The Centre for Research on Inclusion at Work (CRIW) is pleased to officially announce the recipients of 2024’s CRIW Ignite! research grants. This annual competition is designed to advance workplace inclusion by supporting collaborative research projects that align with the Centre’s mission of producing and sharing scholarship on topics of relevance to equity, diversity and inclusion. This year, our grants provided up to $8,000 to four unique projects, each addressing these important issues in different ways. Congratulations to the following recipients!
Examining the Inclusivity of Sustainability Standards: A Critical Analysis of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Merridee Bujaki, MBA, FCPA, FCA, PhD Full Professor, Sprott School of Business
- Co-investigator: Anamika Jayendran, Ph.D. Candidate, Sprott School of Business
This research project critically examines the inclusivity and recognition of intersectionality in the draft sustainability standards developed by the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB). It asks the questions: Do CSSB standards address social and environmental concerns? What impact can these standards have on marginalized stakeholders? How does intersectionality within stakeholder groups affect their response to sustainability standards? The project includes a literature review, document analysis of CSSB materials, and consolidation of findings for publication. It seeks to inform policy and practice in sustainability standard-setting, emphasizing the need for an inclusive and intersectional approach.
Empowering Change: How Board Diversity Shapes CEO’s Influence on Environmental Decoupling
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Sana Mohsni, Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business
- Co-investigator: Awais Mojai, Ph.D. Candidate, Sprott School of Business
Personalities and priorities of CEOs influence a firm’s decision to engage in environmental decoupling – an unethical practice where firms overstate their environmental performance to gain social legitimacy. However, CEO characteristics don’t work in isolation. Strong interplay between CEO and board of directors influences organizational practices, including environmental decoupling. We examine how board gender diversity, and the presence of other minorities (indigenous and LGBTQ+) on boards moderate the relationship between CEO personality and environmental decoupling. Our research highlights the role of board diversity in fostering ethical and environmentally responsible business practices.
Equitable Workplace Inclusion of Contingent Workers
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Daniel Gulanowski, Assistant Professor, International Business, Sprott School of Busines
The rise of the gig economy, digital platform work, and freelancing draw our attention to the diversity of contingent work arrangements and their implications for workers and organizations. While there are certainly benefits to contingent work, such as flexible work hours and autonomy, contingent workers face challenges being included in the workplace. This literature review intends to better understand different forms of contingent work and effective organizational practices in managing contingent workers. It also aims to identify future research directions to advance equitable workplace inclusion of contingent workers.
The Juggling Act: Exploring the Paradox between Inclusive Leadership and Creative Deviance
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Greg J. Sears, Associate Professor, Management, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University
- Co-Investigator: Tasnuva Chaudhury, PhD Candidate, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University
This research examines the paradoxical relationship between inclusive leadership and creative deviance. Potential boundary conditions, including the role of gendered organizational culture and specific Big Five personality traits (e.g., openness to experience, conscientiousness), will also be explored. Given growing interest in inclusive leadership and our limited understanding of individual and contextual factors that promote or inhibit creative deviance, our study aims to provide theoretical and practical insights into the actions leaders may adopt to foster employee creativity and address systemic barriers (e.g., gender bias, cultural constraints) in the innovation process.
CRIW Ignite! is one of the vehicles through which CRIW aims to advance knowledge and drive change towards more inclusive workplaces that support greater participation of all peoples. For more information, visit CRIW’s web pages on Research Support and Resources and Grants.
CRIW’s research activities and knowledge-sharing efforts are possible, in part, through generous financial support from the RBC Foundation. This funding is providing opportunities for conducting and sharing innovative research on inclusion at work. CRIW is grateful for the RBC Foundation’s support in making its work possible.