Max Bell School announces creation of Working Group on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The Max Bell School of Public Policy is pleased to announce the creation of its Working Group on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. The EDI Working Group will be tasked with making recommendations to the School and it represents the first concrete step to meeting the commitments in the School’s July 7 Statement on systemic racism and public policy.

The EDI Working Group will be chaired by Pearl Eliadis, a member of the School’s teaching faculty and an adjunct professor at McGill’s Faculty of Law. Pearl is a senior lawyer specializing in human rights with more than 25 years of practice and public policy experience. Pearl is joined by :

• Omar Akeileh, MPP ‘20
• Rudayna Bahubeshi, Current MPP Student, Max Bell School of Public Policy
• Clarissa Passos, Administrative Coordinator, Max Bell School of Public Policy
• Nayantara Sudhakar, Current MPP Student at the Max Bell School of Public Policy & Max Bell PGSA (Post Graduate Students' Association) Vice President Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.
• Lina Vissandjee, Multilateral Affairs Officer, Québec Government Office in Paris (MPP ‘20)
• Jennifer Welsh, Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security and Director, Centre for International Peace and Security Studies, McGill University & Max Bell School of Public Policy

The EDI Working Group will be developing its mandate and areas of focus over the next several months in consultation with the School’s community.

The EDI Working Group is being struck in the context of broad structural and systemic challenges related to racism and discrimination in our learning environments. It will work for and with people who face systemic barriers, including people with disabilities and LGBTQI2S people, and to address all forms of racism, including against Black people, Indigenous peoples, and people of colour. The School is committed to developing innovative policy solutions and ideas that address these challenges, tracking progress on the five broad axes identified by the University: student experience, research and knowledge, outreach, workforce and physical space. These axes are based on the University’s EDI Strategic Plan 2020-2025 and the University’s Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism, released on September 30, 2020.

Read more about the group here.