The importance of DEI and Inclusive Hiring in Product Management
We are officially part of Toronto Tech Week 2025, a weeklong citywide collection of events to connect and celebrate the builders. June 23 → June 27, 2025 | torontotechweek.com.
Directions:
Take the Odd Floor Elevators at the associated Elevator Bank on the Concourse Level of First Canadian Place to the 47th floor. Go to the Vision Talent offices once you reach the 47th floor.
APM Canada, the non-profit vocational program for entry-level product managers, along with Withe and Vision Talent, are bringing you a timely panel discussion on the need to continue to highlight Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Product Management field. The anti-DEI rhetoric and troubling pullback of investment for marginalized groups in technology does not bode well for the future of innovation, which requires diverging perspectives. Product managers are key players in the tech ecosystem and the field continues to be deeply underrepresented with certain groups. Getting diverse candidates in the hiring pipeline and continuing to invest in these efforts is key. Fortunately, there are many technology and product leaders who remain committed to this mission.
The panel will feature current Senior Product Leaders AND Community Leaders who run organizations that support marginalized people in technology discussing best practices, tips and ways to better support inclusive hiring practices for product managers into the future.
Panelists:
Rahim Daya, he/him - VP of Product @ EQ Bank
Jocelyne Beaulieu, she/her - Head of People and Operations @ Koru
Naoufel Testaouni, he/they - CEO & Co-Founder @ QueerTech
Nouhaila Chelkhaoui, she/her - Founder & CEO @ Scale Without Borders
Moderated by Seema Lakhani, she/her - Founding Board Member @ APM Canada, Former Chief Product Officer @ Wattpad
Agenda:
3:30pm - 4:00pm: Arrival & Check In
4:00pm - 5:00pm: Kick Off & Panel Discussion
5:00pm - 5:30pm: Networking
This event aims to:
- Empower and celebrate the diversity of our technology and product scene in Canada that has played a major role in the growth of the industry.
- Highlight the importance of the continued work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Product as we have a long way to go to fully realizing the benefits.
- Provide practical advice on how to address inclusion issues within Product Management.
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APM Canada is a non-profit organization committed to improving the diversity of product managers in Canada to better reflect a global customer base and more inclusive world, through a vocational training model where actively working junior product managers learn on-the-job skills and wisdom from experienced product leaders.