Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 43
43
CANADA'S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS (2025) SPONSOR CONTENT
100%
OF EXECUTIVE TEAM ARE
WOMEN
$
1,500
(MAX) ANNUAL HEALTH
SPENDING ACCOUNT
$
1,000
ANNUAL MENTAL HEALTH
PRACTITIONER BENEFIT
288
STAFF VOLUNTEER HOURS
LAST YEAR
Jillian Harris and Shay Merritt work at The Jilly Box office in Kelowna, B.C.
While she remains proud of all
those initiatives, Harris says that
she and her team have acted to
more deeply embed the values of
diversity, equity and inclusion in
everything the companies do.
“For example, as a mother of
two, I knew the significance of
baby bonuses. But I started to
wonder if that was the most equitable approach. What if someone
was having difficulty getting pregnant and could use that money
for IVF treatments? Or if someone
needed access to gender-affirming
care?”
Now, that $2,500 allocation is
extended to fertility treatments,
gender-affirming surgery,
hormone replacement therapy,
or as a non-gender-specific
parental benefit.
“A lot of people are really
struggling these days,” observes
Harris. “If, as a business, you can
invest in your employees and
your community, how can that be
anything but good?”
