Black History (Futures) Month: Cultivating Safer Workplaces for Black Employees

Shalyma Cambridge (She/Her)

Director of Client Solutions and Partner, Inclusivity

Shalyma Cambridge is a coach, facilitator, and instructor, passionate about leadership, inclusion, and supporting diversity in organizations. She brings a deep understanding of complex organizations and over a decade of experience executing communication and change management strategies; developing and facilitating training; and coaching in a variety of settings. It is Shalyma’s belief that when a culture of authentic, inclusive, and bold leadership is encouraged, organizations and their people are inspired to be their best.

Working with established and emerging leaders across a variety of industries in both local and international organizations—Shalyma helps individuals communicate their values, forge real connections, and inspire others through confidence. She develops training and learning experiences that drive meaningful personal and organizational change.

Shalyma holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Graduate Certificate in Communications Management, certification as an Organizational Coach through the University of British Columbia, and is a certified Personality Dimension facilitator. Currently pursuing her master’s in organizational leadership, Shalyma is also a member of the Vancouver Board of Trade Diversity and Inclusion Committee and co-leads the Vancouver Culture Collective Chapter which holds space to share learnings on transforming and building great cultures in the workplace.

This webinar is being delivered in recognition of Black History Month. February 1st marks the beginning of Black History Month, a time for Canadians to honour and celebrate the diversity, history, and culture of Black people in Canada and to acknowledge the many everyday contributions of Black communities from across the country.

Since the first person of African descent first arrived, in 1608, on the soil of what we now call Canada, the Black population in this country has grown to over 1.2 million people. This growth has not been without adversity and discrimination in both community and workplace environments. Recognizing past, on-going, and systemic anti-Black racism embedded into institutions and accepted practices is a key step in building a different type of future – one that is equitable, empowering, and inclusive.

This webinar will cover:

• How anti-Black racism has been established within a Canadian context
• The impact it has on Black individuals, particularly within the workplace settings
• Concepts like the Black Tax and silent labour
• Considerations for building safer environments where Black colleagues may often still be “the only”, “the first”, or one of “very few”.