University of Toronto Mississauga
PA-5: Diversity and Equity Coordination

The Institutional Equity Office (IEO) works collaboratively across the University of Toronto’s three campuses to build capacity, support communities, and provide leadership in Indigenous, equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism efforts that lead to a greater sense of belonging for all community members. This Office endeavours to advance the University’s commitment to build communities in which human rights are respected and the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion are integrated into all areas of academic, work, and campus life. Under the direction of the Executive Director, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, the IEO supports and guides the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office (ARCDO), the Sexual & Gender Diversity Office (SGDO), and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Office and works in partnership with the Office of Indigenous Initiatives (OII).

1. The Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office (ARCDO) provides services to support University members in their efforts to foster environments that are intentionally racially diverse and inclusive through the advancement of equitable practices, education and training, and the provision of complaints resolution supports on matters of race, faith, and intersecting identities as guided by the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

A list of some of the workshops provided to students, staff, faculty/librarians in 2023 included:

- Disrupting Anti-Asian Racism: Tools for Change
- Understanding Anti-Brown Racism in Canada
- A Shape-Shifting Hatred: Understanding and Addressing Antisemitism
- More Than One Experience: Encountering Islamophobia
- Dismantling Anti-Black Racism in Post-Secondary Environments

List of training for staff & faculty in 2023:

- Understanding your responsibility to preventing racial discrimination & harassment in the work environment
- What is Harassment? Tools to identifying and addressing racial and sexual harassment in the work environment
- Addressing Racial Microaggressions: Tools, Strategies and Discussions

List of training for students in 2023:

- Understanding your responsibility to preventing racial discrimination & harassment in the work and learning environment(s)
- Addressing Racial Microaggressions: Tools, Strategies and Discussions

Source: https://antiracism.utoronto.ca/training-workshop/

2. Sexual and Gender Diversity Office (SGDO) is a tri campus resource that provides innovative education, programming, resources and advocacy on sexual and gender diversity for students, staff, and faculty. The SGDO is at the forefront of community and policy development on emerging and ongoing equity issues within higher education from the perspective of sexual and gender diversity.

The Sexual & Gender Diversity Office operates by:

- Centering principles of equity and intersectionality
- Facilitating supportive and inclusive communities within the university
- Engaging in ongoing learning, support and advocacy concerning sexual and gender diversity
- Connecting the University of Toronto with broader 2SLGBTQ+ communities
- Recognizing our histories and supporting a creative vision for the future

The Sexual & Gender Diversity Office offers educational opportunities for students, employees, librarians and faculty, customized to meet the needs of the group.

Training offered in 2023 included:

- Foundations of 2SLGBTQ+ Concepts and Identities
- Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Building a Gender-Inclusive University
- 2SLGBTQ+ Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace
- Continued Conversations about Gender and Trans-Inclusion

Source: https://sgdo.utoronto.ca/about/

3. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Office ensures that U of T is meeting the AODA standard obligations as legislated by the Province of Ontario and makes the University accessible for all staff, faculty, librarians and students. The Office delivers online and in-person training, as well as providing outreach and resources among other support services.

Source: https://people.utoronto.ca/inclusion/accessibility/

4. The Office of Indigenous Initiatives (OII) supports and guides the U of T community as it continues to work towards reconciliation. Efforts are directed towards listening, coordinating, advising, and collaborating with academic and non-academic communities in addressing the Calls to Action identified by the Steering Committee for the University of Toronto Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The Office intersects with areas such as teaching and learning, student experience, faculty and staff recruitment and engagement, and community-based research. The Office also conducts a regular environmental scan, produces a report to establish the impact and progress of Indigenous Initiatives on campus, and manages the activities of the Council of Indigenous Initiatives.

Source: https://indigenous.utoronto.ca/

The Institutional Equity Office (IEO) works in collaboration with the tri-campus community; however, each campus also has its own independent Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office.

The UTM Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office (UTM EDIO) is a campus service for all UTM community members (students, staff, faculty, and librarians). The office facilitates equity and human rights related programming, training, community engagement opportunities, and systemic change initiatives.

In cooperation with administrative, academic, and students as campus partners, the EDIO advances an equitable and inclusive campus community where all belong and can learn, work, and research in environments free from discrimination or harassment based on age, ancestry, citizenship, colour, creed, disability, ethnic origin, family status, gender expression, gender identity, marital status, place of origin, race, record of offences, sex and/or sexual orientation.

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Office:

- Facilitates equity and human rights related presentations and workshops;
- Organizes, and collaborates on, community engagement events and programs;
- Provides support and assists in resolving concerns and complaints relating to equity, discrimination, or harassment; and
- Consults and advises on equity-related policy matters and development of inclusion strategies.

The Institutional Equity Office offers an extensive range of trainings and workshops to students, academic staff and non-academic staff. A sample of these trainings and workshops is provided for the purposes of this report. A full list of trainings and workshops can be found here: https://people.utoronto.ca/events/edi-calendar/

1. AODA + Universal Design:

Digital Document Accessibility- This session focused on accessible content creation practices. Techniques for conceptualizing, creating and maintaining accessible documents was discussed and how to build these into department wide processes. A heavy emphasis was placed on why those techniques are important, and the ramifications of formatting decisions.

Language, Accessibility & Ableism- This session provided participants with a foundational knowledge on how communication and language can create barriers to accessibility, and how to address these barriers. Participants were (re-) introduced to AODA guidelines for accessible communication, language and terms that may be problematic, invited to consider how language changes over time, and to discuss how this knowledge might change interactions with all members of the University community moving forward.

Indigenous initiatives:

Speaking Our Truths: The Journey Towards Reconciliation Part 1- This workshop looked at the hidden history of Canada, a history that has been largely untold that examines the attitudes, legislation and policies of the Crown that erased Indigenous peoples’ history from Canadian landscape. They examined how powerful Indigenous nations, critical allies and trading partners were devalued and systematically stripped of their lands, resources and eventually their identities.

Speaking Our Truths: The Journey Towards Reconciliation Part 2 (Students)- In Part 2 this workshop examined how the past attitudes, policies and legislation has impacted the current situation of Indigenous peoples and how the current trajectory can be remedied. Indigenous peoples have displayed their resilience as will be shown by the many Indigenous success stories.

Reflecting on Indigenous Land Acknowledgements- Many Canadian Institutions, including the University of Toronto, do land acknowledgements before meetings, before convocations and at seminars and conferences, but why do we do them; what is their purpose and are they an effective tool of reconciliation and decolonization. The fear is that land acknowledgements have become largely performative and rote stripping them of their potential to bring about change. These are some of the questions and topics that were explored in this one and half hour session, Indigenous Land Acknowledgements.

Reconciliation: Walking the Path of Indigenous Allyship- What does it mean to be an ally to Indigenous peoples? And is it even possible to call yourself an ally or is more correct to say that one can only aspire to be an ally as allyship is a continuous process of self-reflexivity and learning and acting in a decolonial manner. These are some of the questions and issues that were explored in the hour and a half presentation, Reconciliation: Walking the Path of Indigenous Allyship.

2. Sexual and Gender Diversity:

Foundations of 2SLGBTQ+ Concepts and Identities- This foundational course provided participants with a framework for understanding core concepts and terminologies about sexual and gender diversity, including 2SLGBTQ+ identities. The session examined homophobia, transphobia, and other forms of oppression with an intersectional lens to understand how these concepts operate in our daily lives and work environments. Participants were offered strategies for challenging oppression and building more 2SLGBTQ+ inclusive campus communities.

Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Building a Gender-Inclusive University- This introductory workshop was intended for employees who want to learn about core concepts about gender, including gender identity, gender expression, and trans and nonbinary identities. The session also addressed relevant and current gender-inclusive policies and best practices for students and employees at the university. Participants had the opportunity to learn about pronouns, inclusive language strategies, and had opportunities to ask questions and engage in discussions about collectively building more equitable and gender-inclusive learning and working environments.

3. Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity:

Understanding your responsibility to preventing racial discrimination and harassment in the work environment (Students)

Learning Objectives:

• Provide an overview of the race-related Ontario Human Rights Code grounds and definitions of relevant key terms.
• Explore how racial discrimination and harassment manifest in the work environments.
• Share strategies and tools to effectively identify and respond to race-related conflicts in the workplace.
• Explain the role of the Antiracism and Cultural Diversity Office in the complaints resolution process at the University of Toronto.

ARCDO/SVPSC – What is Harassment? Tools to identifying and addressing racial and sexual harassment in the work environment

Learning Objectives:

• Provide an overview of key race-related and sexual harassment terms and definitions outlined within the Ontario Human Right Code.
• Identify manifestations of racial and sexual harassment and their impact on the individual and the work environment.
• Explain institutional processes and the role of the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity Office and the Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre in responding to instances of racial and sexual harassment.

Disrupting Anti-Asian Racism: Tools for Change

Facilitated by: Maria Lo, Training Coordinator, Hong Fook Mental Health Association

Learning Objectives:

Explore and discuss the historical and current-day realities of anti-Asian racism;
Deepen understanding of how anti-Asian racism interacts with other forms of discrimination;
Share strategies and resources to identify and address anti-Asian racism in working and learning environments.