Federally regulated sectors subject to the Legislated Employment Equity Program tend to have better track records on the representation of women, racialized persons, Indigenous Peoples and persons with disabilities than other sectors. Yet more work needs to be done. Significant representation gaps exist for leadership roles, access to opportunities and feelings of inclusion and fairness. Additionally, not all equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategies are effective.

However, research provides insights about what works for whom, and utilizing a systems approach helps to identify the levers that can make a difference.

The Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) project hopes to use these approaches to create change. In this project, the Diversity Institute is collaborating with corporate partners from the financial services and banking, communications, and transportation sectors. It aims to:

• Increase the representation of women, racialized persons, Indigenous Peoples and persons with disabilities among senior and middle managers, professional roles, and administrative and clerical personnel, in eight to 10 federally regulated organizations
• Increase the understanding among stakeholders of industry-specific barriers to diversity and inclusion, and effective practices to accelerate progress on EDI
• Develop and adapt new inclusion tools and guides tailored to industry-specific needs.

Federally regulated organizations have a significant impact on economic development and equity that extends beyond their direct workforce. In addition, transportation and logistics companies are the foundation of many other sectors.

Thus, EDI in the transportation sector has a significant impact across economic, cultural and social development. For this reason, it is important to view EDI in this industry within a larger societal context.

This report begins with an analysis of representation data that provides a snapshot of the status of EDI in the ground transportation sector. Next, it identifies promising practices within the transportation sector as a whole, with special attention to a broader perspective on EDI. It examines not just organizational leadership, but also the organizations’ products and services, advertising and efforts to engage communities.

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