Addressing the disconnect between who lives in the city and who has power and influence
(Excerpt from July 2010 DiverseCity newsletter)
We live in one of the most diverse cities in the world. Almost half of our residents are visible minorities. And if we are to believe the projections of Statistics Canada, by 2031 this figure will rise to over 60 per cent.
This diversity is reflected almost everywhere – in schools, on campuses, in the TTC, in the shops and malls of Toronto. Yet the same cannot be said for places of privilege and power, in the leadership echelons of our city – on Bay Street, in Queen’s Park, or in board rooms.
The second DiverseCity Counts report, presented by Ryerson’s Diversity Institute on behalf of DiverseCity, points to the disconnect between who lives in the city and who has power and influence. Findings show that just 14 per cent of leaders in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are visible minorities (relative to 49.5 per cent of the population studied), up marginally from last year’s 13.5 per cent. While the leadership in some sectors reflects our population quite well – City of Toronto public agencies, for example, show that 33 per cent of those in the top jobs are visible minorities – the majority (56.6 per cent) across the public, nonprofit and corporate sectors have no visible minorities among their leadership ranks.
Why is this important? Because it presents a picture of power and influence that is more and more out of focus with the demographic reality in our city region. It limits our reach in innovation because it fails to tap into the breadth and scope of new ideas that are required today to solve new and complex problems. It robs our workplaces of fresh talent and it limits the scope and capacity of our public institutions to be responsive to a new public. It fails to put out role models to a growing youth population with significant consequences for their future aspirations. Most importantly, it tells us that our road to prosperity has met a roadblock which we must collectively overcome to meet our promise.
Diversity in leadership has benefits in the workplace, in the boardroom and in the broader society. It can play a key role in a country’s economic prosperity because when there is diversity around the decision-making table, the performance of organizations improves, innovation happens and new solutions are generated.
So, ultimately, we need to bring diversity to leadership not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it will contribute to our shared social and economic prosperity.
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