Air Canada’s win in Benefits Canada‘s 2025 Workplace Benefits Awards is helping the airline reinforce its diversity, equity and inclusion strategy across the organization, says Christianna Scott, the employer’s director of DEI.
“Obviously, it’s a very prestigious award. It was something that was well appreciated not just within our DEI team, but it was also a true recognition of the work done by our employee resource groups and DEI champions. And it is important to the company as a whole.”
Read: Air Canada wins award for enterprise-wide DEI strategy
The airline won the DEI Program award at the 2025 Workplace Benefits Awards for its efforts to embed DEI initiatives across frontline, operational and corporate teams. In recent years, Air Canada has expanded its DEI champion network, growing from 50 to 120 employees across the company. The champions receive training to help guide conversations around inclusion, supporting their colleagues and amplifying awareness of DEI initiatives within the workplace.
“We’re intentional about that progression because we do train our DEI champions,” Scott explains. “Some of these topics can be very challenging, so they need to understand how to navigate those conversations, where to send people and what the parameters are of their voluntary role.”
One of the biggest shifts over the past year has been the growing independence of ERGs and DEI champions in leading grassroots initiatives. “The champions and our employee resource groups are becoming more and more independent, really driving some of the change from the grassroots level,” she says. “That maturity level has really kicked in and that’s what we’re talking about when we’re talking about embedding DEI — that it’s not driven solely by us.”
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The organization has also adjusted its DEI training strategy to become more targeted across different parts of the workforce. “Before, we were giving blanket training across the organization and now we’re being far more intentional about addressing particular areas of the workforce where we see challenges or struggles within the workplace. That shift is thanks to the feedback we’re getting from the champions.”
One ongoing challenge is ensuring DEI messaging reaches employees across Air Canada’s global workforce, particularly frontline workers who may not regularly access corporate communication channels.
“We have individuals who are on the ramp and who aren’t necessarily in front of a computer or in front of corporate communication channels,” she notes. “Trying to engage everybody and debunk some of the misconceptions around DEI continues to be a challenge.”
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Despite some organizations scaling back DEI initiatives, Scott says diversity remains closely tied to Air Canada’s business strategy and long-term workforce goals. “We are an airline — the nature of the work we do is connecting people from different cultural backgrounds. The more perspectives you have around challenges, the better your end product is.”
Employee resource groups have also helped shape aspects of the customer experience, including cultural offerings in airport lounges. “That’s the value that comes when you have a diverse workforce. The Canada of 2040 is going to be very different from the present day and employers that haven’t embraced this will find themselves behind the eight ball.”
Enter the 2026 Workplace Benefits Awards here. The deadline is June 30