Employer experimentation in favour of ethnocultural diversity: Action research in a Canadian union

In 2021, a motion was voted by professional staff and union members to encourage a major Canadian and Quebec-baed union confederation to rethink its policies and practices in favour of enhancing ethnocultural diversity among its professional staff.
Between 2022and 2024 the reflexive exercise has led to an action research where the researchers (myself as Principal Investigator) support the union's experimentation as an employer attempting to improve its practices. The project started as a community engagement initiative in my previous role in Montreal. It is ongoing (2025-2026) and a new phase of the project will be suggested to the union, in order to monitor how the recommendations made will be implemented.

2 micro-studies:,
Study 1: survey (n=304 responses). Homogenous staff, with little ethnocultural diversity. Differentiated educational paths of ethnic minorities, cases of discrimination at recruitment and performance appraisal level
Study 2: re-screening of application forms and cvs (n=10) Development f a new prescreening tool to address ethnic bias. Identification of risks of ethnic bias during pre-selection fo cvs and due to existing and unquestioned organisational practices.