In April 2024, our team approved our first formal Anti-oppression Action Plan. We developed this plan because we have, for a long time, believed in and worked towards advancing anti-oppression, justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Our Anti-Oppression Action Plan details our commitment to embed anti-oppression into all areas of our work, as:
- a diverse group of colleagues working together,
- a client-serving consultancy working with many different organizations and communities, and
- community leaders.
Our commitment to anti-oppression involves continuous reflection on how what we do and how we show up can support or disrupt unfair systems that mistreat, exploit, and marginalize certain groups of people, based on race, Indigeneity, sex or gender, sexuality, ability, body size, class, age, citizenship, and other characteristics that make us diverse.
Our current Action Plan sets out:
- Guiding principles for the actions we’ve chosen to prioritize over the coming year
- Conditions for success that must be in place for our anti-oppression work to flourish
- Specific goals for the coming year across various business areas (operations, corporate giving, human resources and recruitment, client projects)
- A calendar of activities for ongoing staff learning, reflection, and accountability
- An anti-oppression learning journey roadmap for all staff, including required training and activities for all new hires
Our Action Plan is intended to lead us toward creating and maintaining an inclusive, equitable, and respectful work environment, and to contribute to positive social change.
Our team looked for inspiration for our plan from various places. Here are some we recommend checking out!
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Website with various resources curated by the team at B Lab US & Canada. |
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And another hub of resources compiled by the team at B Lab US & Canada. |
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Resources at the intersection of anti-oppression and climate/environmental justice, curated by the B Corp Climate Collective of businesses. |
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Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad |
Books with supplementary resources at the author websites. The Cathexis team read these books over multiple summers and held regular guided discussions. These books and discussions have equipped us with common language and concepts for grounding our anti-oppression work. |
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Website with events and resources for organizations that are supporting greater inclusion of women and underrepresented groups on leadership roles in organizations. |
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Google sheet with resources curated by the diversity, equity, and inclusion working group of the Canadian Evaluation Society. Includes tools to strategize, monitor and/or evaluate anti-racism action and other resources |
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Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario: Anti-Oppressive Framework: A Primer |
Some organizational anti-oppression frameworks and strategic plans that inspired ours. |