JUNE 2025: PRIDE
Contents
1.
Pride through the lens of DEI
Each year, Pride challenges us to move beyond celebration to action, says Andrea Walasek, IABC/Toronto’s VP Special Interest Groups and PIC Chair.
2.
Diverse Threads: Brent Artemchuk on Employee Resource Groups
Pride Month is the perfect time to talk about an important foundation of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Brent Artemchuk gives Sue Horner, SCMP, the scoop on employee resource groups (ERGs).
3.
Worth another look: Check out some past content on inclusion and diversity
As communication professionals, we have a significant role to play in being allies and fostering greater inclusion. We’ve got advice from past Buzz issues that’s still relevant today.
4.
And more!
Read about what’s behind IABC/Toronto’s updated land acknowledgement. Welcome new member Natalia Smalyuk. And find out why PIC members Cathy Cowan, Matisse Hamel-Nelis and Sarah L. Manley Robertson are in the news.
Pride through the lens of DEI
By Andrea Walasek
June brings meaningful opportunities for celebration and reflection. This month, we honor both Pride Month and National Indigenous History Month, occasions that remind us of the rich diversity that makes Toronto exceptional and the ongoing work needed to build truly inclusive communities.
In this edition of The Buzz, we explore Pride Month through the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. Each year, Pride challenges us to move beyond celebration to action, elevating the voices and needs of 2SLGBTQ+ communities while fostering more inclusive workplaces.
In our Diverse Threads column, Brent Artemchuk talks to Sue Horner about the power of employee resource groups. Later, we revisit valuable insights from past issues on how communicators can serve as effective allies.
In advance of National Indigenous History Month, IABC/Toronto released an updated land acknowledgement accompanied by a special video. This revision reflects our deepened commitment to truth and reconciliation. As Dean Lobo – VP of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility – says, our acknowledgement serves as “a reminder that the land we are on was stolen from Indigenous Peoples and built with the stolen labour of Black, Indigenous and racialized people.”
We’re also excited to welcome new member Natalia Smalyuk, and catch up with some of our PIC members on their recent accomplishments.
Looking ahead, I invite all PIC members to join IABC/Toronto at our AGM on June 18. This virtual gathering will feature dynamic discussions, reflections on the past year and celebration of our collective achievements. Members will have the opportunity to ask questions and vote on the 2025-2026 board slate.
And one last thing in case you haven’t seen it: the insights from IABC/Toronto’s latest member survey are out! Your feedback continues to shape the chapter’s discussions, decisions and future initiatives. Read the full results.
Thank you for being part of our vibrant community. Together, we’re building a more inclusive future for communications professionals across the GTA.
If you have any comments or questions, ideas for professional development topics, or wish to volunteer with PIC, reach out to me at toronto-sig@iabc.to. I’m always happy to hear from you.
Diverse Threads: Brent Artemchuk on Employee Resource Groups
By Sue Horner, SCMP, and Brent Artemchuk
Diverse Threads is an ongoing series that explores the journeys and stories of professional communicators who are actively working to embed diversity, equity and inclusion best practices for their clients.
Pride Month is the perfect time to talk about an important foundation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts: employee resource groups (ERGs). And who better to talk to than my co-Director of Communications & Social Media, Brent Artemchuk (he/him/his), who has years of experience managing ERGs in the workplace. In fact, he was just awarded the inaugural TD Forever Proud Impact Award for ongoing ERG leadership.
Brent sees ERGs as a way to bridge the gap between company goals and employee well-being, supporting both individual and organizational growth. And ERGs are more important than ever now that DEI is under fire.
According to Brent, “Establishing an ERG is an activity that requires thoughtful planning and a sound foundational strategy. It’s not something that can be done overnight, and it requires honest conversations with leadership. In the end, though, ERGs can be an essential element in aligning diverse employee needs with organizational strategy.”
Here’s my conversation with Brent.
What is an employee resource group?
An employee resource group is a voluntary, employee-led group within a company. It’s formed around shared characteristics, interests or life experiences, and is created to:
- foster inclusion and belonging in the workplace
- support professional development
- build community among employees with similar backgrounds
- provide feedback to leadership on culture and policy
- promote awareness and education across the organization of specific employee groups.
What role does an ERG play within an organization?
In a nutshell, ERGs bridge the gap between company goals and employee well-being, supporting both individual and organizational growth.
If set up correctly, ERGs provide a support network for employees, helping them feel a sense of belonging and visibility – particularly if they’re from underrepresented or marginalized groups. Additionally, ERGs offer growth and career-building opportunities through mentorship, networking and exposure to executives. I also see significant learning opportunities embedded within an ERG because members can learn from executives and each other.
Further, because an ERG acts as conduit between employees and leadership, it allows concerns, insights and feedback to be shared in an effective and efficient way. This ultimately should influence organizational decisions that affect the community the ERG represents.
What are the benefits of ERGs?
I see three primary benefits. ERGs:
- Contribute to organizational culture and inclusion efforts.
- Support recruitment, retention and employee engagement.
- Help align corporate, social responsibility and DEI goals.
Organizationally, companies benefit through increased employee engagement and retention. This results in enhanced innovation and performance because diverse teams offer broader perspectives and drive effective problem-solving. And ERGs demonstrate a commitment to DEI, which appeals to both job candidates and customers.
What are some common types of ERGs?
Ideally, ERGs should be formed around identity or life experiences. Consider:
- race or ethnicity (Black, Latinx/Hispanic, Asian Pacific Islanders)
- gender (women in leadership, men as allies)
- 2SLGBTQ+
- disability/neurodiversity
- veterans
- generations (young professionals, 50+ professionals)
- life stage (working parents, caregivers)
- interest or role (remote workers, wellness, STEM or Science Technology, Engineering and Math).
How do you identify the need or interest for an ERG?
Identify a need via employee surveys or feedback, demographic or HR data analysis, listening sessions, focus groups, observations of employee engagement patterns or benchmarking against peers or competitors.
I also recommend starting small and growing incrementally – pilot a few high-interest ERGs and then expand. Keep in mind executive sponsorship. Each ERG should have a senior sponsor as well as an employee lead to manage volunteer resources and budget. And yes, a budget is required for items such as external speakers, venues, food and beverage.
Finally, ensure alignment between employees and the organization, remembering that ERG goals should complement the company DEI or business strategy.
How do you launch an ERG?
I see it as a 11-step process:
- Plan with intention, with inclusive collaboration and strategic alignment with business goals.
- Identify interest and needs, including identifying potential founding members who are willing to lead.
- Define the purpose and goals – why the ERG exists, who it serves and what success looks like.
- Develop a proposal or charter – mission statement, objectives, membership guidelines, meeting frequency and metrics for success.
- Gain buy-in. Show how an ERG will support business goals such as engagement and retention, innovation, recruitment or culture.
- Present data to demonstrate need and value (using engagement or belonging scores, demographic data, benchmarking examples).
- Secure an executive sponsor and clearly articulate that role – advocacy, help in securing resources, guidance and visibility.
- Align with organizational strategy. Integrate with DEI and HR strategies, set shared goals, partner on hiring initiatives, host educational events, support leadership development pipelines.
- Create a feedback loop. Report activities and engagement for feedback from both leadership and ERG members.
- Build a governance framework. Define roles, decision-making trees, meeting frequency and expectations for volunteer term lengths and put this in an operating guide.
- Include a sustainment plan. Define success measures and continuously adapt to meet gaps or feedback.
How can you measure an ERG’s success?
I’d suggest a combination of qualitative and quantitative measures. Consider:
- membership growth
- event attendance
- employee engagement rate
- diversity of participation
- employee experience and sentiment – sense of belonging, feedback from events
- member retention
- testimonials and stories
- leadership pipeline
- mentorship and sponsorship matches
- strategic business impacts – collaboration with business units, recruitment support, innovation insights contributed, brand enhancement
- operational health of the ERG – leadership succession plan, budget tracking and us, number of events and programs per year, regular reporting to leadership.
I realize this is a long list, so start with a few. Continue building on successes to demonstrate to leadership that the ERG adds value to the organization and is contributing meaningful insights that can help shape the company for the future.
Our thanks to Brent for sharing his experience! If you have a story about your own journey working to embed diversity, equity and inclusion best practices in your client’s organization, please email Toronto-sig@iabc.to and we’ll follow up. We welcome submissions from both PIC and IABC/Toronto members.
Worth another look: Check out some past content on inclusion and diversity
To mark Pride Month, we’re sharing articles from previous editions of The Buzz that focus on inclusion and diversity. So, put on your favourite disco music and rainbow wear, add some glitter and check out the links below. Happy Pride!
Visible support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community is more important than ever. Flashback to the conversation Sue Horner had with The 519’s Aniska Ali in June 2024.
As communication professionals, we have a significant role to play in being allies and fostering greater inclusion. A 3x3 in June 2023 learned more about inclusive communications and being an ally from Brent Artemchuk, Jacqui d’Eon, ABC, MC, and Maureen Hosein, ABC.
Is there a magic DEI checklist for diverse and inclusive policies? Read what Pride at Work Canada’s Luis Augusto Nobre thinks.
How well are organizations embracing diversity and inclusion? Things have not changed much since Sue Horner talked about it with Colin Druhan, Executive Director of Pride at Work Canada, in 2022.
Inclusive communications starts with us. Brent Artemchuk talks inclusion and diversity with Maureen Hosein, ABC, Phil Sach and Rucsandra Saulean in June 2022.
Land acknowledgements are more than words
By Dean Lobo
June is not just Pride Month; it’s also National Indigenous History Month. This is a time to honour and celebrate the strength, resilience, wisdom and brilliance of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples — and it’s a call to action. A reminder to support Indigenous Peoples’ right to self-determination, to uplift their work and respond to their calls to action, to show up, to listen and to educate ourselves.
One of the first tasks I took on as VP of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility (IDEA) on the 2024-2025 IABC/Toronto Board of Directors was revisiting our chapter’s land acknowledgement. While it had a strong foundation laid by past boards, it was time to renew and deepen our commitment to truth and reconciliation, grounded in current context, nuance and intention. After thoughtful consultation with the IDEA committee and board, we updated our land acknowledgement in September 2024.
From there, the question became: how do we make this reflection more meaningful, accessible and engaging? In continuation of that work, we launched a video version at the 2025 OVATION Awards in May 2025.
Land acknowledgements gained prominence after the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report in 2015, which called on settlers to reflect on their role in advancing the 94 Calls to Action. Today, land acknowledgements are common at meetings and events. They are offered as a gesture of respect, and as a reminder that the land we are on was stolen from Indigenous Peoples and built with the stolen labour of Black, Indigenous and racialized people.
As members of the largest and most diverse global chapter of communicators, it’s important that we recognize that we live, gather and work on Indigenous land shaped by centuries of colonial violence and Indigenous resistance. It’s also necessary to recognize how we benefit from systems that weren’t built for everyone. These systems continue to present barriers for Black, Indigenous and racialized people, including newcomers, migrants and international students.
Land acknowledgements are more than words; they require ongoing action and accountability. Our chapter’s updated land acknowledgement invites us into a deeper, shared understanding of our roles as communicators and settlers — and reminds us of our responsibility to uplift Indigenous voices every day.
Read the full acknowledgement and learn more online.
Welcome new member
Natalia Smalyuk (she/her)
NBAU Consulting Inc. (Not Business As Usual) | Toronto | 416-606-5844 | LinkedIn | Website | nsmalyuk@nbau.ca
Natalia is an award-winning advisor specializing in strategic communication, issues management and stakeholder engagement. She leads NBAU (Not Business As Usual), a Women Business Enterprise certified communication consultancy. Natalia is known for her ability to dig into the issues from a 30,000-foot view right to the core to uncover insights and pathways to value creation. She quickly zeroes in on the real problem – and the real story – positioning clients as thought leaders with strong, authentic narratives.
Member news
Cathy Cowan (she/her) has a new website focused on her Social Impact Communications Consulting. Her favourite page shows results she’s generated in collaboration with clients. “I am so very proud of these meaningful results and the amazing people I’ve worked with to make them happen. It has been my true honour to support and amplify these important causes.”
Matisse Hamel-Nelis, ADS, CPACC (she/her), was named one of the Industry Champion honourees for the PRNews Top Women awards, and was also nominated for the Jim Flaherty Award at the 2025 Abilities Centre Accessibility Awards. “I received this nomination alongside some incredible change makers who are working every day to build a more accessible and inclusive world. That alone feels like such an honour. Accessibility has never been just a ‘cause’ for me. It’s personal, it’s professional, and it’s woven into everything I do.”
Sarah L. Manley Robertson, SCMP, ABC, Prosci (she/her), was nominated for one of this year’s Women Empowerment Awards. The awards celebrate the achievements of exceptional women across business, leadership, mentorship, community support, and diversity. She is also now an advisor at MacKay CEO Forums, a network of leaders who are committed to “populating the world with inspiring leaders.” Sarah is advising in the CEO & Executive Peer Support area.
See you on social media!
Build and strengthen your connections, advance your business and network with other PIC members on social media. In case you missed them, recent posts shared on our social media channels include these:
Companies are feeling pressure to re-brand or stop talking about DEI altogether. But we have options, says Kim Clark. Download “A Conscious Communicator’s Guide to Expanding our DEI Vocabulary.”
Organizations are leaning into new formats that reflect how employees actually connect. This includes building influence through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). PR Daily reports.
Executive sponsors, budget and allies are among the ways to support effective employee resource groups. RaganComms has a “power conversation” with Couchbase.
Who we are
Professional Independent Communicators (PIC) is a special interest group of IABC/Toronto. PIC’s mission is to support independent IABC/Toronto communicators through professional development, networking and marketing. The Buzz informs members about upcoming events, shares professional development tips from past meetings and keeps us connected.
IABC connects communicators from around the world with the insights, resources and people they need to drive their careers and their professions forward.
Editor: Sue Horner, SCMP
Executive team
Chair: Andrea Walasek | Past Chair: Marie-Lauren Gregoire Drummond, SCMP | Membership: Kathryn Hollinrake | Communications & Social Media: Brent Artemchuk, Sue Horner, SCMP | Programming: Catharine Heddle, Trish Tervit