Meghan Brooks’ job is about having hard conversations in an open and inviting way.
The MA’08, PhD’14 graduate is the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Program Lead at the Bank of Canada, based in Ottawa, where she strives to foster an equitable and welcoming environment for roughly 2,000 employees.
“I believe in calling people into the conversation instead of calling people out,” Brooks says. “But I also 100 per cent believe that we can’t make change if we don’t acknowledge our shortcomings. So, while I may have views that challenge traditional thinking, I try to implement them in a way that is very strategic.”
Brooks’ journey to becoming a diversity and inclusion champion started at Queen’s. Discrimination was not something she thought about a lot while growing up in rural Ottawa.
While looking for research topics for her master’s thesis, she was surprised when she came across a Globe and Mail article about how experiences of racism led second-generation Canadians to report lower feelings of belonging.
“This was the first time I realized that life can be really different for some,” Brooks said. “I had never really thought about privilege and how it was a part of my life.”
She was so inspired, she worked on several of the university’s diversity and inclusion projects, including the Senate Education Equity Committee and the anti-racism task force. Her PhD dissertation was on anti-discrimination initiatives in the workplace and factors that lead to success, such as leadership from the top and adequate resources for programs.
After Queen’s, Brooks worked in the equity and diversity field with the City of Ottawa and the Canadian Commission to UNESCO before joining the Bank of Canada.
Working in diversity and inclusion can be challenging. Sometimes exclusion and discrimination is easy to see and address while other times it is hidden. Brooks is motivated to remove barriers so that everyone can live up to their potential.
“Not all change comes easily, so you pick something that you think matters and fight for it,” says Brooks. “It’s rewarding to be in the organization fighting for everyone’s inclusion. I love it when people come up to me and say, ‘That made a difference for me.’”
