Policies Development Procedures: Appendix C – Drafting Guidelines

Introduction

Policies may inadvertently create barriers for individuals or groups. This document is intended to provide a lens that will engage policymakers to consider the potential impact of Policies and procedures for diverse peoples. Policies should not have unequal impact, services provided should be accessible and decisions should be fair and flexible.

Systematic Barriers

Consider how the Policy and procedures reflect Red River College’s values and might be inclusive or exclusive for women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities and LGBTQ2 and racialized people. Also consider impacts based on religion and socio-economic status, and for those who are new to Canada.

Recommended Actions

Consider consulting broadly with individuals and groups who are interested or active in advancing equity, diversity and inclusion for the aforementioned groups and can consult with individuals from those groups.

Obtain evidence, information, and data to be informed about how specific Policies and procedures may have a disproportionate impact on some groups.

Inclusive Language

Consider whether the language of the Policy reflects Red River College’s values of equity, diversity and inclusion, particularly in examples and guidelines that are set out in Procedure documents.

Throughout your policy and procedures, consider whether the language is gender neutral, refrains from reflecting stereotypes and biases, and acknowledges differences.

Recommended Actions and Examples

Use language that promotes inclusion and avoids bias (e.g., use the term ‘mental well-being’ or ‘mental health condition,’ which is more inclusive compared with the term ‘mental illness.’ Use the term person who ‘uses a wheelchair’ or ‘wheelchair user’ instead of person ‘confined to a wheelchair’).

Use plain language and avoid idiomatic expressions (e.g. ‘waiting in the wings’) or colloquialisms (e.g. ‘blacklist’) that may have negative connotations for some groups and/or may not be understood by people from different ethnic backgrounds or for whom English is not a first language.

Avoid terminology such as ‘man-made’ or ‘man hours’ (can use ‘machine made’ or ‘synthetic’, and ‘hours of work’ or ‘person hours’).

Use gender inclusive language such as ‘they’ instead of ‘he/she’ and use ‘spouse’ or ‘partner’ instead of ‘husband/wife’. When providing examples that involve relationships include a variety of relationship types in your examples.

Capitalize the proper names of peoples such as First Nations, South Asian, Trans, etc.

Fairness and Flexibility

Processes under the Policy should be transparent and fair. The College is committed to complying with Human Rights obligations, including the duty to accommodate. Policies should provide for the consideration of specific circumstances to allow the College to meet those obligations.

Recommended Actions

Ensure the Policy informs individuals of the basis for making decisions that impact them.

Allow for the consideration of specific circumstances when making decisions and avoid rigid rules that do not permit discretion to be applied in different situations. Include provisions for individual needs to be accommodated.