| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 60.05 |
| Liaison | Beverley Ayeni |
| Submission Date | Dec. 11, 2020 |
University of Toronto Mississauga
PA-5: Diversity and Equity Coordination
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.33 / 2.00 |
Does the institution have a diversity and equity committee, office, and/or officer tasked by the administration or governing body to advise on and implement policies, programs, and trainings related to diversity, equity, inclusion and human rights?:
Does the committee, office and/or officer focus on students, employees, or both?:
A brief description of the diversity and equity committee, office and/or officer, including purview and activities:
The University of Toronto Mississauga Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Office (EDIO) provides programs and services to students, staff, and faculty at UTM. In cooperation with its campus partners, the EDIO promotes an equitable and inclusive campus community, 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 EDIO:
Provides public education workshops and professional development seminars to build community awareness and create a more inclusive campus;
Organizes equity-related events, programs, and forums on topics important to the campus community;
Responds to concerns, resolves conflicts, and manages complaints of discrimination and harassment; and,
Consults and advises on policy matters.
Estimated proportion of students that has participated in cultural competence, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and/or social inclusion trainings and activities:
Estimated proportion of academic staff that has participated in cultural competence, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and/or social inclusion trainings and activities:
Estimated proportion of non-academic staff that has participated in cultural competence, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and/or social inclusion trainings and activities:
A brief description of the institution’s cultural competence, anti-oppression, anti-racism, and/or social inclusion trainings and activities:
The following workshops are available to students, faculty, and staff at UTM. UTM's EDI office also does tailor-designed sessions for various audiences, so there are different equity topics they can focus on specifically for UTM community members as requested.
Workshop titles from UTM EDIO
Introduction to Equity, Diversity & Inclusion at UTM
• In this workshop, expect to increase your understanding of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in relation to the personal, academic and professional self through group activities, self-reflection and engaging dialogue.
Going Deeper with EDI
• Participants can expect to go beyond the concepts of EDI as we look more closely at how our various social identities play a role in our daily interactions and how we navigate different spaces.
Microaggressions, Harassment & Intent vs Impact
• What is a microaggression? This workshop will answer this question and discuss the real-life implications for those engaging in microaggressions and those on the receiving end of a microaggression, grounding it in relevant legislation and U of T policies.
Looking at the Self - Privilege, Power & Prejudice
• In this informative and reflective workshop, we look at the 3 P’s - Privilege, Power and Prejudice. How do the 3 work together? What are its linkages to systems of oppressions? What does it have to do with the Self?
Identifying & Responding to Racism
• What does it mean to be racist? What does it mean to be anti-racist? This workshop will address these questions and discuss various ways of being an upstander in situations where racism is taking place.
Sexual violence education & prevention - this training is available to all students, staff, and faculty members at UTM. It is not required but it is strongly recommended for everyone to complete it. The training is designed to teach: how to recognize sexual violence, including sexual harassment; identify ways in which sexual violence affects members of the UTM community; understand the different between disclosing and reporting an incidence of sexual violence; respond supportively to a disclosure of sexual violence; and refer someone to the services of the university's Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre.
The following workshops are open to staff & faculty:
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act - Under the AODA, the University is required to provide training to all employees on accessibility as per the regulations under the Act.
This training is delivered through a 30-minute online module and is intended for all U of T employees, existing and new. This training covers all training requirements under the Customer Services Standards as well as those of the general requirements of the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation, which includes information on the Ontario Human Rights Code as it relates to disability.
Identifying and addressing attitudinal barriers to racial equity, diversity, and inclusion - This training is available to all UTM faculty and staff. In this session, participants:
Identify and discuss common myths that perpetuate racism and invalidate EDI commitments and initiatives
Explore how attitudinal barriers show up in work environments and impact multiracial teams
Identify the risks and organizational supports to challenging racism within their environments
Indigenous Cultural Competency training - Indigenous cultural competency refers to an effort to recognize, comprehend and appreciate the values, traditions and belief systems of Indigenous peoples that may be markedly different from ones’ own. Cultural competency requires the shifting of focus from the differences of Indigenous peoples, to how ones’ own beliefs, practices and histories have impacted the health and wellness, self-esteem, and the socio-economic wellbeing of Indigenous Peoples.
The importance of cultural competency is stated as a necessary measure in the government of Canada's Calls to Action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report. In response to this, the University of Toronto commissioned a report entitled; Answering the Call: Wecheehetowin Final Report of the Steering Committee for the University of Toronto Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, released by the Office of the Vice-President and Provost. The core message from the TRC is that reconciliation will not come about without acknowledging Canada’s past relationships with Indigenous Peoples.
To this end, the Office of Indigenous Initiatives has developed an Indigenous cultural module that explores the relationships that have developed between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples over the past 500 years.
Other available trainings include: Deep Diversity: Overcoming personal and systemic bias; Advancing Inclusion: addressing the impact of anti-Semitism on university campuses; Understanding your responsibility to preventing racial discrimination & harassment in the work environment; Understanding Islamophobia on campus: Anti-Islamophobia training for staff; What is harassment? Understanding tools to identifying & addressing racial & sexual harassment at work; and Anti-Black racism & tools for organizational change.
Website URL where information about the institution’s diversity and equity office or trainings is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.