As part of Canada’s 50-30 Challenge, Egale Canada and Black Talent Initiative are bringing together Black women leaders across sectors to discuss inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility in the workplace and the importance of uplifting Black, women, and 2SLGBTQI employees.
Moderated by Hildah Juma, Executive Director at Black Talent Initiative, the panel will navigate themes of inclusive culture, career development and fair management, workplace safety, and recruiting and hiring. Panelists will speak to successful workplace inclusion initiatives and share perspectives on what still needs to be done to ensure workplaces are meeting and exceeding the 50-30 Challenge workplace inclusion goals moving forward.
Black Women in Leadership: Perspectives on Workplace Inclusion
March 29, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. ET
About the Speakers
Hildah Juma
Hildah Juma (she/her) is the Executive Director for the Black Talent Initiative where she is leading change through building a community, creating connections and collaborating with others while striving to ensure that Black talent feel empowerment and have agency to achieve the unimaginable. Hildah is passionate and steadfast in growing this movement and influencing others to do the same.
Hildah was first inspired to join the not-for-profit world, specifically in the post-secondary education sector, as an international student from Kenya, advocating for others. With over a decade of experience, Hildah was the Executive Director for the Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario where she provided effective advocacy strategies to lobbying all levels of government for more than half a million college and university students across the country.
Hildah holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy along with a Certificate in Nonprofit Management. Hildah lives in Toronto with her husband and toddler son, both who inspire her everyday in fighting to challenge anti-Black racism.
Jeanne Lehman
Jeanne Lehman is the Founder, past chair and ED of Black Canadian Women in Action operating as BCW. Founded in 2017 in Edmonton, AB. BCW is a bilingual non-profit organization committed to making a difference in the lives of the minority of black Canadian women living in Western Canada. As the hub of the minority of Black Canadian women communities, BCW specializes in facilitating the inclusion of Black Canadian women in the Canadian society, relieve poverty, fostering their advancement among decision-making entities, promote diversity and increase their leadership in all sectors of activity. The Motto of BCW is INSPIRE, EMPOWER AND ENGAGE WITH CONFIDENCE!
Olivia Nuamah
Olivia is the National Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging Leader at PwC. She is an accomplished and senior leader in the government and nonprofit sectors promoting social and economic justice, leading and implementing national anti-poverty strategies before undertaking a PhD in computer science.
Described as an executive leader, policy expert and diversity and inclusion advocate, she also previously worked with former British prime minister Tony Blair leading police reform initiatives before leading and implementing his pledge to end child poverty in the United Kingdom by 2020.
Most recently, she worked with the Ontario government on their pledge to end homelessness across the province. She has also held Executive Director roles for The Atkinson Foundation, where she worked on the Liberal government’s child care policy and poverty reduction strategies. She also designed and implemented the Black Experience Project, worked with the Ontario government where she devised and implemented a census of homeless populations across the GTA, creating supportive housing schemes for long term homeless populations with complex needs. She was the Executive Director of Pride Toronto running the largest festival in Canada advocating for LGBTQ+ communities. Before joining PwC she was the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging for ACTRA, the national performers union, supporting close to 27,000 performers across Canada.
Raia ‘Coach’ Carey
As a 3x Certified Life Coach, speaker, and EDI consultant Raia is passionate about encouraging others to tap into the confidence they never knew they had. After overcoming various hardships, she was able to transform her mindset and begin a career that empowers others to do the same.
By openly sharing her triumphs and tribulations, Raia’s vulnerability helps foster a welcoming and safe environment in every room she enters. She strives to inspire and lead those around her by providing unwavering support, guidance, and motivation.
By equipping clients with tangible tools to implement in their daily lives, she steers her community towards self-awareness, resilience, and sustainable success.
Tarah Paul
Tarah Paul (she/they), a Canadian of Haitian descent, is the Project Manager for Truth & Transformation: Advancing Gender Equity For Black Women, Girls And Gender Diverse Peoples In Canada Initiative. With a BA in Psychology and Sociology (University of Montreal) and an MA in Inter-Mediterranean Migration Studies (Ca’ Foscari University), she is dedicated to contributing to grassroots initiatives and research centered on Black women and Black queer folks. Working in the migration sector, her focus was on settlements, sponsorships, and family reunification for refugees. She has been working in the GBV sector as a project manager on initiatives centered on systemic barriers, anti-racist practices, and inclusive practices for survivors who self-identify as Black, racialized, LGBTQIA2S+, with a disability, and with precarious migration status. Black women are always at the core of Tarah’s work, which inspired her to conduct research on Black sex workers in the Netherlands and on undocumented migrant Black women in Morocco. In 2021, she published the paper “Dark skin, hourglass figure: The sexualization of Black women in the Dutch sex industry” in Amsterdam University Press. Currently, she lives in Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal, situated in the territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka nation.
For questions, please email 50-30challenge@egale.ca.