Although the membership ACFAM’s goal was to be responsive to the increasing diversity among our student population as students from diverse equity-deserving groups benefit greatly and have a richer educational experience by having a diverse complement of instructors. As a group, we also started discussing why there seemed to be a lack of Black students pursuing careers in academia.

Our objectives were to:

• raise awareness about the shortage of Black academics at McMaster and other Canadian universities, and encourage hiring faculty of Black and other diverse communities
• provide an organizational base for networking, promotion and advancement of Black academics at McMaster
• foster academic and research collaborations among our members
• mentor and support Black undergraduate and graduate students at McMaster.

BIRS ERG is a network supporting the well-being, development and advancement of McMaster staff members who identify as Black, Indigenous and racialized.

BIRS provides support to their members through personal development sessions, access to leadership training and hallway chats — biweekly informal gatherings where members can engage in conversations on a wide range of topics.

Inspired by the community building efforts of McMaster students with disabilities, and in response to provincial accessibility legislation, the Equity and Inclusion Office invites staff and faculty who personally identify with disability-related issues to join the already-established Employee Accessibility Network!