Institutions around the world are well aware that it is important not only to increase diversity and inclusion, but also to do so in a transparent and public way.
That’s probably why Canada’s new chief of staff made a proud statement this week on recent discussions at the highest level of the country’s armed forces.
“Conversations about diversity, inclusion and culture change are not incompatible with our hunger for operational excellence. I count on my senior leaders to support culture change, ”recently Admiral Art McDonald wrote on Twitter“Diversity makes us stronger, inclusion improves our attitude.”
Unfortunately, that poignant message was somewhat undermined by the accompanying photo of the gathering – of eight white men seated around a table.
A white woman – and another white man – were just visible on a screen with remote participants.
The post, intended as a nod to the military’s efforts to address the shortcomings, went viral for all the wrong reasons.
“Are you talking about the diversity of hiring men with varying degrees of hair loss?” tweeted comedian Rob Gill.
“Those white guys are very diverse. Some of them have no hair. One of them hates cilantro, ”another user tweeted.
Others poked fun at the tweet’s vague, confusing ‘soldier’.
“We may have our differences, but we can all agree that we have a thirst for operational excellence. Positively dehydrated due to lack of operational excellence. Feeling dehydrated after a conversation about diversity, ”wrote journalist Vicky Mochama.
As criticism and ridicule accumulated, McDonald, who held the senior military role less than a month ago, later issued an apology.
“I hear your comments and I take them to heart. It’s true: the leadership … is, and has historically been, predominantly male and white. That must change, ”he wrote. “We need to reflect Canada’s diversity at all levels. We must work to eradicate systemic racism and remove existing barriers to career development. We have a mindset, but know there is still a lot of work to be done, and we are determined to do it ”
Canadian Defense Secretary Harjit Sajjan said in a statement that the country continues to grapple with “the legacy of systemic racism, discrimination and lack of inclusion.”
“While defense leaders are committed to increasing diversity in our ranks, mistakes like these show that unintentional bias still exists,” he wrote.