EDII Statement
Queen’s Marketing Association (QMA) is committed to ensuring each member of the QMA community feels included and supported; whether they are an executive team member, delegate, sponsor or speaker. Our commitments to EDII are as follows:
Our internal commitment for our executive team:
Inclusivity to QMA candidates: During hiring season, previous executives make themselves available to answer questions online and through coffee chats to ensure QMA candidates feel included from the beginning of the application process.
A diverse team: A diverse workforce leads to a more inclusive environment and more perspectives are heard. We prioritize having an executive team that represents a variety of backgrounds.
Conversations: We continuously engage in open conversation within our executive team and alumni network to reflect on how we can foster a more inclusive and accepting culture.
Internal Whistleblower Form: Although we work to create an inclusive environment, we understand sometimes people are more comfortable sharing their experiences anonymously. We implemented an internal whistleblower form, which is closely monitored by our culture team, to ensure each executive member feels comfortable sharing their experiences. Any incident that is reported is taken seriously to ensure the situation is made right.
Our commitment to external members of the QMA community:
Delegates: We create an inclusive environment with delegates and make sure everyone feels comfortable and included at events.
External Whistleblower Form: External Whistleblower Form: An external whistleblower is sent out to our delegates and key partners including speakers and sponsors. We have a zero-tolerance policy at QMA events; if a delegate, sponsor or speaker is faced with any type of discrimination, the executive team will take the necessary steps to ensure the situation is made right and prevent it from happening again.
Sponsors: A vetting system is taken for each of our sponsors and speakers, through a background check of individuals and companies to ensure they foster an inclusive and diverse culture within their organizations.
Bursaries: Bursaries are available to increase the accessibility of QMAC for students with financial needs.
Speakers: QMA’s goal is to encourage, inspire and educate Canadian undergraduate students on pursuing careers in marketing. An important part of that is showing representation of different intersectionalities within the marketing industry. When selecting our speakers for events, we ensure that there is representation from different orientations, races and sexualities to ensure students can see representation and feel empowered to pursue a career in marketing.
Social media: We utilize our Nucleus platform to publish content acknowledging QTBIPOC events such as International Women’s Day, Black History Month, Indigenous Awareness Month, Pride Month, and Asian Heritage Month.
We have these commitments in place to ensure each executive member, delegate, speaker and sponsor feels included within the QMA community. We acknowledge that EDII is a work in progress, we continuously adapt our commitments as needed. If you have any questions, concerns or comments please contact us!