BC's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 84
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BC’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
United Way BC fosters equity through human rights
W
hen Ravi Grewal
was starting out
as a practicum
student at
United Way
British Columbia in 2022, he
noticed how his supervisors
would ask him for his opinions on
different projects.
“Everyone has a voice,” says the
project coordinator with the food
security team. “That sort of open
communication made me feel
really valued and respected.”
And that kind of workplace
equity, coupled with the ability
to make a meaningful impact in
communities, meant Grewal knew
very quickly that he wanted to
build his career with the charity.
“I could clearly see a career
forward for myself here based on
that respectful environment.”
Fostering an inclusive workplace
is the result of a dedicated investment from the organization over
the years.
“The level of understanding
when it comes to diversity,
equity and inclusion [DEI] in
the work United Way BC does in
the community, as well as for its
employees has evolved,” explains
president and CEO Michael
McKnight.
“We asked ourselves how we
reflect our community both
in terms of the diversity of our
workforce but also a reflection of
the needs in our community,” says
McKnight.
“That diversity is a very important part of our evolution to what
we call a modern charity.”
The next step in United Way
BC’s DEI journey was to create a
dedicated human rights officer to
uphold fairness and compliance in
all of the organization’s practices.
The position, which was
announced in August 2024, helps
strengthen the mission and
practices of the organization from
a human rights perspective.
As applying human rights
principles in the workplace is
very specific knowledge, it was
integral that the officer be certified in human rights theory and
application.
“We need expertise in human
rights so that we can operate as
successfully, professionally, and as
accountably to the community as
possible,” says McKnight.
Aligning internal policies with
the United Nations’ Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
spills into everything the
organization touches, something
Grewal sees play out in his work
supporting the 23 United Way BC
Employees from the Southern Interior team attend the United Way BC Day kick-off breakfast.
regional community food hubs.
The hubs are often located
in remote Indigenous communities, which could come with
their own unique challenges
around access, from transportation logistics and weather to
food costs.
A different company
might say that they’ll be
equitable, but formalizing a
position to support human
rights solidifies that
commitment and is a really
good example of supporting
employees.
— Ravi Grewal
Project Coordinator,
Food Security
“Access to nutritious food is a
human right,” Grewal explains.
The team approaches food
equity from an empowerment
perspective by focusing on
programming to promote food
sovereignty and sustainable food
access.
“We really want to see
communities thrive – that’s how
we support them through the
principles of human rights,” he
says. “It’s more than food – it’s
about strengthening the community capacity through food-led
programming.”
Above all, the position is a
reflection of United Way BC’s
dedication to human rights, says
Grewal.
“A different company might say
that they’ll be equitable,” he says,
