CanadianTire Corporation

Letecia Rose

Letecia Rose is an equity advocate and strategist passionate about creating inclusive and accessible spaces. Her career has transcended multiple sectors working in the arts, youth development, education, recreation, and social service. As the Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Canadian Tire, Letecia works to build equitable and inclusive workspaces where people can show up as their best selves.

As a Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, what are your organization's key roles and responsibilities?

Currently, I am responsible for implementing diversity, inclusion, and belonging strategies and approaches across our organization. We design different programs and initiatives to help our employees and customers become more integrated into diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging. We have launched several engagement programs, such as our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and developmental and learning programs, which enable people to feel more connected to each other, their communities, and the organization at large. Through these initiatives, people can learn about the value of creating representative and inclusive spaces and how to embed equity into their work. We also offer unconscious bias training to teach people how to create an inclusive environment and equitable mindset to work within. Another essential aspect that we focus on is our hiring process. We aim to create seamless talent mobility for employees who are looking for new opportunities and career progression and create an inclusive candidate experience for future employees to feel seen, heard, and represented. We are internationally trying to bring belonging to life, and we do this from 4 strategic areas. From an employee perspective, we create an experience where we can attract, retain and develop top talent from equity-deserving populations. From a cultural perspective, we create an inclusive environment to embed inclusion and equity into our DNA. From a customer perspective, we make an inclusive and representative customer experience where they can feel represented in our products and services. Lastly, from the community perspective, we aim to improve life in Canada by using our platform to stand up for issues and causes that mean the most to Canadians. 

"We are trying to foster a culture where belonging thrives; diversity, inclusion, and equity are a part of our organizational DNA and a part of everyone's job titles."

What are the potential challenges that you or other leaders face when implementing diversity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives?

The challenge that leaders face today is how to bring inclusion to life and leverage the diversity of their spaces. Although leaders may have good intentions, they might need to figure out where to start, and they might need to learn how to connect to the different cultures of their team or organization. At CTC, we are trying to foster a culture where belonging thrives, where diversity, inclusion, and equity are a part of our organizational DNA and everyone's job titles. To bring this to life, we encourage leaders to begin their journey by taking six small steps called the 6 R's to build a more equitable and inclusive environment. The first step is to Read and learn more about people, their culture, and the experiences and barriers that they may be facing. Reflect on what you have learned, let it sink in, and let it shift how you interact with people and how you lead teams. Remember the power and privilege you hold as a leader and the obligation to create a welcoming and safe environment or experience. Take Risks by speaking up when no one is looking, when it is hard, and when you may have something to lose. Understand that Rejection is inevitable, and you should not take it personally; instead, create change where you can. And lastly, build Relationships with teammates, colleagues, peers, customers, and communities because the more we connect with people, the more we can understand their experiences, meet their needs, and draw wisdom from those connections. By following these six R's, we can create an inclusive environment and make the people around us feel more represented.

2020 will see a new wave of organizations supporting gender, identity, and expressions. What are your views on that?

At Canadian Tire, we want everyone to feel supported, and belonging is the core of everything we do because it enables employees and people to feel seen, heard, and accepted. However, belonging cannot be achieved by only taking one approach. Many organizations often focus on diversity alone, but diversity is a fact. It is who we are in relation to the collective. The challenge with looking at diversity alone is that it needs to address personal experience, feelings, and psychological safety within a space. So when talking about gender representation, identity, and expression, organizations need to be focused on whether people feel included. Inclusion is creating the optimal space for individuals to share their views and ideas and incorporating those feelings and perspectives into decision-making. The next step is equity, which creates a balance of power and voices in space. Equity ensures everyone gets opportunities, resources, and accommodations that meet their needs. Once diversity, inclusion, and equity are integrated, belonging can be achieved. Belonging is the optimal place where people can have individual authenticity and common purpose, and in turn, they can unlock their full potential. If employees can reach their full potential in a company, they will drive innovation and do their best work. So if companies can adopt these practices across the board irrespective of gender, race, and ability, they will get the best out of their employees.

Any piece of advice that you want to share with your fellow leaders in the space?

Our team follows a couple of guiding principles to help us navigate the DIB space and lead by way of belonging. First is to take courageous and bold steps, which is about being brave enough to go into space and talk to people, doing new things to bring change to life. Another one is to lead with curiosity and reflection by asking thoughtful questions to truly understand what a person wants. We use proximity to promote empathy and understanding that the closer you are to an individual and their circumstance, the easier it is to build bridges. We measure what matters. We leverage data and metrics to understand how people are feeling to better meet their needs. We ensure that our programs and opportunities are accessible and reflect the experience of the communities we serve. Lastly, we understand that only some people start from the same point on the inclusion and equity journey. We work with, not through, and call in, not out. We actively work to see the humanity in everyone as we believe that we are in the business of changing hearts and minds so that they will, in turn, create environments where belonging can thrive.