SDG 5: Gender Equality
SDG 5: Gender Equality
TMU is committed to addressing issues surrounding gender equality and trans rights, and supporting and empowering women-identifying and 2SLGBTQ+ communities on campus. Our Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion (OVPECI) advocates for a community where the dignity of all members is respected and upheld. Our overall goal is to foster a human rights-centred campus culture and to meet the university’s values of equity, diversity and inclusion.
In 2022-23, 48% of TMU’s incoming female students were from families in which no parent has completed a bachelor's degree or higher degree at university.
Proportion of TMU graduates who are female (2023): 59%
Graduation rate for female students (2023): 80.7%
Our goals in action
TMU continues to create an environment that actively removes barriers to participation, and is committed to supporting and celebrating its women-identifying and 2SLGBTQ+ communities in attaining academic achievement on a safe and inclusive campus. We foster partnerships, programs and initiatives that provide professional development and learning opportunities dedicated to empowering women and diverse students, faculty and staff.
- Empowering Women in Academia @TMU is an initiative intended to encourage networking, cultivate pan-university cross-discipline collaboration through the sharing of ideas, and foster mentoring among women and diverse academic staff. The initiative includes events and presentations to engage women and diverse academic staff undertaking innovative, ground-breaking and equity-based initiatives in a variety of areas.
- The Chang School of Continuing Education offers a course series on Gender and Sexuality. Students explore critical and theoretical perspectives on gender and sexuality and choose from a variety of courses that deepen their understanding of the important interrelationships of gender, sexuality and society.
- The Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst offers training programs (external link) to support the development of women executive leaders in cybersecurity, and to offer hands-on experiential learning in cybersecurity to women and other populations underrepresented in the discipline.
- Offered through the School of Professional Communication, the Trans Studies and Communication course is a first-of-its-kind course that introduces students to trans issues through an intersectional approach to media analysis and gender studies. Students uncover how trans media production influences health communication and medical access narratives. Students analyze trans communication in the workplace, in visual culture, and in emerging media creation.
- Female students at TMU continue to excel. In 2023, the graduation rate for female students was 80.7% (up from 79.2% in 2022), with female students representing 59% of graduates. In the incoming class in 2022-23, there were 4,344 female students, 3,849 male students, and 68 with another gender identity.
Led by intellectual curiosity and a desire for sustainable change, TMU researchers are creating evidence-based solutions for real-world transformation. Our faculty and students are willing to defy convention as they seek to make the world a better place for all. As a globally connected urban university, we believe that inclusive and collaborative approaches are essential to great research. To that end, TMU is committed to cooperation and partnerships with diverse communities, industry, stakeholders and government. TMU researchers are building on the success of these partnerships as we continue to forge new ones in research areas related to the promotion of gender equality.
- The Gender, Sexuality and Health (GSH) Research Cluster in the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing explores gender and sexuality as they intersect with social determinants of health (such as race, ethnicity, age and class) throughout the lifespan. Research findings address key health challenges, inequities and inequalities between and among different subpopulations.
- TMU’s Centre for Sexual and Gender Minority People, known as HOPE (external link) , conducts community-engaged, interdisciplinary research to understand and promote the health of people who identify as members of a sexual or gender minority community. HOPE’s research studies the health of people who identify as gay, bisexual, lesbian, queer, pansexual, asexual and other sexual minority people; and the health of trans, genderqueer, non-binary and other gender minority people.
- The Diversity Institute at the Ted Rogers School of Management is working on The Allyship: Women in Venture Capital research project. The study is aimed at helping understand current levels of women’s representation in the venture capital industry in North America, barriers to improving women’s representation in the industry, and ways to improve women’s representation in the industry.
A major strength of our university comes from the diversity in our TMU family, which reflects the very essence of the Greater Toronto Area, the diverse, multicultural community we call home. Additionally, we recognize the issues surrounding gender equality and 2SLGBTQ+ rights, and we continue to focus on solutions to remove barriers. All students, staff and faculty are respected and appreciated as valuable members of the TMU community, and a commitment to equity is embedded in our everyday thinking and actions.
- TMU’s Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Policy prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity or marital/family status.
- TMU’s Pregnancy and Parental Leave Policy establishes protections and supports for employees who become parents of newborn or adopted children. The details of leave provisions vary by employee group.
A critical component of the student experience is the creation of accessible, inclusive and engaging learning environments for a diverse student population. This involves examining how learning occurs and using a range of teaching practices and spaces to engage students. Gender equality is a key part of TMU’s approach to the student experience, and we recognize that there are some subject areas in which women have traditionally been underrepresented. TMU and its faculties work to ensure that all students have the opportunity to thrive across all programs at the university.
- The Faculty of Science has several groups that seek to support female students in science disciplines including math, physics and computer science.
- The Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science’s Women in Engineering (external link) community is dedicated to providing education and outreach for young women who are considering a rewarding career in engineering, and to promoting a supportive and inclusive environment in which women can pursue their engineering studies and careers barrier-free.
- Through TMU’s Tri-Mentoring Program, students can find mentorship opportunities relevant to their equity-seeking groups, including Women in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) and Muslim women. Students gain a safe space in which to explore their identity, gain community and learn more about the resources available to them.
Toronto Metropolitan University is committed to supporting and celebrating its women-identifying population in attaining social, economic and academic achievement on a safe and inclusive campus. The university focuses on the strengths individuals bring to our community, honouring and learning from each person’s lived experiences. This includes creating welcoming, accessible and accommodating work, learning and social environments.
- Consent Comes First is a resource available to both students and staff who have been affected by sexual violence and assault of all forms to gain a deeper understanding of their bodies, health and sexuality by connecting them to external resources like legal support and internal resources like workplace consideration, academic consideration and even a safe space to share their experiences without judgement.
- The Positive Space Faculty & Staff Network is a volunteer-based group comprising employees of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions, committed to creating and maintaining a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment.
- In November, advocacy and educational events celebrate, honour and raise the visibility of the trans community during Trans Awareness Month.
- The Centre for Women and Trans People (external link) is a designated safe haven for self-identifying women and trans people to explore their gender and sexuality without prejudice. Some examples of steps taken by the university include the creation of Inclusive Signage and All Gender Washroom. As the definition of womanhood is ever dynamic, TMU embraces all people who identify as a woman.
