Celebrating student leadership and community impact with the McGill Desautels EDI Award of Excellence
In 2023 Desautels’s EDI Initiative launched the McGill EDI Award of Excellence to recognize incoming students whose leadership, community engagement and commitment to equity and inclusion set them apart.
Highlights from Indigenous Awareness Weeks 2025 at Desautels
During McGill's 2025 Indigenous Awareness Weeks in September, Desautels hosted two events on reconciliation literacy and the role of business in supporting economic empowerment for indigenous communities. Dr Niigaan Sinclair, Anishinaabe writer, columnist, and Professor of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba joined Dr. Veldon Coburn for a conversation on progress since the Trush and Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report.
Reframing Entrepreneurship: McGill Desautels hosts inaugural Conference on Everyday Entrepreneurship
The inaugural 2025 McGill Conference on Everyday Entrepreneurship (MCEE), hosted by the Desautels Faculty of Management, brought together scholars, practitioners, and community leaders to explore entrepreneurship beyond traditional boundaries. Organized by the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Initiative in collaboration with the Sustainable Growth Initiative and EDI, the two-day event spotlighted ventures and founders often overlooked in mainstream research.
Rebranding of DEI initiatives is a reactive response to external pressures
The pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs gained momentum in the first half of 2025. And while some institutions are eliminating DEI initiatives, others are rebranding them.
Women of Desautels: past, present and future
The Laidley Centre for Business Ethics and Equity and the McGill Desautels EDI Initiative recently hosted a panel for Women's History Month to honour the past, present, and future of women of the Faculty. The women featured included the granddaughter of the first McGill Commerce graduate (past), current BCom students (present) and accomplished Desautels alumnae (future).
To avoid reproducing existing biases, AI should be built with an EDI lens
Integrating an equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) lens into artificial intelligence systems is no longer a luxury or optional, writes McGill Desautels Faculty Lecturer Simon Blanchette in The Conversation Canada. Without it, AI risks reinforcing existing biases.
Indigenous business matters: truth, reconciliation, and sovereign wealth
In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (NDTR) on September 30, the McGill Desautels Faculty of Management, in collaboration with the Office of Indigenous Initiatives (OII), hosted a keynote address by Travis Seymour. As part of McGill’s Indigenous Awareness Weeks, now in its eighth year, this event underscored the urgent need to incorporate reconciliation principles within management and corporate frameworks.
Addressing anti-Black racism: strategies for integration in the classroom
On October 2, the McGill Desautels Faculty of Management hosted a panel titled "Addressing Anti-Black Racism: Strategies for Integration in the Classroom" to foster inclusive learning environments and address anti-Black racism.
Employer-led networking can help women assess workplace gender dynamics
Employers often cite a lack of female candidates as a barrier to achieving gender parity in the workplace. Yet, that can overlook an important factor – the alienation of women during the hiring process. “A lack of belonging can set in at the first stage of recruitment, and follow women throughout their careers,” says PhD student Janani Ramesh in an interview with HR Reporter.McGill's Black Grad Gala Celebrates Class of 2024
On May 1, McGill University's 6th annual Black Grad Gala, hosted by the Black Students’ Network, honoured the Class of 2024's Black graduates. Approximately 50 graduates from various faculties were celebrated on stage, each receiving Kente stoles in recognition of their achievements.
Being Black in Consulting event provides students with insight into consulting careers
Diverse consulting teams thrive when solving complex problems together, but, for people who haven’t had much exposure to the industry, it can seem a little opaque. The Being Black in Consulting event seeks to shed some light on this subject.
Employees unable to be their authentic self less likely to express their perspective
While some progress has been made in addressing discrimination in the workplace, many still feel the need to change themselves to conform to workplace cultural norms. Some, for example, may modify their speech or straighten their hair in order to fit in. This can come at a cost, writes Laura Morgan Roberts, Associate Professor of Business Administration at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, in the Harvard Business Review.
McGill University's Desautels Faculty of Management takes part in Mentorship Program Boosts Black Student Enrollment
McGill University's Pick Your Path for Black Youth (PYPB) mentorship program is breaking barriers and encouraging Black students to consider studying at McGill. The program pairs Black high school and CEGEP students with Black McGill students or alumni, providing support and guidance.
IMPM scholarship helps 2sLGBTQIA+ students promote diversity and inclusion
Business has an important role in the economy, and in shaping culture. Businesses set the norms, and can foster inclusivity. McGill’s International Masters Program for Managers (IMPM) recently took steps to help 2sLGBTQIA+ people do this by launching a scholarship of up to $10,000 USD for leaders actively involved in promoting diversity and inclusion in their organization, communities, country, or region.
