This blog post is written by the “Anti-Racism Blog Team” of ActionDignity, and is the intellectual property of ActionDignity. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from ActionDignity is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to ActionDignity with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. (The bolded terms in the article indicate the terms that are included in the Glossary at the bottom of the page.)
(15 mins read)
(Listen to the article)
Introduction
ActionDignity evolved from a collaboration of ethnocultural organizations. The Calgary Chinese Community Service Association, the Council of Sikh Organizations, and the Calgary Vietnamese Canadian Association began meeting in the 1980s. Together they created an interconnected system intent on making change and addressing the common needs of “integration and participation on issues affecting ethno-cultural communities” (AD, History, para. 1, 2025). In 2002, they developed the Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary. And in 2017 we rebranded to our present name ActionDignity. The name of our organization has evolved over time, but the mandate to work for human rights, address racial inequities, and advocate for access and participation— all essential parts of Anti-Racism Systems Change— has been the maintained foundation of our work. While there are many ways that organizations and institutions work for social justice, it is important to recognize the distinct features of Anti-Racism work and why it matters to our communities.
Differences Between Anti-Racism and DEI
In 2020, much of the world witnessed the death of George Floyd, a Black American man murdered by the police, on camera. This prompted many people to confront the deadly impact that racism and systemic racism can have on the lives of Racialized people. In response to this heightened awareness of racism, many organizations and institutions developed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) departments and announced DEI commitments. This created some confusion about the difference between Anti-Racism and DEI.
This year, the mainstream media also reported that, based on influences from the USA, many companies and organizations cancelled their DEI initiatives and programs (Jeyaretnam, 2025). This reporting sometimes suggested that DEI was the same as Anti-Racism and that society, as a whole, was cancelling their work to ensure that workplaces fostered diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments (Sherman, 2025). These were misleading suggestions. Many large companies and organizations have continued to maintain their commitments to Anti-racism and DEI. Apple, Costco, Delta Air Lines, and Microsoft are among some of the large US companies that maintained their DEI programs (Jeyaretnam, 2025). Many Canadian companies are also committed to their DEI initiatives, such as Canadian Tire, Loblaw, Royal Bank of Canada, and Calgary-based Enbridge, among others (Olive, 2025). While some news media may try to suggest that all DEI initiatives are being rolled back, it is important to note that this is not happening everywhere, and many companies value and maintain these initiatives. While Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs can often support Anti-Racism work, it is also important to recognize that they are not the same and specific Anti-Racism actions are necessary for changing systemic racism.
DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Sometimes you may see it presented as EDI or EDIB which includes Belonging, EDIA (Accessibility), and JEDI (Justice) as well. DEI is a theory and approach to developing workplaces that have diverse representation, offer equitable opportunities for advancement, and include people of all racial, gender, religious, ability status, and sexual identity backgrounds (Boyles, 2023; Raimi & Kah, 2022). DEI practices and policies aim to ensure that all employees feel welcomed within existing systems. The challenge of DEI is that it does not always acknowledge when the systems themselves need to be changed due to racism. Often systemic practices, resource flows, relationships and power structures maintain a racial hierarchy that prioritizes whiteness and centres European ways of knowing, doing, and being. While DEI initiatives may include Racialized people; if their ways of knowing, being, and doing, their lived experiences and expertise, are not valued and utilized to refine and revise the system, their engagement is not authentic and often not safe for them either. Including Racialized people in a Eurocentric system does not always create safety, dignity, and belonging for Racialized people.
The CARED Collective Glossary (ACLRC, n.d.) defines Anti-Racism as “the active process of identifying and eliminating racism by changing systems, organizational structures, policies and practices and attitudes, so that power is redistributed and shared equitably.” Due to the history of colonialism, racism is embedded into most of our social systems. Racism limits access to resources, integration into society, and participation in social and economic systems and decision-making processes for many Racialized people. Anti-Racism work aims to interrogate systems that maintain a hierarchy of human value based on race. This work goes beyond celebrating diversity, creating equitable engagement, and the inclusion of Racialized people in work environments. Anti-racism advocacy aims to change structures so that Racialized people are not simply included in existing Eurocentric systems, but that the systems themselves are changed to value all of our ways of being, doing, knowing, and relating. An environment shaped by anti-racism ensures equitable access to power, resources, and decision making processes and maintains the safety, dignity, and belonging of everyone. With a strong Anti-Racism foundation, DEI can support Anti-Racist initiatives to change systems. However, it is important to recognize that they are not the same. Specific Anti-Racism work is crucial to making sustainable systems-change. ActionDignity actively works to dismantle systemic racism through all of our programs.
Systemic Racism
Systemic racism refers to” patterns of behaviour, policies or practices that create or perpetuate inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race” (Government of Canada, 2023). Prejudicial beliefs accompanied by power are used to discriminate and create barriers to participation in society and life. Systemic racism affects Racialized people in deeply personal ways, shaping their everyday lives and opportunities.
In public spaces, many Racialized individuals live with the feeling of being unprotected in their own communities (Mckay, 2025). At work, people face unfair hiring practices such as denying international credentials and/or work experience, lower wages, and fewer chances for advancement because of racial discrimination (Algernon, 2023). Racialized women experience the intersectional barriers of facing both gender and racial discrimination, leading to wage gaps, fewer leadership opportunities, and higher rates of workplace harassment and violence (Statistics Canada, 2024). Many Racialized people also experience discrimination due to the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, agism, and faith-based discriminations which prevent them from accessing economic security and career growth. Mental health struggles are worsened by the stress of racism and the lack of culturally responsive and appropriate support, leading to untreated mental health issues and lower overall well-being (Ottawa Public Health, 2020). Barriers in education, housing, and financial services make it harder for Racialized families to break free from poverty, limiting community development and their ability to thrive thereby keeping Racialized individuals in cycles of poverty and social exclusion. These challenges are not just statistics. they are lived experiences that affect Racialized families, communities, and futures.
How ActionDignity’s Anti-Racism Work Addresses Systemic Racism
ActionDignity addresses systemic racism by implementing a multi-faceted systems change approach that focuses on creating equitable systems across key areas such as public safety, workers’ rights, gender equity, mental health, and social and economic inclusion.
Through our Public Safety Program, we advocate for fair law enforcement policies, increased accountability to community, and culturally responsive community-based safety models. We aim to build trust between Racialized communities and public safety institutions, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of race, have equal protection under the law.
Our Workers’ Rights Program works to ensure that Racialized communities are not disproportionately affected by workplace discrimination or exploitation. This includes advocating for recognition of international credentials, better labour protections, equal pay, and eliminating barriers that prevent Racialized workers from accessing fair opportunities and resources.
(Workers’ Rights Community Policy Dialogue at ActionDignity)
In the Gender Equity Program, we address the intersectionality of race and gender, advocating for policies that promote equal rights and opportunities for Racialized women. We also advocate for good jobs for all Racialized women and particularly for those dwelling in women’s shelters. This involves challenging both racial and gender biases that contribute to their disempowerment and marginalization in leadership, employment, and decision-making spaces, and equitable access to informational resources.
Our Mental Health Program advocates for equitable accessible to race-sensitive, trauma-informed, and culturally competent mental health services for Racialized communities, where systemic barriers to care are broken down. We aim to increase awareness around the impact of racial trauma and provide support that is sensitive to the unique experiences of Racialized individuals and remove barriers to equitable access to mental health services.
(ActionDignity’s mental health knowledge mobilization event brought service providers, policy influencers, community leaders and members together to advocate for a more equitable mental health service system)
Our Social and Economic Inclusion Program addresses the systemic barriers that perpetuate economic disparities, ensuring that racialized communities have equal access to education, housing, and financial opportunities. Our efforts include advocating for inclusive policies that remove obstacles such as racial discrimination in housing, lending, and employment, advocating for recognition of international work experiences, while also creating programs that specifically uplift these communities.
Through all of our programs, ActionDignity advocates for anti-racism systems change. Systems that centre European ways of knowing, being, and doing, and support racial hierarchies create spaces that do not maintain the safety, dignity and belonging of Racialized peoples. The Anti-Racism work that ActionDignity has dedicated itself to for over 45 years aims to advocate for systemic change to ensure that all Racialized, ethnocultural communities, and equity seeking groups can live in a society that ensures their safety, dignity, and belonging. This work is supported by specific anti-racism education.
Anti-Racism Education Supports Advocacy Work
Racialized communities explicitly expressed a need for anti-racism initiatives in Calgary. One of ActionDignity’s initiatives in the last year was the Collaboration and Commitment towards Racial Equity (CORE) project. The CORE project brought racialized communities together to advance the initiative of the federal, provincial, and municipal government. It deepened their understanding of racism and built capacity and advocacy skills of communities in addressing racism and discrimination. ActionDignity also met with 33 ethno-cultural community organizations and many expressed that their communities need orientations and trainings around racism and anti-racism. For example, Korok Society of Canada, shared that “People want more awareness and trainings, we may think that racism is common sense, but it isn’t common sense and people don’t know about it, and want to learn about this.”
(ActionDignity conducted anti-racism trainings with ethnocultural organizations)
Community members found that ActionDignity’s anti-racism training gave context to their experiences and allowed them to explore the reasons they may feel uncomfortable and unsafe. Some community members shared that the anti-racism training was important to their parenting, stating, “Thank you for this training, I wasn’t aware of how deep racism was and this informs the way I will raise my kids”. Others expressed how much they learned from the training as well: “ActionDignity’s anti racism session was great. We need more sessions like the anti-racism introductory workshop, its meaningful case study activities help you deeply understand and see what’s happening”. Education is a key element that supports anti-racism systems change.
New Anti-Racism Initiative
ActionDignity is excited to introduce our new social enterprise- Systems-Led Anti-Racism Training Program. Our new training program is designed to help organizations go beyond raising awareness of racism to feel empowered to make anti-racist systems change. Our focus on systems, systems-leaders, and systems-change offers a unique way to understand and address systemic racism. This training program can be fully customized for each organization and offers opportunities for ongoing learning through bimonthly Communities of Practice. To learn more about how this training program can support your organization in making transformational systems change please contact: Towani Duchscher @ Towani.Duchscher@actiondignity.org or visit our website: https://actiondignity.org/systems-led-anti-racism-training-program/
Conclusion
To make sustainable anti-racist change, Anti-Racism work needs to educate, advocate, inform, and empower Racialized communities and the society at large. Through our programs, initiatives, and trainings, ActionDignity has been engaged in Anti-Racism work since 2002 and this work will continue on indefinitely. The focus of our work has always remained in anti-racism systems change, pushing to change systems to better serve the needs of Racialized communities. This unique position in advocacy separates us from DEI initiatives. Instead of searching to create inclusion in existing systems, our work advocates for creating transformational change, that disrupts existing inequitable structures. ActionDignity’s anti-racism goal and vision remains consistent by educating on anti-racism, echoing and amplifying the voices and needs of Racialized communities, and advocating for systems that ensure the safety, dignity, and belonging of all community members.
References
ACLRC. (n.d.). The CARED Collective: Glossary. https://www.aclrc.com/issues/anti-racism/cared/glossary/
ActionDignity. (2025). About us: History. ActionDignity. https://actiondignity.org/about/
Algernon, A. (2023). The Continuing Power of White Preferences in Employment. https://cepr.net/publications/the-continuing-power-of-white-preferences-in-employment/
Boyles, M. (2023). DEI: What it is& how to champion it in the workplace. Harvard Business School Online. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-is-dei
Britannica. (n.d.). Racism. In Britannica.com https://www.britannica.com/topic/racism
Government of Canada. (2023). Anti-racism lexicon. Anti-Racism toolkit. https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/systemic-racism-discrimination/anti-racism-toolkit/anti-racism-lexicon.html#toc18
Jeyaretnam, M. (2025, Feb 26). These U.S. companies are not ditching dei amid Trump’s crackdown. Time. https://time.com/7261857/us-companies-keep-dei-initiatives-list-trump-diversity-order-crackdown/
Ladson-Billings, G. (2021). Critical Race Theory-What it is not! In M. Lynn & A. D. Dixson (Eds.), Handbook of critical race theory in education, p.32-43. Routledge.
McKay, J. (2021). Systemic Racism in Policing in Canada- Report of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security. https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/432/SECU/Reports/RP11434998/securp06/securp06-e.pdf
Olive, D. (2025, April 23). Sorry, America, but Canada isn’t buying your anti-DEI crusade. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/business/sorry-america-but-canada-isnt-buying-your-anti-dei-crusade/article_fe285bf8-19bd-4300-b80a-cdb281cec62f.html
Ottawa Public Health. (2020). Mental health of Ottawa’s black community research study (August 2020). https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/reports-research-and-statistics/resources/Documents/MHOBC_Technical-Report_English.pdf
Raimi, L. & Kah, J.M.L. (2022). Mainstreaming diversity, equity, and inclusion as future workplace ethics. IGI Global. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://diversityatlas.io/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2022-Mainstreaming-Diversity-Equity-and-Inclusion-as-Future-Workplace-Ethics.pdf
Sherman, N. (2025). Meta and Amazon scale back diversity initiatives. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgmy7xpw3pyo
Statistics Canada. (2024). Gender Results Framework: A new data table on workplace harassment. The Daily. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240212/dq240212a-eng.htm
Glossary of Terms
Anti-Racism: “Anti-Racism is the active process of identifying and eliminating racism by changing systems, organizational structures, policies and practices and attitudes, so that power is redistributed and shared equitably.” (The CARED Collective Glossary, n.d.)
Belonging: Belonging refers to the experience of feeling connected to a group and feeling seen and valued for our full humanity (our culture, values, beliefs, worldviews, and experiences).
Colonialism: When one country takes control of another country by dominating the land, controlling the people, exploiting the resources, and enforcing their own governance, policies, education, cultures, and practices. Colonialism often involves cultural genocide (the killing of people, languages, cultures) to maintain control. Settler colonialism involves the displacement of the original peoples by settlers who take over the land and control the society.
Critical Race Theory: Critical- Race- Theory- CRT, refers to a set of theories developed by legal scholars in the USA in the 1980s to help understand and explain why racism persists (Ladson-Billings, 2021) Critical means to examine an issue or idea with a questioning mind-to ask questions about who it impacts, how it considers power, whose perspectives it considers, etc. Race refers to the social categories that people have been placed in based on our skin colour and features. Theory means an idea intended to explain how something works and it is tested and supported by research.
Dignity: Dignity is the feeling of being respected in our full humanity (including our values, beliefs, worldviews, cultures, and experiences). When people feel a full sense of dignity, we do not feel diminished or ridiculed for being full selves.
Disempowerment: The act of creating so many barriers to participating in society that people lose the power to make decisions for their own lives.
Diversity: The recognition that all people are unique and have a wide range of identities, cultural backgrounds, worldviews, values, beliefs, and experiences. To celebrate diversity in the workplace is to make a space that values all of these unique qualities and disrupts a hierarchy of human value.
Equity: Equity is the acknowledgement that not all humans have equal access to resources and power and it works to address that inequality by giving different supports based on need. Because of the impact of colonialism and racism, many of our systems are Eurocentric meaning that they centre and value White European ways of knowing, being, and doing. This creates barriers for Racialized people to access resources and power.
Racial Equity works to disrupt these barriers to ensure that every person has access to resources and power by providing differing opportunities and supports based on what is needed to counteract the barriers shaped by racism.
Eurocentric: The centering of White European ways of knowing, being, doing, and relating.
Gender Equity Program: The Gender Equity Program collaborates with women’s organizations to strengthen their gender equity strategies and advance systems change and policy advocacy. To promote gender transformative programming, it actively engages men and boys. The project trains peer and natural supports to identify, respond to, and refer domestic violence cases, while fostering transformative conversations with men and boys to promote healthier gender relations.
Hierarchy: Creating categories and leveling them based on value. Racial hierarchies categorize humans based on racial identity and give more value and power to people identified as White and less value and power to Racialized people. Racial hierarchies create a gradient of power and value based on how close one’s skin tone is to whiteness.
Inclusion: The act of making people feel welcomed into a space, organization, institution or society. Inclusive practices ensure that the space is accessible to all people and communicates a direct invitation to participate.
Intersectionality/ Intersectional: Recognizing that the multiple parts of our identities overlap and impact the way that we experience the world and the discrimination we face based on hierarchies. For example, people can be treated with discrimination based on the individual identity elements of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and age. However, these elements all overlap in some people creating a complex experience of discrimination. For example, a Black man will have a different experience of discrimination than a Black, trans, lesbian, Muslim, young woman.
Marginalization: When one race, culture, or peoples is centered and described as the “norm”, people outside of that race and culture, can be pushed to the margins or edges of society and made to feel unvalued. By excluding and isolating people from the centre that makes decisions and shapes society, this process removes people’s power to engage both socially and economically.
Mental Health Program: The Mental Health Systems Change program aims to improve access to mental health services and resources for ethnocultural communities through transformative systems change. It employs a collaborative engagement and actions by ethnocultural communities, not-for-profits, and institutional partners to address the root causes of mental health issues in policies, practices and beliefs.
Proportionality: a mathematical concept that compares parts of groups with the whole group.
Proportion: “a proportion is a part, share, or number considered in comparative relation to a whole” (Statistics Canada, 2021, timestamp: 12:54)
Disproportionate representation: when one racial group is represented in an area of society more or less than their representation in the society as a whole.
Public Safety Program: Public Safety builds upon our current work with various grassroots ethnocultural community groups to promote a pro-equity, intersectionality and anti-racist outlook among communities within mainstream organizations. The program aims to build specific supportive relationships across racialized groups and mitigate impacts of discrimination and racism.
Racial Discrimination: Based on a false hierarchy that gives more value to some racial groups than others, racial discrimination is the denial of equal treatment and opportunities to individuals or groups based on race. Racial discrimination creates barriers for racialized people to experience the human needs of safety, dignity, and belonging as well as opportunities needed to live a fulfilling life.
Racism: “Racism is the process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. Racism is more than just prejudice in thought or action. It occurs when this prejudice – whether individual or institutional – is accompanied by the power to discriminate against, oppress or limit the rights of others.” (Britannica, n.d.)
Racialized: Racialization is the complex process through which groups come to be designated as being of a particular “race” and on that basis, they are subjected to differential and/or unequal treatment (CARED Glossary). The term “Racialized” is used to identify people who are not White because it draws attention to the fact that racial groupings were created and assigned to non-white people for the dominant group to maintain power. The term Racialized includes Indigenous people and people whose faith is visibly identified as well.
Safety: Safety is the experience of being free from risk, harm, violence, and pain, psychologically, physically, and emotionally.
Social and Economic Inclusion Program: Social & Economic Inclusion ensures equitable opportunities and empowerment for ethnocultural communities to fully become active citizens. It creates safe spaces for people to connect, develop and implement community-led action plans on priority issues, and build capacities of ethnocultural community leaders and members.
Social Justice: Social justice refers to the work of ensuring fairness in society. In a socially just society, all people would have access to resources and participation in all parts of society. Social Justice work requires recognizing the impact that colonialism has on access to resources and disrupting barriers to access. This work also involves confronting the ways that White, European, cisgendered, heterosexual, Christian ways of being, knowing, doing, and relating have been centered in society. By moving these ways to a shared part of a connected circle, rather than the center, all people can engage equitably in society and share power.
Systemic racism: “Patterns of behaviour, policies or practices that are part of the social or administrative structures of an organization or institution, and which create or perpetuate inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race” (Government of Canada,2023). Prejudicial beliefs accompanied by power are used to discriminate and create barriers to participation in society and life.
Worker’s Rights Program: The Workers’ Rights program aims to empower essential workers in the meatpacking and healthcare sectors to drive a safe and gainful working environment. It provides training on workers’ rights. The program deploys strategies such as community engagement and organizing through ethnocultural communities to inform systems change in policies, practices and decision-making, among others.
(This glossary was developed in reference to the Calgary Anti-Racism Education (CARED) Glossary: https://www.aclrc.com/glossary) and the Canada Race Relations Foundation Glossary of Terms ( https://crrf-fcrr.ca/glossary-of-terms/)