Dear Queen’s Journal,
I was disheartened to read Bobby Liang’s account of feeling marginalized in the Commerce program. Both the business school and the Commerce Society (ComSoc) have put great effort into making the experience inclusive and welcoming, but clearly we have more to do.
Two years ago we established the Commerce Diversity and Inclusivity Committee, with representatives from students, faculty and staff, to examine all aspects of the program from recruitment and admissions to student experience.
Among work already undertaken:
The Queen’s University Investment Council (QUIC) and Queen’s Women in Leadership (QWIL), have formed a partnership to address gender diversity in the finance industry. QUIC also worked closely with members of Smith’s Advisory Board to develop a targeted recruiting strategy for women.
The staff and ComSoc leadership have been working to improve equity and diversity in hiring for ComSoc positions.
And we are proud that ComSoc ratified a chapter of EDGE, an organization, co-founded by a Commerce student, that focuses on enabling marginalized groups to excel in business and STEM academic and professional careers.
This is just some of the significant activity underway at Smith School of Business to foster diversity and inclusion. This continues to be an area of top priority. I encourage any Commerce student with questions, suggestions or personal experiences of inequity to reach out to me directly.
Regards,
Lori Garnier
Executive Director, Commerce Program
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.
When commenting, be considerate and respectful of writers and fellow commenters. Try to stay on topic. Spam and comments that are hateful or discriminatory will be deleted. Our full commenting policy can be read here.