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SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

Dark red icon with graphic of growth chart to represent UNSDG Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.

With more than 6,000 employees, Dalhousie is one of Nova Scotia’s largest employers

We aspire to be an accessible destination employer, to prioritize wellness and respect, and continue to support and empower our people to achieve their career aspirations.


High-impact research

Banning non‑disclosure agreements isn’t enough to stop unethical workplace leader behaviour
Research in universities and businesses experiencing persistent sexual harassment shows non-disclosure agreements can have negative effects on workers and their organizations. Read about NDAs and unethical behaviour in Rowe School of Business News.

Child stars: The power and the price of cuteness
Jacqueline Warwick, Professor of Musicology explores the costs of stardom at a young age and says it’s important to confront the cost of child stars. Must real children do this work for us? Are there ways for children to experience the excitement of performing without the dangers of stardom? Read the Dal News story about child stars.

Working to benefit society
The Professional Motivations Research Lab (PMRL) takes an interdisciplinary perspective to understand reasons and contexts that best support professionals who strive to do work that benefits society. Our projects aim to gain a greater understanding of what factors influence professional motivation in various employment settings.

Building diverse, sustainable and responsible organizations
Researchers in the Responsible Organizations cluster in the Rowe School of Business look at perceptions, obstacles, company responses, best practices, etc. in order to build better organizations.

Exceptional student experience

International student researcher leads push for inclusive tech workplaces
Reihane Sobhaeerooy is conducting an in-depth analysis of Nova Scotia’s digital tech sector, aiming to make the industry more equitable, diverse, inclusive, and accessible. Read about the workplace analysis in Faculty of Management news.

Learn to make positive change through economic and social policies
Economics analyzes the equity, efficiency, and sustainability of human behavior in the production, distribution, and consumption of commodities and can lead to a variety of interesting career opportunities.

Economics, Work, and Development
Enhance your Sociology and Social Anthropology degree with a specialization in Economics, Work, and Development.

Networking Landed Me the Job
Morgan Leon is a co-op student double majoring in Biology and Sustainability who worked as a Research Assistant at UBC under the faculty of forestry. Read more on the Science, Information Technology, Engineering Co-operative Education site.

When it comes to student recruitment, we mean business
Management Career Services fosters professional growth by providing students with industry-specific knowledge, career development opportunities, and much more. We've partnered with Ten Thousand Coffees to launch the Dal Career Café: a digital networking platform designed to connect you with industry professionals.

Making it happen: Presenting Dalhousie's top co‑op students of the year
These Dalhousie co-op students didn’t let anything stand in the way of accomplishing their goals and sharing positivity throughout their work-integrated learning experiences. Read the Dal News story about the top co-op students.

Civic university with global impact

Talent Pathways opens doors to Dal
Talent Pathways, the university's internal temporary staffing program, is designed to assist with staffing needs while contributing towards Dalhousie’s commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility. The goal of the program is to reduce barriers to employment for job applicants who identify as members of equity-deserving groups. Talent Pathways provides equity-deserving, job-ready candidates an opportunity to gain valuable working experience, while developing skills and competencies that may assist in finding further employment at Dalhousie.

New Certificates Tailored for Learners’ Needs and Schedules
Designed for career-driven professionals juggling work and family needs, these certificates in Business Management, Human Resource Management and Human Resource Leadership respond to the needs of learners who want specialized training they can apply to their jobs right away.

Webinars for career development
The Faculty of Open Learning and Career Development offers a wide selection of FREE webinars featuring their instructors and experts. From How to Practice Allyship in the Workplace to How to Land a Job in Construction Management, the webinars are designed to answer questions and promote opportunity. Previously recorded webinars can be viewed on the OLCD webinar playlist on their YouTube channel.

Bigger and better: Dal's Business Networking Night draws record crowd
Management Career Services (MCS) hosted its annual Dal Business Networking Night last month, drawing a record number of students and employer partners for an evening of professional discovery. Read the Dal News story on business networking night.

Foundation for inclusion and distinction

Your Voice matters: Digging into the results from Dal's latest workplace survey
Dalhousie’s faculty and staff get a strong sense of achievement from their work however, they continue to experience challenges with workload. Those are just some of the highlights from the 2023 Your Voice workplace survey that are now available to the Dal community. Read the Dal News story about the most recent check-in on how employees, university-wide, are feeling about their work at the university.

Our faculty and staff are the source of our success and the key drivers of our vision, mission, and aspirations
Dalhousie's Strategic Plan (2021-2026), Third Century Promise, includes our faculty and staff as a key pillar of strategic intent. We are committed to investing in developing a more inclusive, and caring culture for all regardless of one’s background and circumstance, with an emphasis on wellness, accessibility, respect, and support for all members of our communities. Explore Dal's progress toward this goal

Dal spotlights progress on employee wellness in new report
Dal's Employee Wellness Day offers employees an opportunity to recommit with a full day of faculty- and staff-led wellness sessions. The day fits into Dal's overall workplace wellness strategy, Work Well: Creating Space for Well-being, which launched in fall 2021. It's one of a collection of wellness initiatives underway at Dal in support of the strategy and featured in the university's first Work Well CheckPoint released in January. Read the Dal News story the employee wellness strategy.

Dalhousie University does not tolerate forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking, and child labour
Our Sustainability Policy covers, in part (s.1.5.1 of Appendix A), how Dalhousie University evaluates certain criteria in purchasing, which includes economic, social and health considerations like prohibitions against use of force labour, child labour, etc. The Canadian Criminal Code also addresses human trafficking. Dalhousie University is committed to conducting its business in compliance with all applicable laws governing forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking, and child labour.