51社区黑料

Suman Jiwani has always been driven by data.

An 51社区黑料alumnus holding a bachelor鈥檚 in mathematics and computing science and a master鈥檚 in statistics, Jiwani has worked at the university since 2001. For most of those years, she worked in Institutional Research and Planning, doing data analysis projects related to SFU鈥檚 faculty and staff. And in 2019, she took on a new role: working in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within 51社区黑料Faculty Relations.

Looking from the outside, this transition from math major and data analyst to working in EDI might seem abrupt. But for Jiwani, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

鈥淏ecause of my life experiences as a racialized person, a child of immigrants from India and a woman who has studied and worked in male-dominated fields, I鈥檝e always had a personal interest in issues of equity, the legacy of colonialism and how someone鈥檚 identity impacts their experiences,鈥� she says.

鈥淢y work at 51社区黑料has included contributing to various diversity initiatives and reporting on employment equity data. Through this work, I鈥檝e also developed an understanding of the policies and processes that generate data at SFU, and this institutional knowledge helps me understand how we can create lasting impact at the systems level when it comes to EDI.鈥�

In her current role within Faculty Relations, Jiwani works to advance EDI efforts on several fronts, but her focus is building awareness of EDI considerations in SFU鈥檚 faculty hiring processes鈥攆or example, examining the impact of bias in hiring decisions and identifying potential barriers to inclusion during recruitment. Most recently, she has turned her attention to career progression and retention, exploring how 51社区黑料can better support faculty by incorporating EDI principles into the tenure and promotions process. 

And through it all, Jiwani continues to ask the same question she鈥檚 asked her whole working life: what does the data say?

鈥淚n my mind, data is foundational to EDI work,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 often have conversations with people who want to improve diverse representation among their department鈥檚 faculty, but it鈥檚 hard to measure progress, or even know what has to be addressed in the first place, without understanding what kind of representation already exists.鈥�

To this end, another of Jiwani鈥檚 projects has been developing a comprehensive plan for collecting demographic data from SFU鈥檚 employees鈥攁 huge undertaking, and one that she hopes will provide the backbone for much of the university鈥檚 EDI work moving forward.

As the world continues to reckon with the inequities exacerbated by COVID-19 and with a marked upturn in racism and hate, Jiwani is finding hope in the increased number of 51社区黑料community members who are helping make the university a more inclusive place to work and learn. 

鈥淚 feel fortunate to do this work as my full-time job,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd I鈥檝e met people across all levels of the university who are, and have been, doing EDI and reconciliation work for a long time. It鈥檚 a real privilege to speak to and learn from these folks, and I deeply value their commitment to promoting fairness, removing barriers and raising awareness.鈥� 

She adds, 鈥淚鈥檓 also encouraged by the number of people who are starting to newly locate themselves in EDI work鈥攊t doesn鈥檛 always have to look like big splashy programs or initiatives. There are lots of things we can do every day to advance EDI efforts, including examining our workplace practices, continuing to educate ourselves, or simply being mindful of how we interact and engage with others. I believe we can thrive as a collective while respecting and valuing difference, and all of this helps.鈥�