October 11 to 14 is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Week at Intact! This year’s theme is From Awareness to Action, and we have four days planned for our employees to celebrate. Hear from some of our dedicated DEI Week volunteers about what this year’s theme means to them and how you can participate in events and activities!
For Benoit Gadbois, he’s seen diversity, equity and inclusion work grow significantly throughout the past 27 years he’s been part of Intact.
“The dots have been connected now, and DEI is on a more human level now than it was before,” he says.
As a Unit Manager, Corporate Services as well as Co-Chair of the Intact Pride Network, Benoit is a leader and advocate for inclusion at Intact. He says he sees both his role as a manager, combined with his personal experiences, as motivation to create equitable and inclusive spaces for his team. This includes Instilling Inclusive Language, which is the Day 2 theme for DEI Week.
“I’ve had past experiences with bullying,” he says. “Words can easily hurt others without us knowing or noticing it, like a microaggression or insensitive joke. It’s something that I’m very aware of because of my own history with bullying.”
Benoit says he always keeps our value of Respect in mind when he witnesses instances where a microaggression (a statement or action that is subtle, indirect or unintentional discrimination) or insensitive language may be used at work, and takes time to educate others.
“I make sure to address a microaggression or insensitive language instance in a positive way by encouraging my team members or colleagues to think about how they can rephrase saying something,” he says. “If it’s for the sake of a joke, maybe they shouldn’t be making a joke like that. It’s not always easy because people will judge you or say you’re not fun anymore. We should be focusing on elevating everyone at the same level.”
Consistency is key, he adds. “It’s like when we teach our kids to talk and say the same word over and over again. We need to use the inclusive language lens in our daily actions and keep repeating it.”
Benoit is looking forward to the events happening for Day 2 of DEI Week that will raise more awareness about inclusive language, like the Conference with Psycholinguist Pascal Gygax on inclusive writing (available in both English and French). His advice to others is to use DEI Week as an invitation to have these important conversations.
“I want my colleagues to know that I’m open to talking about these subjects, even when it can be uncomfortable,” he says. “An employee came to me to share that she was ready to come out, and told me because she felt comfortable…because I’ve been so open about these subjects. I’m really proud of that and for being a part of the evolution of DEI over the past 27 years here at Intact.”