Bison Transport’s annual Diversity Week was held this past August 10 – 14, 2020. Due to Covid-19 restrictions this year, we were unfortunately unable to host the raved about Diversity Lunch – so we looked at spreading awareness in virtual ways! Each day of the week, we focused on different topics such as: Diversity & Inclusion definitions, individual interpretations of inclusion, the impact of many generations in the workplace as well as differences in cultural communications. We ran a week-long cultural photo contest asking employees to send in photos of themselves at/during cultural celebrations, as well as hosted a “virtual” scavenger hunt, requiring employees to research different cultures and diversity groups. We received overwhelming participation to both activities and some great pictures!
We recognize the importance of Diversity in the workplace, as it provides access to a wider range of talent, new ways of thinking and opportunities for innovation. Bringing people together of various backgrounds with different life experience can generate ideas or perspectives that others may not have ever considered. We each have our own way of viewing problems/situations, shaped by the individual experiences that we’ve had. When tackling an issue, wouldn’t it be better to have multiple interpretations and approaches, rather than everyone contributing the same thoughts and conclusions? We think so!
