Research Centre, no chronological endpoint has been set for this group), began entering the workforce in 2017, […]
Nearly half (40 per cent) of Canadians don’t know whether their employers offer diversity and inclusion programs, according to a study by the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University and Catalyst Canada. About two-thirds (69 per cent) of respondents said they have a favourable view of these programs. However, 33 per cent of male respondents said they believe these […]
American International Group Inc. is adding a new surrogacy reimbursement benefit and an enhanced adoption benefit for its U.S. employees. The organization’s adoption and surrogacy assistance program, which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2019, includes reimbursement of up to $13,800 of eligible surrogacy-related expenses per child and an increase to the adoption reimbursement per child, from $7,500 […]