"We are pleased to be recognized once again as among Canada's best employers for diversity," said Michael Bach, National Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for KPMG in Canada "In the past year we have made greater strides to integrate new programs and further expand our diversity initiatives within the firm."
This award recognizes the nation's leaders in workplace diversity and inclusiveness initiatives among several employee groups: women; visible minorities; people with disabilities; people of the First Nation or aboriginal Canadians; and gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-identified employees.
Some of the reasons why KPMG LLP was selected as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers 2009:
- established a national Diversity Advisory Board that meets quarterly and acts as the advising body for KPMG's Canada-wide diversity, inclusion and equity strategy.
- established local diversity councils in Toronto, Montréal, Calgary, Vancouver (and some smaller offices) to address diversity issues relating to local offices
- implemented a targeted recruitment strategy to increase the number of women and visible minority employees by 10% over the next five years
- created an employee network group for employees who are parents of special needs children
- developed a course on communication in a diverse workplace for managers, which is held once every month on an ongoing basis
- introduced a Director of Diversity role to focus on the advancement of women and visible minorities, and combat workplace homophobia
- has an in-house group (pride@kpmg) that publishes a quarterly newsletter to highlight networking events happening at offices across Canada
"During these challenging economic times, diversity continues to remain a strategic business priority for KPMG," Said Mario Paron, KPMG's Chief Human Resources Officer. "We believe there is a strong business case for demonstrating a diverse workforce that both reflects our client base, and allows us the opportunity to recruit the best and the brightest talent from all groups and communities in Canada."
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