FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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ABOUT THE CHAMBER CODE COALITION

1. What is the CODE Coalition?

The CODE Coalition is a peer learning group of Winnipeg organizational leaders who share their commitment to furthering diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace.

Members of this Coalition will meet to discuss progress, barriers, and receive support from one another as we work towards our collective goal. 

2. Who is the CODE Coalition for?

The CODE Coalition is for any Winnipeg business. The CODE Coalition program and resources will cover support for businesses of all sizes and wherever you are on your diversity, inclusion and equity journey.

3. How do we get involved?

If you are interested in learning more or joining our CODE Coalition, you can email our Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Sanjana Vijayann, [email protected]

As a CODE Coalition Member, organizations will:

• Publicly support the Commitment to Opportunity, Diversity, and Equity (CODE) Statement and support our outreach to Winnipeg organizations
• Commit to embodying the Statement’s three Key Commitments into your organizational practices and procedures
• Commit to reporting on your progress annually to collectively measure our progress towards equity

4. Why should employers join the CODE Coalition?

 Based on many credible stats and reports, equity, inclusion and diversity is a key solution to economic recovery because it promotes talent recruitment and innovation.

CODE and the CODE Coalition offer Winnipeg Chamber members access (free and paid) to credible resources and custom educational workshops that will help your organization along your journey of diversity, inclusion and equity. We know this journey is difficult and new to many, but we are here to help you navigate through it. CODE will also provide a number of opportunities for peer learning where organizations can connect and learn through an exchange of ideas.

BENEFITS FOR MORE INCLUSIVE WORKPLACES:

• More likely to outperform their peers
• Twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets
• Eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes
• Generate and foster fresh insights, new ideas and Creative solutions
• Draw on the full talents of their people

5. Do I have to be a Chamber member to join the CODE Coalition?

Yes. The CODE Coalition is a program for Winnipeg Chamber members only.

If you want to learn more about Chamber membership, you can contact our Membership Sales Manager, Saad Zubairi, at [email protected].

6. What does it cost to join the CODE Coalition?

There is no cost to Chamber members to join the CODE Coalition.

If your business is interested in sponsoring the CODE movement, you can learn about our sponsorship packages by emailing our Acting Director of Business Development, Anne Bakuska, at [email protected].

7. What do I have to do as a CODE Coalition member?

CODE Coalition Members must meet three commitments:

1. Commit to continuous learning
2. Create and implement a comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy
3. Measure success
   

To learn more about each commitment, click here.

8. How does The Chamber help us with these commitments?

As a CODE Coalition Member you and your staff will be invited to attend a variety of DEI workshops, forums and educational luncheons throughout the event season – all covering a wide range of topics and challenges.

At these events, you will also be able to learn and share knowledge among other Coalition Members.

In addition, you will have access to our free online CODE Resource Hub for DEI tools, templates, webinars, reports, and more. We will also connect you with local practitioners and non-profits who specialize in various DEI areas and can support your team through your journey.

To see more details on how The Chamber can support your team, click here.

9. How long is the commitment?

Diversity, equity and inclusion in workplaces requires continuous learning and therefore, this program has no end date.

CODE Coalition members report their progress every year, but it is completely up to your organization as to how long you choose to remain on the Coalition.

10. Who from my team would oversee this?

Every organization will be different and we’ll leave it up to you to decide who should be the main contact at your workplace. But, due to the nature of the work of diversity, inclusion and equity, we do encourage you to highly engage your executive and management teams. True diversity, equity, inclusion is built into a workplace by leadership.

11. Are there checkpoints along the way?

CODE Coalition members will be invited to optional events throughout the event season, but a mandatory checkpoint will be the CODE Coalition annual report due every July. The report will be an opportunity for you to highlight and assess the activities and progress of your organization has made in the past year. 

12. What does the reporting look like?

The reporting template will ask you to report back on your activities and progress of the three commitments. A full reporting template and easy-to-follow guide can be found here.

Reporting parameters may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in consultation with the CODE Collaborative, the CODE Coalition, and community members at large. 

13. What are you going to do with data from our report?

The reports will be aggregated which means that information is collected from multiple CODE Coalition Members and compiled into data summaries/summary reports. There will be no name indicators, tying your organizational name to specific data. 

The compiled aggregated annual report will be released each year during The Chamber’s annual AGM in October.

About your Data Confidentiality:
The information you provide is confidential and will be shared with only those involved in the evaluation of CODE, including our researcher, Dr. Aynslie Hinds. We have a data-sharing agreement in place, which outlines how information collected as part of the CODE evaluation will be accessed, stored, secured, shared, used, and destroyed.

Your responses to the questions in this survey will be presented in aggregate in reports, presentations, and content created to share information. No individual-level information will be presented publicly.

14. Are there specific required targets I have to meet?

The only requirements of CODE Coalition members is to meet the three commitments of:

1. Commit to continuous learning
2. Create and implement a comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy
3. Measure success
   

15. How do I measure data when I don’t have organizational data?

As part of our events and program offering, we will ensure that you have ample opportunities to engage with data experts on how you can get started with collecting, analyzing and assessing organizational data.

Upcoming opportunities include the CODE Coalition Forum and the CODE Conference, both events will talk about data analysis and how you can start collecting relevant data within your organization.

16. Why is The Chamber leading this initiative?

Based on many credible stats and reports, diversity, equity and inclusion is a key solution to economic recovery because it promotes talent recruitment and innovation. As Winnipeg’s largest business association we are here to lead and guide our members with leading resources and events -we believe all businesses would benefit by building a more inclusive workplace. 

Local members and community leaders from diverse backgrounds and experiences help guide the creation and implementation of CODE through involvement on advisory boards, community-wide consultations and public engagement events.

Three advisory boards leading our internal and external diversity, inclusion and equity efforts include the CODE Collaborative, Truth and Reconciliation Advisory Council and the Newcomer Employment Advisory Council. 

We have also partnered with the Dr. Aynslie Hinds to evaluate the success of CODE and its impact on Winnipeg workplaces. This evaluation also allows us to continuously adapt CODE to be most impactful and relevant to our members.

BENEFITS FOR MORE INCLUSIVE WORKPLACES:

• More likely to outperform their peers
• Twice as likely to meet or exceed financial targets
• Eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes
• Generate and foster fresh insights, new ideas and Creative solutions
• Draw on the full talents of their people

Source: canada.ca