HR in the Grey – 2024 – Current
Project Overview & Scoping Statement
HR in the Grey seeks to create a framework to build equitable human resources policies and practices to help BIPOC Women in leadership be hired for leadership positions, properly allocated labor resources, increase opportunities for advancement, and increased retention in leadership positions within the workplace. We use Circle practice, Horizon mapping, art praxis, Minimum Viable Systems experiment, and Equity systems design principles to surface, experiment, and build systems that integrate equity as a necessary component of any viable system.
Alignment with CFRAC: This initiative directly connects to CFRAC’s broader systems change mandate by tackling the institutional and structural barriers embedded in standard workplace policies. By shifting away from rigid, transactional HR practices toward relational and decolonial models, the project works to dismantle glass ceilings and foster lasting organizational equity across Alberta.
Relationships and Partners
- Lead Collaborators: Centre for Race and Culture (CFRAC) and Gateway Association
- Community Partners: Africa Centre
- Funders: Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE)
- Participants: A selective cohort of 10 racialized and gender-diverse leaders and changemakers at the intersection of disability, bringing cross-sector insight from Edmonton and Calgary across academia, business, municipal government, social work, political advocacy, and the arts
Key Activities
At the heart of the initiative is the HR in the Grey Fellowship, a collaborative and restorative space that convenes changemakers with lived experience who hold leadership positions in sectors where women remain underrepresented. The fellowship provides a shared environment for visioning, relationship-building, and reimagining workplace systems through culturally rooted and trauma-informed approaches. Grounded in community wisdom—including the Cree concept of Tastawiniywak (“in-between people”), describing leaders who hold vital knowledge and influence outside dominant leadership hierarchies—the project centers those most impacted to redesign the future of work.
