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The Canadian Armed Forces has not always embraced diversity and inclusion, but its future depends on it. As the country’s demographic makeup changes, its military must adapt to a new multicultural reality and diminishing pools of people from which it can recruit. Canada’s population is increasingly urbanized, immigrant, and not necessarily Christian, white, or bilingual. To attract and retain CAF personnel, the military will have to embrace and champion diversity while demonstrating that it is inclusive.
Using a number of cases to highlight both challenges and opportunities,
Strengthening the Canadian Armed Forces through Diversity and Inclusion provides a timely look at an established Canadian institution in a rapidly changing world. The editors explore how Canadian Muslim youth, LGBTQ+ individuals, women, racialized minorities, Indigenous communities, and people of non-Christian faiths see their experiences in the CAF. While diversity is a reality, inclusion is still a work in progress for the Canadian Armed Forces, as it is for society at large.
List of contents
1. Unpacking Diversity and Inclusion
Rupinder Mangat, Wilfrid Laurier University, Bessma Momani, University of Waterloo, and Alistair Edgar, Wilfrid Laurier University
2. Demographic Imperatives for Diversity
Christian Leuprecht, Flinders University of South Australia
3. Negotiating Gender Inclusion
Karen D. Davis, Defence Research and Development Canada
4. Coming Out in Uniform: A Personal Reflection
Jacqueline Lopour, Alphabet’s Google, and Nick Deshpande, Canadian Forces (Army)
5. The North’s Canadian Rangers
P. Whitney Lackenbauer, St. Jerome’s University in the University of Waterloo
6. Diversifying the Canadian Armed Forces’ Chaplaincy
Bianca Romagnoli, University of Toronto
7. Francophone Inclusion and Bilingualism in the Canadian Armed Forces
Stéphanie Chouinard, Royal Military College Kingston
8. Race and Belonging
Tammy George, York University
9. Canadian Muslim Youth and Military Service
Melissa Finn, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Bessma Momani, University of Waterloo
10. Introspection on Diversity in the Canadian Armed Forces
Alan Okros, Royal Military College of Canada
Notes
Contributors
Index
About the author
Edited by Alistair Edgar, Rupinder Mangat, and Bessma Momani
Summary
Diversity and inclusion in the Canadian Armed Forces is often seen as a legal imperative. This volume shows that it can be a strength and a necessary strategy to building a stronger organization.
