After opening 2023 with a review of its internal equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) practices, the AMS hasn’t implemented any recommended improvements.
The former AMS executive Team ETC hired external consultant Zanab Shah from Bettering to provide recommendations on improving internal equity policies and procedures at the AMS. The report, which Shah said was released to the AMS last summer, wasn’t followed up on by current AMS executive team KMV.
Victoria Mills, AMS vice-president (university affairs), said the report is reflective of the environment created by last year’s team and wasn’t applicable to the 2023-24 AMS workplace.
“The report itself is entirely reflective of the previous year’s team and dynamics and we did not feel that it was an appropriate representation of the organization to publish, given this narrow nature and there is 100 per cent turnover,” Mills said in a statement to The Journal.
The report was intended to serve as an internal reference for the AMS executive, making recommendations based on a survey and one-on-one consultations. Data collection concluded on April 15, with the AMS incentivizing employees to participate through a $300 raffle.
Former Vice-President (University Affairs) Callum Robertson told AMS senior and assistant managers the audit was part of the AMS’s effort to continually improve the AMS and its commitment to EDII-based values in an email sent in February 2023.
Participants were asked questions regarding the AMS workplace culture and their sense of belonging. The feedback form required participants to consider specific instances they felt excluded and evaluate whether opportunities were distributed equally among AMS employees.
The Journal contacted consultant Zanab Shah, who confirmed all audit materials had been sent to the AMS but didn’t detail the findings or recommendations from the review.
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.