The way companies think about inclusion needs to change, according to a local advocate.

Last week the Newfoundland leg of the Atlantic Immigration Summit took place in St. John’s, focusing on innovative solutions to support the immigration system and improve both the economy and the communities around us.

The theme this year was the Power of Inclusion. But one of the speakers, Prajwala Dixit, says as it stands inclusion programs aren’t working.

She says how we approach inclusion is currently based on a process of dividing people into who is included and who isn’t, and relies entirely on everyone giving power over to the person deciding those things.

She says current inclusion programs often result in tokenism, and what’s more, they don’t seem to be accomplishing their goals.

Dixit says inclusion programs are an $8-billion industry in the US and even in 2019 the country is engaged in the same conversations about race, gender and sexuality it’s been having for decades.