Ontario Construction News staff writer
The deadline to nominate individuals or organizations for the 2021 Building Diversity Awards is Wednesday, March 30.
This is the first year for the program designed to recognize people taking the lead on creating opportunities for Black, Indigenous and racialized workers in Ontario’s construction industry. Awards will be presented in five categories on May 13.
Spearheaded by the Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN), a community-labour coalition, the Building Diversity Awards (DBAs) is backed by a range of prominent industry stakeholders, including Ontario Construction News, EllisDon, Tridel and the Ontario General Contractors Association.
The program is open to construction workers and employers across the province in the following categories:
Leading on Diversity Award – Owner/Client
Nominate an Owner Client that is making extraordinary efforts to ensure members of underrepresented groups are accessing and succeeding in the trades.
Leading on Diversity Award – Contractor
- Nominate a Contractor that is making extraordinary efforts to ensure members of underrepresented groups are accessing and succeeding in the trades.
Leading on Diversity Award – Union
- Nominate a Union that is making extraordinary efforts to ensure members of underrepresented groups are accessing and succeeding in the trades.
Community Benefit Champion Award
- Nominate an individual working for a private developer, local union, municipality, government agency, school board, academic or health institution who is making extraordinary efforts to ensure underrepresented groups are accessing and succeeding in the trades.
NexGen Builders Champion Award
Nominate a mentee or a mentor from your union or job site you’ve worked with now or in the past or from TCBN’s NexGen Builders Mentoring Program:
- A mentor who has excelled in supporting the professional growth and development of a mentee.
- A mentee who has experienced exceptional progress in taking the steps needed to succeed in a trades career.
Nominations will be judged by a panel of construction veterans and experts using Global Diversity and Inclusion Benchmarks, as adapted by BuildForce Canada for the construction industry.