PPB October 2021

by Victoria Peers PPPC COMMUNIQUÉ PPPC’s DEI Committee Presents Insightful Three-Part Series P romotional Product Professionals of Canada (PPPC) formed its Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committee earlier this year. The committee was created by a group of PPPC members eager to enact change and make a difference in our industry. Since its inception, committee chair Heidi Reimer-Epp, MAS, and the committee of volunteers have been holding regular meetings, planning webinars and spreading the committee’s mandate. What Is DEI? I can almost guarantee that you have heard the termDEI in 2021. This term has surfaced recently and is making a big impact. Many organizations are now putting effort into encouraging diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, and that’s what we’d like to see in Canada. But what does it mean? • Diversity is a relational concept that shows up in the composition of teams and organizations and shows up as a collective measure. People are not individually diverse; however, the team must be. • Equity not to be confused with equality. Equity ensures everyone has access to the same opportunities. Differences exist and people will require different types of support. Equity acknowledges this and works to help people overcome and elevates them to an equal playing field. • Inclusion is about ensuring everyone feels valued. This relates to the quality of human experience and ensures that everyone feels included as an individual and as a group. DEI Committee’s Purpose The purpose of the DEI Committee is to empower and celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion within PPPC while supporting the organization’s mission to lead, inspire and advance the industry in these ways: • Educate – Diversity, equity and inclusion are important; intentional action makes a difference. • Equip – Give members tools to do their own diversity and inclusion work. • Amplify – Provide a bigger voice to underrepresented groups. • Act – Foster more diversity within our association and on PPPC committees and the board. DEI Committee Responsibilities The committee has set out a clear description of its responsibilities to keep everyone on track and DEI Committee’s First Event Series Board director and DEI committee member, Paul Wieleba, rallied the troops to organize the first DEI webinar series this past June and July. Presented by DEI champion Kathy Cheng, and three groups of guests, the three-part supplier diversity series caught the eye of PPPC members. This trilogy of webinars explored the basics of DEI in the workplace, followed by a deep dive into the importance of supplier diversity and proactive business strategies, and concluded with a supplier case study session. All three sessions drew strong attendance throughout the series and sparked many interesting and insightful conversations among members. Session recordings can be found in the Member Resources section on PPPC member’s accounts. Look for more DEI sessions coming soon and stay connected at pppc.ca/our-association/diversity- equity-inclusion. 78 | OCTOBER 2021 | CONNECT