Equity, diversity and inclusion

The University of Toronto believes its medical students should reflect the diversity of the city’s population.

To meet this vision, the university announced the Community of Support initiative in March 2017. Its aim is to increase the persistently low number of black students who apply to medical school and continue on to become doctors. Beginning this year, students applying to the university’s medical school for September 2018 will have the opportunity to disclose their racial background on their applications for recruitment officers’ consideration. This option was first offered to Indigenous students four years ago to increase diversity in the university’s medical school and better reflect Canada’s society. Since it was implemented, the University of Toronto has experienced increasingly positive results and higher numbers of applications each year.

Students applying must meet the same rigourous educational standards when it comes to grades, course requirements and MCAT admission scores to be accepted into the program, but this initiative works to alleviate some of the barriers that exist for black students when applying for and attending university.

Community of Support is only one of many upcoming efforts to promote equity, diversity and inclusion on the University of Toronto’s medical school campus. Other strategies include outreach to black high school and undergraduate students, mentorship programs and an overall shift in curriculum, which will include a focus on factors affecting black health and treatment.

With a vision to increase female participation in STEM-related disciplines, the University of Waterloo is doing more than just setting ambitious goals – they are surpassing them.

In May 2015, the university teamed up with the UN Women’s HeForShe campaign to participate in their IMPACT 10x10x10 – a framework dedicated to advancing gender equity and empowering women across the globe. In doing so, the university committed to boosting the number females in STEM – an area of academia that has traditionally been male-dominated – to 33 per cent; enhancing female faculty representation to 30 per cent; and increasing the number of female leaders in senior positions to 29 per cent.

In less than three years the university exceeded its goal and today women account for 35 per cent of STEM-related disciplines. The university is only one per cent away from achieving their second goal of increasing female faculty representation, and just 1.5 per cent shy of their third target.

By empowering women to pursue careers in STEM and advancing female representation in these disciplines, the University of Waterloo is paving the way for future female scientists, mathematicians and engineers, and fostering a university environment that values diversity and fights for equality.

Universities across Canada recognize the need for diverse perspectives, ideas and ways of knowing on campus in order to achieve inclusive excellence.

Concordia University – following similar moves at universities including UBC, Queen’s, McMaster and Waterloo – recently appointed its first Senior Lead of Equity and Diversity. The mandate of the Senior Lead will be to establish an equity and diversity plan for faculty, develop workshops and training sessions for administrators, and ensure that equity and diversity are strongly considered in all hiring and promotion processes.

Establishing these types of positions across Canada not only ensures that inclusion and equity are rooted in all aspects of university culture, but also paves the way for building a nation where diversity is celebrated and equity is deeply entrenched.

See more: Concordia welcomes its first senior lead of Equity and Diversity

As a result of a thriving partnership between the University of Prince Edward Island’s Faculty of Education and the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Education, UPEI recently launched “Education Leadership: Engaging Nunavut Parents, Elders, and Community” – the university’s first graduate course taught exclusively in the Inuktitut language.

With a focus on developing cooperative partnerships with leaders who guide education in Nunavut, the course is just one of five that make up the curriculum for the Certificate in Educational Leadership (Nunavut) at UPEI. Not only does the course actively seek to keep the Inuit language alive, it also prepares students with the culturally based knowledge, skills and abilities needed to be effective leaders in Nunavut.

By honouring Nunavut culture and incorporating traditional Inuit ways of knowing into its teaching methods, UPEI is demonstrating the benefits of cross-cultural learning, celebrating diversity and advancing reconciliation on their campus.

See more: UPEI offers first-ever graduate-level course taught in Inuktitut

Ryerson University is making its campus more equitable and inclusive, one residence at a time.

In August 2017, Ryerson announced that students would no longer need to disclose their gender when applying for on-campus housing. Instead, “all-gender” residences were established to accommodate the university’s diverse student body.  In the past, non-binary students were only given three options when applying to live in residence – male, female or “other” – which created a sense of alienation and division among those who did not wish to disclose their gender as either male or female.

Today, students can choose whether they wish to self-identify or not, and they have the option to request the style of residence that best suits their needs, whether it is a “same-gender” or an “all-genders” residence. This equitable approach to housing ensures that all students – regardless of gender – feel safe, accepted and supported on campus.

See more: Ryerson University’s All Gender Housing

Students today face a number of obstacles and stressors throughout their academic careers that can have negative impacts on their mental health, physical health and academic performance. But research has revealed that improving one’s mental wellbeing can improve academic performance, which is why Carleton University has established the From Intention to Action program – more commonly known on campus as FITA.

This program offers customized, one-on-one weekly counselling sessions with trained professionals to undergraduate and graduate students who struggle with mental illnesses and learning disabilities. This program ensures that all students have the right tools to achieve academic success and eliminates the stigma that is often associated with mental health and learning disabilities.

FITA has boosted graduation rates of students with disabilities by about 20 per cent, with similar results for students with mental illnesses, highlighting the immense impacts inclusive excellence can have on students, campuses and communities.

See more: Carleton University’s From Intention to Action program