We are pleased to announce that Professor Minoo Derayeh has been nominated as Equity Officer (1 of 2 positions) for an additional term starting on June 1, 2023, and ending on May 31, 2025. Prof. Derayeh’s candidate statement can be found below in this email.

In accordance with YUFA’s  Constitution and By-Laws, a vote by the YUFA membership will be held to ratify her position.

The voting period will begin Tuesday, December 6, 2022, at noon (12:00 pm) and will end on Tuesday, December 20, 2020, at noon (12:00 pm). The results will be announced shortly after the voting period ends.

Eligible voters will receive a link via SimplyVoting which will provide voting instructions. If you do not receive a link by end of day December 6, please reply to this email.    

Minoo Derayeh’s Statement

“As a YUFA Equity Officer and a member of the Race, Equity Caucus (REC) I am seeking your vote to be re-elected for YUFA’s Equity Officer position for the term of 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2025.

Since you elected me as an Equity Officer in June 2020, I looked after equity related issues raised by the members and those raised and discussed in the Equity Subcommittee meetings. I have also continued to reinforce equity-related matters at YUFA and joint YUFA-Employer committees. With Lykee De La Cour we prepared the YUFA Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Action Plan and we built a standing equity item into the Executive agenda for equity discussions. We held numerous meetings for ESC bargaining preparations. Below, see the list of my service contributions as YUFA Equity Officer.

· I attended the Executive Committee meetings.
· I arranged ESC meetings for JEDI Action Plan consultation.
· I attended Stewards meetings; General Membership meetings and I addressed equity related concerns in these meetings.
· I attended and helped prepare the agenda for the Executive and the General Membership meetings
· I attended the JCOAA (Joint Committee on the Administration of the Agreement) and LRP (Long-Rang Planning) as well as meetings with JCAA representatives and I raised equity concerns with the ER (Employer Relation).
· I attended the bargaining meetings and I raised and discussed equity related issues.
· I organized ESC meetings and discussed equity bargaining priorities proposals such as indigenous and black hires,
· I participated in meetings associated with the Staff Relations and Labour Management Committees
· I attended CAUT, OCUFA, and OCUFA Status of Women and Equity Committee (SEWAC), and I discussed and coordinated equity matters with equity officers in other universities.

In today’s COVID-19 world, there are important issues to advance our faculty to create an inclusive, equitable and respectful workplace and to continue advocating equity within York and YUFA. If I am re-elected, I will continue to represent you within YUFA, to listen to members who contact me, and to take the issues provided by both individuals and the Equity Subcommittees to YUFA Executive where I will do my best to state and advocate your positions. These will include “inequities on the basis of gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, age, ethnicity, religion, political belief, language, culture, ancestry, place of origin (birthplace), colour, citizenship, creed, sex, pregnancy, gender identity, marital status, family status, number of dependents, or belief or membership in associations, and other forms of discrimination” as stated in YUFA’s equity agenda.

Since I joined York University, I have had numerous opportunities to serve on several departmental, faculty and university committees. My commitment to contributing substantively to equity and inclusion in these committees have been extensive and absolute. All these activities added considerably to my administrative and intellectual experiences. As Chair of the Executive Committee of LA&PS, I succeeded in promoting the importance of inclusive and equitable collegial participations in discussions of academic and administrative issues facing our faculty. During the Faculty Executive meetings and the Faculty Council, I endeavored to keep members’ and counselors’ focus on mandates and policies of the LA&PS Faculty and York Senate while promoting inclusivity and respecting the strength and value of the diversity of opinions. I was also the first chair of the Council who had to perform her chairing responsibilities online, converting face-to-face meetings to Zoom meetings with the start of Covid-19 Pandemic.

As a YUFA executive member, if you vote for me, I will work with other YUFA executive members and YUFA staff to promote Affirmative Action and Equity issues. I am aware and my long experience with the Faculty Tenure and Promotion Committee and the Senate Review Committee have shown me that there are significant equity issues and concerns that are to be addressed. I am also aware of the Pay Equity and targets for indigenous and black faculty hires which as a member of the YUFA Executive I will work with members in achieving these goals.

I am a Critical Human Rights feminist scholar and I teach and research human rights and equity in religions, cultures, schooling and in the workplace. My education, research, teaching experience and strong belief in equity, inclusion and respect for humans and their rights have also guided me in all my service contributions in different committees at York. I am certain that the experience and the knowledge I have gained during the past 17 years at York have prepared me to continue serving you as your Equity Officer. My administrative and service contributions at York such as Chair of Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Executive Committee, Chair and Vice Chair of the LA&PS Faculty Council, APPC, Senate Tenure and Promotion Committee, 5 years at York University Senate, Senate Student Appeal Committee, Merit Committee, and Chair of the Department of Equity Studies have prepared me to advocate for a more equitable and inclusive York University in my capacity as your Equity Officer.

My education and work experiences in different institutions performing various functions before I joined York, and my interactions with students and staff from a number of regions from Canada and overseas, have made me quite aware of the perceptions and aspirations of diverse groups at work and the safe and secure atmosphere they expect.

As someone who has experienced oppression, I have always championed rights and it is my hope that if you re-elect me as your Equity Officer, I will be there to serve all members of the York Community by encouraging a healthier workplace with greater inclusivity in all equity seeking areas at York University.”

Minoo Derayeh, PhD (she/her)
Associate Professor
Department of Equity Studies
YUFA Equity Officer
[email protected]