University of Toronto Mississauga
EN-9: Staff Professional Development and Training

The University offers professional development courses to faculty and staff, related to the UN SDGs, to increase their understanding of their roles/responsibilities and to provide strategies to advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion at U of T. It is well known that themes of climate justice, social equity, diversity, and inclusion are dominant themes in sustainability. Moreover, It is important for staff understand these concepts and have an interdisciplinary understanding of sustainability.

Trainings offered and participated in at UTM for the period in review are listed below. These trainings are in the areas of Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity, Accessibility and Wellness:

• Accessibility and Procurement
• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Training
• Accessible Social Media
• Adapting to Change
• Addressing Racial Microaggressions: Tools, Strategies and Discussions
• Beyond the Buzzwords: Understanding Islamophobia
• Bias, Prejudice, Stereotype & Discrimination
• Bias is part of the human condition
• If biases are unconscious, how do we know they exist?
• Biases based on common stereotypes may have significant negative effects
• Gender Bias in the Assessment of Excellence
• Anti-Black Bias in the Assessment of Performance
• Gender Bias in the Assessment of Leadership
• Gender bias in Letters of Recommendation
• Cultivating Cultural Competence and Inclusion-LNKL
• Digital Document and Web Accessibility Fundamentals
• Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Module for Staff
• Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Building a Gender-Inclusive University
• Navigating Conflict
• Reconciliation: Walking the Path of Indigenous Allyship
• Reflecting on Indigenous Land Acknowledgements
• Sexual Violence & Education Prevention Module
• Speaking Our Truths: The Journey Towards Reconciliation - Part 2
• Skills for Responding to Disclosures of Sexual Violence: Using a Trauma Informed Approach
• Unconscious Bias Education
• Unconscious Bias Introduction
• Understanding and Addressing Antisemitism
• Understanding your responsibility to preventing racial discrimination & harassment in the work environment
• Understanding, Preparing, and Responding to Change
• Web Content Accessibility Crash Course
• Women & The Future of Work
• Work Life Balance

UTM supported two staff from the Sustainability Office to attend the AASHE 2023 conference in-person, and three staff who attended the conference online in 2022.

Additionally, one staff member attended the Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit in February of 2023.

Information on the Anti-Racism & Cultural Diversity training and workshops can be found here: https://antiracism.utoronto.ca/training-workshop/