Women, visible minorities make up larger share of latest Order of Canada appointments

Women,visible minorities and Indigenous people accounted for a larger share of the latest Order of Canadaappointmentsthan in recent years asign that Rideau Hall's quest to diversify one of the country's highestcivilian honours is making progress.

Of the 135 people recently inducted into the Order of Canada, 40.7 per cent (55) arewomen, 12.6per cent (17) are visible minorityand just over eightper cent (11) are Indigenous.

The numbers arehigher in all three categories than in the previous three years. Last year, most of the inductees were white men, and in 2019 well under a third were women.

Retired public servant AndrewGriffith, who served as Canada's directorgeneral of citizenship and multiculturalism, said that while the numbers represent a "significant improvement," it's too soon to say whether it's a trend.

"I'm always wary of claiming victory on the basis of one year," he said. "So what I look at, whether I'm looking at these kind of numbers or other diversity numbers, is are you seeing a sustained change, a sustained increase.

"What I would like to see is two to three years from now comparing, let's say, the previous three year period to the next three year period, and see if the needle has been moved."

The Governor General makes appointments based on recommendations from theAdvisory Council for the Order of Canada, whichadvises her based on nominationssuggested by members of the general public.

Griffith said this process means Rideau Halldoesn't have as many options to diversifythe Order of Canada as other institutions.

The newest appointeesinclude entreprenuer and philanthropist Mohamad Fakihand former senator Murray Sinclair, who chaired theTruth and Reconciliation Commission.

"The Order of Canada relies on public nominations. The Office of the Secretary to the Governor General encourages people to nominate individuals who are reflective of our diversity, including Indigenous peoples and persons from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds," a spokesperson for the Office of the Governor General said in a statement to CBC.

"As of 2019, the OSGG has asked new appointees to the Order of Canada to complete a voluntary self-identification questionnaire. We look forward to identifying trends as we gather data in the coming years."

'Perpetually vigilant'

Sarah Kaplan,director of the Institute for Gender and the Economy at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, said the numbers show improvement but still don't reflect Canada's demographics.

"It seems to me that if your population is made up of about half women, or people of diverse genders, and you're not representing that same proportion in the country's most prestigious honours, then you are doing a disservice to the community," she said.

She said she'd like to see Rideau Hall and the advisory council reach out to communities for suggestionsrather than relysolely onnominations.

"Who's going to know about that process and figure out how to navigate the nomination system?" she said. "It's going to be people who are already in the centre of power, and that's a pretty closed set of folks in the Canadian context."

She also saidthe Office of the Governor General must keep pushing to make the Order of Canada better reflect Canadian society.

"The thing about improving representation in a society that has historically privileged just one group of people is that you have to be perpetually vigilant," she said.

"And so one year's progress does not mean that we have now fixed the problem, and that it will naturally trend upwards in subsequent years."