In University Affairs’ most recent Prof vs Prof articles, two professors discuss EDI. Malinda S Smith (University of Calgary) describes how biases affect opportunities, which impact every step of an applicant’s journey. Hiring conventions sometimes favour sameness under the guise of seeking excellence, and equity can strengthen excellence by making institutional judgements more rigorous, argues the author. Yves Gingras (Université du Québec à Montréal) argues that “diversity” is an intentionally ambiguous term; “inclusion” is misleading since universities exclude those who do not meet certain standards; and “equity” may slip to “parity,” which may create its own inequity. Gingras argues that the best way to increase access to university is to address inequalities before students reach postsecondary.
