Cobourg's accessibility co-ordinator had a lot to report this week when bringing council up to date at its committee-of-the-whole meeting.
The town did not shine in her report on the initial benchmarking of its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, Jamie Kramer said, but the important word is “initial.”
Some 266 benchmarks were part of the report in 14 different categories, each rated on a scale of one to five. And unless an organization is mindful and purposeful about its approach to what she termed EDI, scores of one and two are to be expected.
“But I heard and saw a lot of really great things,” she said.
The town scored highest in the job benefits-work/life integration-flexibility category, and probably was found most wanting under learning-education.
“The hope is that, by benchmarking and taking the time to be really purposeful about how we do EDI, we are starting to create those proactive aspects before we have to hear about something from the public,” she said.
“I asked everyone to do this one and a half or two months ago, and we have made some strides already,” she said, citing unconscious-bias training for management staff and Indigenous-awareness training being made available to councillors and certain staff members.
“We will be working towards some of those higher-level performances, but it's not a short-term journey. It will take quite a bit of time.”
Another of Kramer's initiatives is a pilot program she has been putting together in collaboration with Councillors Emily Chorley and Nicole Beatty - the Women In Governance Leadership and Mentoring Program at the Town of Cobourg, slated to begin in May for those who identify as women, trans-women, nonbinary, agender of gender-nonconforming.
The idea is to provide a forum where participants can learn more about governance at the municipal level, Kramer said.
She cited information from the United Nations that said that, among legislators, 30% must be female in order to achieve a critical mass that can reflect the needs of women in public policy.
“Our council meets that, but it's not the case across Canada,” she said.
They hope to enlist three to five participants for the 12-week program, with a mentor assigned to each who is an elected official identifying as a woman to introduce them to the gamut of municipal governance - “everything from arts and culture to finance to public policy to sitting in on council meetings. Our hope is people taking away from this insights on what it is like to be a public servant and create some personal and professional development for themselves so they understand some of the real-world workings.”
There will also be some exciting speakers that she has lined up for the program.
Program participants should be Grade 11 or older, with the hope of providing this program at a time when they are deciding on a career, though someone older looking for a change in their career path might also find it helpful. Participants must also be residents of (or own a business in) Cobourg.
They will get the word out by connecting with school boards and local colleges and universities, as well as through the typical social-media outlets.
Women may be under-represented in so many municipalities, but Councillor Brian Darling believes this is not the case for Northumberland. He reeled off a list of offices held by women to prove his point – Northumberland's chief administrative officer, the Town of Cobourg's chief administrative officer, the mayor of Cramahe Township, the mayor and deputy mayor of Alnwick-Haldimand Township, Northumberland Hills Hospital's president and chief executive officer, Northumberland Hills Hospital Foundation's executive director, Cornerstone Family Violence Prevention Centre's executive director.
“It just shows how progressive this area is,” Darling said.
“As far as I'm concerned, this mentoring program is another step in the right direction.”