CREATING INCLUSIVE SPACE FOR ABORIGINAL SCHOLARS AND SCHOLARSHIP IN THE ACADEMY: IMPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT EQUITY POLICY

Oct 15, 2026

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Study on under-representation of Aboriginal scholars in Canadian university professoriate analyzes, through the perspectives of Aboriginal scholars, why scholars stay in or leave the Ontario academy. Employment equity policy is shown to require equitable recruitment of Aboriginal scholars and sustained retention supported by the valuation of Aboriginal scholarship. The work situates these findings within debates on multiculturalism, systemic oppression, language marginalization, and the need for higher education to act as societal agents of change and social-justice partners.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages33

Reading Time1 h 23 min

AccessFree to download

Employment Equity Policy in the Academy

Overview of purpose and aims of employment equity

Case study: scholars’ perspectives on recruitment and retention

CREATING INCLUSIVE SPACE FOR ABORIGINAL SCHOLARS AND SCHOLARSHIP IN THE ACADEMY: IMPLICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT EQUITY POLICY Karen A. Roland, University of Windsor Many Canadian universities report an under-representation of Aboriginal scholars in their professoriate. Employment equity policy seeks to redress the under representation of marginalized groups in the Canadian workforce, including Aboriginal peoples. This article presents the findings of a case study which sought to examine, from the perspective of Aboriginal scholars, the under-representation of Aboriginal scholars in the Ontario professoriate, specifically, why Aboriginal scholars stay, or leave the academy. The study findings illustrate the need for employment equity policy to equitably promote the recruitment of Aboriginal scholars, and further, to support their retention through the valuation of Aboriginal scholarship. The study highlights the need for Canadian universities to embrace their role as societal „agents of change,‟ and as part oftheir social justice mission, to promote diversification in the professoriate by creating inclusive space for Aboriginal scholars and scholarship in the academy. Canadian educational institutions are comprised of politically driven processes that have considerable power and influence over the communication of respect and value for cultural diversity in Canadian society. As such, to acknowledge the multiple identities within Canada‟s pluralistic society, there is a compelling need for a „call for social justice‟ in the Canadian educational system. However, policy-making within this context may become fragmented, and for some groups, such as the Aboriginal peoples of Canada, voices may be lost, or left unheard. To ensure social justice and equity, public policy development must engage the voice of all of its citizenry. Given this, policymakers in institutions of higher education share a national imperative to ensure equitable access, for all members of Canadian society, to the life chances and opportunities that education may provide in reaching their potential. The 1971 Canadian Multiculturalism Policy viewed as an effort to promote social justice in Canadian society within a bilingual framework, for the benefit of all the citizenry, is consonant with a multicultural approach to education policy characterized as a focus on the celebration of diversity and the various contributions made by many cultural groups. However, as Lock Kunz (2001) shares, while Canada may be considered a national model for managing diversity through the establishment of multiculturalism as an official policy, it may also be criticized for marginalizing those individuals and groups outside of the mainstream. McIntosh (1992), reflecting on the active and embedded forms of societal oppression states that in some cases the nature of the oppression may be so insidious, that even the dominant group is ignorant of the invisible systems which confer dominance. Given that systemic and embedded forms of societal oppression exist, it may be argued that multiculturalism does not move Canadian society beyond a stance of tolerance, and of critical importance, is that this policy does not move Canadian society towards positive social action through the promotion of meaningful respect and valuing for differences among the many groups comprising the Canadian mosaic. Lawrence and Dua (2005) identify an example of this in their discussion of the inability of the Canadian Multiculturalism policy to redress the extinction of Aboriginal languages. They assert that this policy reflects a colonial perspective by first providing for the „official‟ languages of Canada, and only then providing whatever limited funding remains for Aboriginal language initiatives. They suggest that ongoing colonization is a foundational practice in Canadian society. This therefore points to a crucial need for the Canadian populace to not only acknowledge, but also to operat

FAQs

What problem does the study address regarding Aboriginal scholars?

The study addresses the under-representation of Aboriginal scholars in Canadian universities’ professoriate.

How does the paper link employment equity policy to retention and recruitment?

It argues that employment equity must equitably promote recruitment and support retention by valuing Aboriginal scholarship.

What perspective guides the case study findings?

The findings are examined from the perspective of Aboriginal scholars to understand why they stay or leave the academy.

Oct 15, 2026

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