Corporate boardrooms. Military barracks. Federal government offices.

They害羞草研究所檙e not locales with a reputation for fostering diversity.

Anita Anand has been trying to change that.

Ensuring people of all backgrounds feel accepted and heard no matter the venue is a mission that has followed her at every stage in her life and career, she said in a recent interview.

害羞草研究所淭his is a very personal issue for me,害羞草研究所� said Anand, who is the first person of colour to hold the federal government害羞草研究所檚 purse strings as Treasury Board president.

害羞草研究所淚 still walk into rooms and look at tables that are not diverse.害羞草研究所�

Case in point: in February, Anand walked into a briefing regarding mental-health counselling for Black public-service workers.

There were no Black employees in the room, she said.

害羞草研究所淚 said to the individuals briefing me: 害羞草研究所榃hy aren害羞草研究所檛 there any Black individuals facing me?害羞草研究所� This is not acceptable.害羞草研究所�

Part of her mandate is to dismantle systemic barriers in the federal public service that allow workplace harassment, bullying, racism and other forms of discrimination and violence to fester.

It needs to happen at all levels, she said.

害羞草研究所淲e actually want to ensure we see diversity in briefing rooms for the minister, at the deputy minister level, at the assistant deputy minister level.害羞草研究所�

Anand is no stranger to what racial discrimination can feel like.

Before she became the member of Parliament for Oakville, Ont., in 2019, she worked as a lawyer and law professor.

At one workplace, she said, people would often ask if she was in the accounting department.

害羞草研究所淭hat struck me because there were more South Asians in the accounting department than there were in the school of lawyers,害羞草研究所� she said.

害羞草研究所淥ften I would get confused with other Indian women that were working in the same work environment that I was.害羞草研究所�

Rather than focusing on such events, she said she has put far more energy toward understanding how to improve the situation.

That included working at the United Nations, writing a thesis on racial discrimination in Canada, and researching the number of racialized individuals on boards of directors when she was a professor.

害羞草研究所淎t every stage of my life, I have tried to incorporate my views about diversity and inclusivity in everything I am doing,害羞草研究所� Anand said.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 not that I have to try to do it. It is a natural part of the way I think.害羞草研究所�

Anand said it害羞草研究所檚 difficult to pick out a point in time when she became aware of her own racial identity.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檒l just say that was very stark for me growing up.害羞草研究所�

Her Indian parents met in Ireland in the 1950s as physicians, got married in England, then lived in India and Nigeria before immigrating to Canada.

害羞草研究所淭hey raised their three daughters in a predominantly white province with very few South Asians when they moved,害羞草研究所� she said.

害羞草研究所淲e had a wonderful upbringing in Kentville, Nova Scotia, but the fact that I was racialized never left my consciousness. There weren害羞草研究所檛 very many people who looked like me and my sisters at my school.害羞草研究所�

Part of her goal now is to make sure racialized children can see themselves in all manner of jobs, including in high-ranking government and military roles.

As defence minister, Anand said she told her team that cultural change was a file that 害羞草研究所渟hould not leave the centre of my desk.害羞草研究所�

In the months before she took the file in fall 2021, a string of senior military leaders were accused of sexual misconduct.

And just over half a year into her tenure, Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour released the results of an external review, saying the culture within the Canadian Armed Forces was 害羞草研究所渄eeply deficient.害羞草研究所�

Anand accepted Arbour害羞草研究所檚 recommendations for change, admitting in a statement upon its anniversary in May 2023 that 害羞草研究所渃hange does not happen overnight, and it will not continue without effort.害羞草研究所�

She was assigned to oversee the public service last July.

About 80,000 people are in the Canadian Forces, Anand said, but the number is closer to 275,000 for the entire public service.

The problems of that larger group seem to have flown under the radar, Anand said.

害羞草研究所淢aybe it害羞草研究所檚 the (sexual misconduct) cases, maybe that it害羞草研究所檚 more stark because of the hierarchy that is so evident in uniforms and badges in the Canadian Armed Forces, compared to the public service, where we害羞草研究所檙e not wearing uniforms,害羞草研究所� she said.

害羞草研究所淏ut the issues are palpable.害羞草研究所�

A panel of experts the Treasury Board tapped to help with workplace culture has recommended major changes, including instituting mandatory racism, discrimination and harassment training.

The panel also said employees must have mental-health counselling supports, and managers need to be trained in trauma-informed leadership.

As she reviews the recommendations, Anand said she will develop a path forward, with an action plan ready to go before the summer.

It won害羞草研究所檛 leave the centre of her desk, she said.

害羞草研究所淭his is not something that I have to worry about whether I will remember,害羞草研究所� Anand said.

害羞草研究所淚t is as a function of who I am.害羞草研究所�

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Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press