Summary

The Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) works to strengthen Ontario's nonprofit sector through policy, advocacy, and services. In their podcast, Digging In, ONN explores public policy and systems change, with a series dedicated to Decent Work, a term coined by the International Labour Organization to describe fair, stable, and productive work that ensures workers' rights and well-being.

In this Episode, hosts Kavita and Yami are joined by Shanese Indoowaaboo Steele, an Afro-Indigenous educator, activist, and writer. They discuss the intersection of Decent Work, racial justice, and effective youth engagement in the workforce, with an emphasis on the challenges and opportunities faced by Indigenous, Black, and racialized youth in the nonprofit sector.

Policy & Practice Implications

• To retain Indigenous, Black, and racialized youth in the nonprofit sector, organizations can actively engage youth through focus groups to better understand their unique needs, particularly regarding Decent Work conditions.
• Policies and practices such as equitable pay, anti-Black racism training, Indigenous solidarity training, support for employee access needs, and flexible work schedules help create more supportive, equitable, and safer environments for youth in the workforce.
• Dismantling existing colonial structures within nonprofit organizations and rebuilding them to be more inclusive and equitable is a necessary step for creating work environments and opportunities that support Black, Indigenous, and racialized youth to thrive. This process involves challenging colonial frameworks, actively listening to community needs, implementing meaningful policies, and rebuilding organizational structures.