Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Recruitment

TMU’s commitment to EDI

TMU’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is found in several places including: 

• The TFA Collective Agreement, which stipulates that hiring/appointments committees are required to take into account the university’s strong commitment to fostering equity, diversity and inclusion within its community, in all aspects of the recruitment efforts including establishing equity goals for the search, developing a diversity outreach strategy and considering ways to remove barriers to candidates in the recruitment process. 

• The Truth and Reconciliation Community Consultation Summary Report which outlines six key initiatives TMU will undertake including, increasing the number of Indigenous faculty and academic staff, Indigenizing the curriculum and creating more pathways for Indigenous students to study at TMU. 
• The Anti-Black Campus Climate Review Report, which outlines several key recommendations including, increasing the number of Black faculty and academic staff, supporting the development of new and innovative curriculum in Black Studies and supporting the learning and success of Black students at TMU. 
• The Strategic Vision, in which equity, diversity and inclusion are among the core values seen as fundamental to the work at TMU and expected to be lived across all aspects of university life. 

Diverse identities, scholarship, knowledge, experience and perspectives among TMU’s faculty and academic staff are vital to enriching the learning experience of TMU’s diverse student body and to fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across all areas of the university.  

TMU recognizes six equity-deserving groups including women, racialized people (also referred to as visible or racial minorities), Black people, First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples (also referred to as Indigenous Peoples), persons with disabilities and 2SLGBTQ+people. These groups have been historically and persistently disadvantaged and underrepresented in the academy as a whole or in specific disciplines. In addition, being a member of more than one equity-deserving group may result in additional or different barriers that further limit opportunities. 

TMU needs to continue to build on the achievements made to date in recruiting and retaining faculty and academic staff who will bring diverse perspectives, experiences and approaches to enrich the ongoing work at the university. This will require ongoing intentional action to remove systemic barriers, mitigate unconscious biases, and attract and retain faculty and academic staff from equity-deserving groups. 

Committee obligations 

Compliance 

Hiring/appointments committees are required to ensure compliance with relevant laws and TMU policies. This includes: 

1. Ensuring that applicants are not discriminated against based on any of the prohibited grounds (external link)  under the Ontario Human Rights Code. This means that no information should be solicited on the above areas nor should unsolicited information be used to make a decision in the recruitment process. Further guidance on how to make hiring decisions that do not contravene the Code (external link)  is provided by the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
2. Ensuring that applicants are given the option to request accommodation during any stage of the recruitment process and that they are provided with appropriate accommodation. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (external link)  requires employers to make the hiring process accessible to all applicants and candidates with disabilities. Further guidance is also available in the Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities Procedure document and on the Accessibility website. 

Inclusive recruitment practices  

Hiring/appointments committees will be expected to provide detailed information in their hiring recommendation on how they embedded equity, diversity and inclusion into their recruitment process. This could include (but is not limited to): creating inclusive advertisements, engaging in broad advertising and outreach strategies, creating and utilizing inclusive rubrics, utilizing the Diversity Self-ID data that is available, and engaging in further learning about the barriers faced by members of equity-deserving groups and the recruitment strategies that can help to address those barriers.

Training and resources

Training 

All hiring/appointments committees are required under the TFA Collective Agreement to select or elect an equity advocate from among themselves. The equity advocate is responsible for attending mandatory training offered by the University, to guide the Committee’s process of decision-making and to collaborate with the chair of the committee on the hiring recommendation, particularly with respect to reporting on how equity, diversity and inclusion were embedded into the process. 

Training for equity advocates, which all members of hiring/appointments committees are strongly encouraged to attend, is posted on the Committee Training page. Additional tools and resources and recordings from past events (external link)  are also available to committee members. 

Diversity data

Through the Employee Diversity Self-ID launched in 2014 by the Office of the Vice-President, Equity & Community Inclusion (OVPECI), data has been collected and reported to identify progress in the representation of women, racialized people, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities and 2SLGBTQ+ people in faculty and academic staff positions at TMU.

The Diversity Data Centre offers university-wide and faculty-wide data on representation from the above noted equity groups recognized at TMU. In addition, department specific data is available upon request by contacting the Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs at vpfa@torontomu.ca. 

The recruitment portal also collects applicant diversity self-ID data, which is available to committee members for their particular searches. This information can be viewed in the portal and downloaded. Committee members are required to ensure that the information is kept confidential and used strictly for the purpose of completing the search process.