Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Policy

All For Knot is an organization that focuses on improving lives by ensuring inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility; doing so will enable us to foster respect in the workplace while meeting NS Human Rights Code, and the AFK Code of Conduct Policy. Any individual associated with AFK found to have engaged in behaviour that is not in accordance with these policies will be subject to remedial action, such as training or disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal from their role, duties or employment, suspension with or without pay, or project termination. Our policies help ensure that AFK is an inclusive and safe space for all who engage with it. This Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Policy, in contrast, sets out that AFK as an organization is making an active and ongoing commitment to enabling inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility. General Principles at AFK, we believe that inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility drive innovation and impactful change by better enabling new ideas for equitable impact.

The definitions we use: Inclusion: The practice of providing access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded. Diversity: The practice of including or involving people from a range of different backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, socioeconomic positions, orientations, ages, abilities and anything else that makes a person unique. Equity: The quality of being fair and impartial; equity does not always mean equal and often means giving more to some to repair historic or ongoing inequities. Accessibility: The design of products, devices, services or environments for people who experience disabilities or disadvantage. AFK is committed to treating all people with dignity and providing an environment that values our differences, including but not limited to age, ancestry, disability, gender expression, gender identity, race, religion, economic and social status, body type and sexual orientation. AFK is committed to having an inclusive work culture. AFK is committed to the recognition of rights, respect, trust, co-operation and partnership with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, as outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Each person associated with AFK’s workplace is personally responsible to hold themselves and each other accountable. It is critical to ensure the wellbeing of AFK staff, innovators supported by AFK and partners with whom we collaborate. We work to create a space that allows all of us to engage in meaningful and sometimes difficult conversations with each other in a respectful and safe way. These types of conversations are encouraged and need to be practiced. We explore potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness. We support reflection at all levels of the organization, including within management, and to acknowledge and dismantle inequities that exist within our policies, systems, programs, communications and services. We work to strengthen cultural competency, cultural humility and cultural intelligence throughout AFK. We expect everyone at AFK to embrace this notion and to express it in workplace interactions and through everyday practices. We commit time and resources to enable diverse leadership within our leadership, staff, and innovators with whom we work. This includes systems that recognize the existence of and counteract conscious and unconscious bias during hiring, promotion and performance review processes, and training hiring teams on equitable practices. Finally, we advocate for diversity, inclusion and equity within our areas of work. We will discover and enable the dismantling of barriers to inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility within our sphere of influence, recognizing that the context will vary for each innovator we support. We challenge systems and policies that create and perpetuate inequity, oppression and disparity.