U of A staff, students speak out against move to axe EDI from hiring policy

The University of Alberta is proposing to eliminate Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) from its hiring policy.

The move comes a year after the school’s president announced the U of A was moving away from the term, saying it had become polarizing for some. 

In the current university recruitment policy, the recommendation is when two candidates are similarly qualified for a position, hiring panels should favour candidates from historically under-represented groups. 

A draft recruitment policy heading to the board of governors for approval removes that practice and eliminates references to the university’s commitments to correct employment disadvantages.

The university said in a statement that the policy has been through extensive consultations since June 2025.

“While the current policy includes aspirational language about fair recruitment and the removal of barriers, the university has found in practice that qualified candidates may still face barriers,” it read.

The university said the proposed new policy is intended as a step toward addressing that issue.

But some members of the university say they worry it shows a lack of transparency and walks back commitments.

The issue was discussed at a general faculties council where Lise Gotell, a professor of women’s and gender studies, tabled a motion opposing it, which council passed.

Gotell told CBC News the board of governors ultimately gets the final say, but matters such as academic hiring have historically been left up to the general faculties council.

She said academics should have been consulted and she was surprised to see the issue on the agenda.

“We just had this rationale that basically said, ‘Oh, we're just streamlining policy.’ And you had to click through to actually find out that the fundamental change was the elimination of EDI,” she said.

She said she worries institutional autonomy is being diminished. 

“I do believe that there's been pressure by the government on post-secondaries to abandon EDI policies,” Gotell said. “Because it's not really clear to me why we would be abandoning a framework that we just put in place six years ago.”