Articles

By Zainish Hussain The Ascend CIO (Chief Inclusion Officer) Forum, a group of Diversity & Inclusion leaders, recently gathered to discuss the ongoing critical importance of care and concern to bond colleagues as workplaces begin to emerge from the pandemic. In a conversation guided by Vandana Juneja, Executive Director, Canada, at Catalyst, the CIO Forum...

By Janita Hung A few weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity to listen to Malala Yousafzai at an International Women’s Day event. Malala is a passionate activist for female education and also the world’s youngest Nobel Prize laureate. Not surprising, but I left the session feeling more inspired than I could have imagined. As...

By Manjit Singh 2022 is a special year for Ascend Canada; it’s our tenth anniversary. It’s amazing to see what we have accomplished over the past decade. Ascend Canada has grown to over 4,000 members and over 30 sponsors. Through our conferences, galas, events, mentoring sessions and coffee chats, we have expanded the organization’s impact...

Creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable organization or business is essential for attracting talent and ensuring a vibrant and innovative work culture, yet collecting employee identity data is an often underappreciated step in creating a measurable and meaningful Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity (DEI) strategy, according to a new whitepaper by Ascend Canada. For an organization,...

Congratulations to all the winners of this year’s Ascend Canada MVP awards! To get to know our community leaders a little bit better, we asked them a few questions about their volunteer journey with Ascend. Read below to learn more about some of our winners - Tazrian Alam, Sandeep Dani, Aashna Mondkar, Brendon Buckler, Amy...

By Sophia Muthuraj We are well into a new year. I’m sure many of you have already set some personal New Year’s resolutions. But have you thought about your career resolutions? There’s a real benefit to reflecting on your career and setting goals to ensure your professional growth. Even more importantly, having goals that aren’t...

2021 was a year of challenge, change and opportunity. I’m proud of what we achieved together as we adjusted in response to the pandemic and world events that have sparked deep introspection into many aspects of diversity. Ascend plays a critical role in helping today’s workforce develop new skills, build a professional network and find...

By Anthony Tram Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was one of my favourite movies of 2021. Starring Canada’s very own Simu Liu as the titular character, this is the first Hollywood superhero movie with an Asian lead, and a predominantly Asian cast and creative team. As an Asian growing up in Canada,...

The surge of anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic has invigorated conversations around equity, diversity and inclusion in our personal lives and professional spaces. By facilitating open dialogue and deeper understanding about individual differences, organizations can begin to actively dismantle stereotypes and build a stronger community at work. The next step is turning these conversations…

by Emily Soojung Hwang Samantha wears many hats. Although her engineering and investment banking days are behind her, she continues to fill the roles of marketing and sales director, investor, author and mother. While she has a diverse portfolio, both professional and personal, one thing is certain: she is a go-getter who doesn’t let anything…