HUMAN RIGHTS
Understanding human rights
We all have the right to study on a campus that is free from discrimination, to participate in our culture, to express ourselves freely. At MacEwan University, we promote a campus culture that values and respects inclusion.
Definitions
Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that every person should have. The Alberta Human Rights Act ensures that all Albertans have an equal opportunity to earn a living, find a place to live and enjoy other services.
Discrimination occurs when someone is treated unfairly or differently, whether intentionally or not, based on one or more than one of the protected grounds identified in the Alberta Human Rights Act: race, religious beliefs, colour, gender, gender identity, gender expression, physical disability, mental disability, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, family status, source of income, sexual orientation and, in some situations, age.
If you would like to learn more, visit the Office of Human Rights on campus or read about human rights legislation in Alberta.
Equity is the fair and respectful treatment of all people and involves creating opportunities and reducing disparities. While equality focuses on equal treatment, equity recognizes that in order to overcome pre-existing and systemic barriers, different levels of support and treatment are required so that every member of the community has fair access to opportunities and resources.
We believe that our staff and faculty should reflect our student body, as well as Edmonton as a whole. We are shaping our hiring process to ensure that our employees are representative of our community, and every applicant is given equitable treatment.
Diversity encompasses the unique traits that individuals possess and describes the presence of differences within any demographic mix. It can be understood through:
- Inherent diversity: Race, gender, sexual orientation, disability
- Acquired diversity: Diversity of thought, cross-cultural communication, language, social skills
We believe that these differences should be celebrated. Our initiatives to encourage diversity include our self-reporting feature in PeopleSoft.
Inclusion is the shared responsibility of the community to ensure that all individuals are valued and respected for their contributions, have a sense of belonging, and feel welcome within the community.
We support inclusion at MacEwan through events like Pride Week, as well as initiatives hosted by the Office of Human Rights and the Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity.
Policies and guidelines
We have a number of policies, procedures and guidelines to support our diverse staff and student community. Learn about policies on student and employee accommodations, accessibility, gender diversity and more.
Accommodating students with disabilities
Accommodating students on non-disability grounds
Supporting MacEwan community members
BARRIER-FREE ACCESS & ACCOMMODATION
CHILDREN IN THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Supporting MacEwan employees
Diversity surveys
The following reports show the results of two surveys: a 2021 survey that collected information on employee diversity and a 2019 student survey designed to gauge diversity and inclusion perceptions.
Dimensions Charter
In November 2023, MacEwan University signed the Dimensions Charter, committing to its principles and actions to address systemic barriers in research faced by women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minority and racialized groups, and members of the LGBTQ2+ communities.
These principles are:
- The post-secondary research community has the greatest potential to thrive when members experience equitable, inclusive, and unbiased systems and practices.
- To advance institutional equity, diversity, and inclusion, specific measurable and sustainable actions are needed to counter systemic barriers, explicit and unconscious biases, and inequities. This includes addressing obstacles faced by, but not limited to, women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities or racialized groups, and members of LGBTQ2+ communities.
- Institutions require qualitative and quantitative data to measure, monitor, understand, and publicly report on challenges and progress made. The analysis of the data should inform a comprehensive, in-depth, intersectional understanding of the contexts, manifestations, and experiences that result from inequities, underrepresentation, and exclusion among all post-secondary community members.
- When equity, diversity, and inclusion considerations and practices are integral to research participation, to the research itself, and research training and learning environments, research excellence, innovation, and creativity are heightened across all disciplines, fields of study and stages of career development.
- To contribute to reconciliation, research with, by, or impacting Indigenous Peoples must align with the research policies and best practices identified through ongoing engagement with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples and their organizations.
- Advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion is a shared responsibility that requires dedicated resources and strong leadership at all levels. Senior leadership demonstrates commitment through public endorsement, by ensuring the work involved is resourced and distributed fairly, and by embedding changes in institutional governance and accountability structures.
- Issues of institutional and individual safety, trust, belonging, privacy, and power differentials must be recognized and pro-actively addressed; this will be most successful when those impacted are directly engaged in defining the actions.
- Achieving the overall objective of the Dimensions program—to foster increased research excellence, innovation and creativity within the post-secondary sector across all disciplines through increased equity, diversity and inclusion—involves institutional collaboration, transparency, and the sharing of challenges, successes, and promising practices.
Learn About the Dimensions Charter
