The principles of equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) are increasingly present in companies. To stay relevant with the needs of the business world, MBAs are adapting and also integrating these principles into course content and the student environment.
“The world is changing rapidly with respect to EDI principles, and MBAs need to ride ahead of the wave by adapting training and going further in leadership development,” says Kevin J. Johnson, MBA program director at HEC Montreal.
This management school pays particular attention to this right from the formation of the learning cohorts that allow students to create their professional network.
For students to be able to evolve in diversified groups, efforts must also be made in terms of registration. For example, while women are traditionally underrepresented in MBA programs, they can seek various scholarships at Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business.
At the EMBA McGill-HEC, we organize information sessions by invitation for women only, we produce targeted advertising for them and we promote graduates. Result ? The last two cohorts of the program were 50% female. Two bursaries are also offered each year for managers of Aboriginal origin.
There are also changes in terms of content. For example, HEC Montreal has just created a compulsory course to support students in their teamwork so that EDI principles are integrated harmoniously. Other courses are also offered in the broader area of corporate social responsibility. The student who chooses enough can even get a graduate certificate in strategy and sustainable development.
In the McGill-HEC EMBA, EDI principles are covered in the module dealing with sustainability.
At Concordia, we are working to integrate EDI principles into all courses. “It’s part of our continuous improvement process,” says Frédérica Martin, head of curriculum, internalization and sustainability at the John Molson School of Business.
Efforts are also being made in terms of case studies. “Traditionally, MBAs offer cases from large, for-profit organizations,” she adds. But we try to present a diversity of business models and populations. For example, this year we introduced a course in the Executive MBA where students could spend a day in a First Nation community to understand the social and political factors that influence their business models and practices. »
Concordia has also offered for several years the possibility for MBA students to choose a course in community services where they carry out mandates with non-profit organizations. “These organizations are almost always governed by people who belong to visible minorities, or they serve them, or they reach out to marginalized populations,” says Frédérica Martin.
HEC Montréal also pays particular attention to case studies, photos in PowerPoints and guests in classes. “We have an ‘aspirational’ will,” says Kevin J. Johnson. As we want more women and visible minorities in senior corporate leadership positions, these people need to be on our agenda. But often the heroes of the case studies are white men! We need to think about this question with each of our choices to better represent diversity. »
HEC Montréal is launching the MBA in September to facilitate the integration of foreign students into the Quebec job market, which is still in short supply of talent. “We have francization issues in Quebec and we want to take the lead,” says Kevin J. Johnson, MBA director at HEC Montreal. In this MBA, we will teach in English, but at the same time, we will francize these international students. This will be done in different ways, for example by offering them business French lessons, having them socialize with local students and allowing them to integrate the Quebec business world through French internships in Quebec companies. . “It’s an intensive 17-month program rather than the 12 months of the regular MBA,” says Kevin J. Johnson. It’s a big challenge for these students, but it’s a great opportunity to integrate into the Quebec business world. »
