Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 76.32
Liaison Karen Oberer
Submission Date Dec. 11, 2020

STARS v2.2

McGill University
PA-6: Assessing Diversity and Equity

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution engaged in a structured assessment process during the previous three years to improve diversity, equity and inclusion on campus?:
Yes

A brief description of the assessment process and the framework, scorecard(s) and/or tool(s) used:
Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives (HBHL) is an interdisciplinary program, built on McGill's global leadership in interdisciplinary neuroscience, that uses big data analysis to reveal the fundamental mechanisms underlying normal brain function and brain disorders. HBHL aims to create a global centre of excellence in neuroinformatics at McGill to improve brain health in Canada and around the world.

In February 2020, an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Survey was sent to 547 HBHL participants to assess climate and identify barriers to inclusive, accessible and harassment-free environments. The survey results have helped to inform HBHL's approach to several standout issues.

The survey was sent to all: 1) Principal Investigators and collaborators on HBHL-funded projects, 2) graduate student and postdoctoral recipients of HBHL Fellowships and their supervisors, 3) trainees, staff and other personnel funded through their supervisors HBHL grants, 4) HBHL-affiliated administrative staff, and 5) members of HBHL governance committees.

Does the assessment process address campus climate by engaging stakeholders to assess the attitudes, perceptions and behaviors of employees and students, including the experiences of underrepresented groups?:
Yes

Does the assessment process address student outcomes related to diversity, equity and success?:
Yes

Does the assessment process address employee outcomes related to diversity and equity?:
Yes

A brief description of the most recent assessment findings and how the results are used in shaping policy, programs, and initiatives:
The survey results have helped to inform HBHL's approach to several standout issues, outlined below:

"Experiences of Harassment and Discrimination
- 11% of respondents who do not identify in any equity group reported experiencing harassment within the McGill environment, and <10% reported experiencing discrimination
- 30% of individuals who identify as a woman and 16% of individuals who identify as a racialized person or member of visible minority reporting experiencing harassment
- 33% of individuals who identify as a person of minority sexual orientation or gender identity (LGBTQI2S+), 25% of individuals who identify as a woman, and 19% of individuals who identify as a racialized person or member of visible minority reported experiencing discrimination
To address this, HBHL has implemented an Event Code of Conduct to which all participants of HBHL activities must agree to follow. HBHL is working on online resources, including EDI best practices in supervision and event organization, to help encourage more inclusive environments throughout the McGill neuroscience community. An 'excellence levels' selection process will be implemented for all future funding programs with more than 10 applications are received. This process prioritizes application quality, and allows for the selection of candidates from underrepresented groups in cases where merit is equal and not all candidates at a particular merit level can be awarded.

"Role Models at McGill
- 88% of respondents who do not identify in any equity group reported having positive role models at McGill
- 77% of respondents who identify as a racialized person or member of a visible minority, 75% of respondents who identify as a woman, and 64% of respondents who identify as a person of minority sexual orientation or gender identity (LGBTQI2S+) reported having positive role models at McGill
To address this, HBHL requires the faculty hiring new recruits through the New Recruit Start-Up Supplements program to assign a mentor for all HBHL new recruits and describe the mentorship plan in the application for start-up funds. HBHL developed and implemented the first edition of the HBHL Mentorship Program for postdocs in 2019-2020 and offers a variety of public networking events for faculty, staff and trainees to connect.

"Focus on EDI
- 27% of respondents who do not identify in any equity group agreed with the statement “HBHL puts too much focus on equity, diversity and inclusion”
- <10% of individuals who identify as a woman, a racialized person or a member of visible minority and/or minority sexual orientation or gender identity (LGBTQI2S+) agreed with this statement
This raises the need for increased awareness of the importance of EDI initiatives and the experiences of individuals from marginalized groups. HBHL has and will continue to pursue this through the development of EDI training events and integration of EDI content throughout our training program and research events."

Source: https://www.mcgill.ca/hbhl/edi

Are the results of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment shared with the campus community?:
Yes

A brief description of how the assessment results are shared with the campus community:
The assessment results were posted on the Healthy Brains, Healthy Lives website (https://www.mcgill.ca/hbhl/edi) and were posted to social media (https://twitter.com/hbhlmcgill), as part of a progress report on the 2019 HBHL EDI Action Plan.

Are the results (or a summary of the results) of the most recent structured diversity and equity assessment publicly posted?:
Yes

The diversity and equity assessment report or summary (upload):
Website URL where the diversity and equity assessment report or summary is publicly posted:

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s diversity and equity assessment efforts is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.