It’s 2025, and understanding and accepting gender diversity is more important than ever.
According to Statistics Canada, 1 in 300 people aged 15 or older are transgender or non-binary. That’s just over 100,000 people across Canada.
Despite the relatively small numbers of gender diverse people in Canada and around the world, transgender and non-binary people are inordinately targeted by bigoted groups and media. When it comes to workplaces, it’s essential to ensure your team is accepting and knowledgeable about this plight.
Gender diversity
Gender diversity, in a nutshell, is the understanding, recognition, and acceptance of more than just two gender identities. It includes anyone who identifies as anything other than the male or female identity they were assigned at birth, such as transgender, non-binary, and genderfluid.
Overall, gender diversity acknowledges and celebrates that gender is a spectrum, not an either/or.
According to the Government of British Columbia, “non-binary is an umbrella term referring to people whose gender does not fall within the binary gender system of woman/girl or man/boy. Some individuals identify as non-binary while others may use terms such a gender non-conforming, genderqueer, or agender.”
Why businesses need gender diversity training
Creating inclusive workplaces is an ongoing, invaluable goal for any business. It helps to ensure that every staff member feels welcome and valued, and that customers are all treated equally well.
Sadly, seven in ten Canadians say that transgender people in Canada face significant discrimination. So there is still much to be done to ensure everyone feels safe and valued, both at work and in their day-to-day lives.
At the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, we offer a Gender Diversity Basics course that employers can offer their employees.
This course consists of brief video clips explaining terms, concepts, and how to respectfully interact with transgender people, including pronouns and recovering from mistakes. It is interspersed with reflection surveys and quizzes to assess comprehension. It takes about one to two hours to complete.
This course is run by Kai Scott. Kai pairs his technical skills from 15 years as a social scientist conducting social impact assessments with his lived experiences as a trans man to develop innovative solutions for greater inclusion of gender diversity. He uses exploratory, evidence-based methods and quantitative and qualitative tools, such as interviews, surveys, systems reviews and spatial analyses, to develop solutions that create real, measurable change.
Keep in mind, everyone who completes this course is eligible for all the Whistler Experience Program Benefits, including the iconic Spirit Pass. View all of the benefits and learn more about this program here.
Register yourself or your team for Gender Diversity Basics online here!