September 25, 2009. Unionville, Ontario. Local community, business and government leaders gathered today at the Varley Art Gallery of Markham in support of a GTA-wide movement to make the region’s leadership landscape more diverse.
DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership Project is working to accelerate regional prosperity by changing the face of leadership. Recent research showed that a meager 13% of those heading up GTA organizations and institutions are visible minorities versus 49.5% of the population under study. According to the Conference Board of Canada, diverse leadership leads to better financial performance and social cohesion, among other benefits.
“Engaging diversity at all levels is a huge opportunity,” says United Way of York Region CEO Daniele Zanotti. “This is especially true in York Region, one of the GTA’s most diverse areas.”
Guests at the event were invited to sign up as partners in the initiative. Since DiverseCity was launched in November 2008, more than 120 organizations have become partners, champions committed to supporting the project’s objective of capitalizing on the benefits of increased leadership diversity.
“Together, we can build a stronger Ontario by embracing diversity and realizing the skills and talents of all Ontarians,” says Michael Chan, Ontario Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. “With its large multi-cultural population, York Region has the potential to be a leader in diversity.”
DiverseCity is a program of Maytree and the Toronto City Summit Alliance with funding support from the Government of Ontario and corporate supporters. For more information, and to become a partner, go to: www.diversecitytoronto.ca.
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ABOUT MAYTREE: Established in 1982, Maytree is a private foundation that promotes equity and prosperity through its policy insights, grants and programs. The foundation has gained international recognition for its expertise in developing, testing and implementing programs and policy solutions related to immigration, integration and diversity. www.maytree.com.
ABOUT THE TORONTO CITY SUMMIT ALLIANCE: The Toronto City Summit Alliance is a multi-sectoral coalition of civic leaders who develop and support initiatives addressing issues critical to the future health and wealth of the Toronto region. Since its inception in 2002, over 6,000 volunteers have been involved in TCSA initiatives aimed at, among other things, better integrating skilled immigrants (Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, with Maytree), attracting research and investment (the Toronto Region Research Alliance), and realizing a regional environmental vision (Greening Greater Toronto). www.torontoalliance.ca.
Media contact:
Markus Stadelmann-Elder, Communications Manager, Maytree
p: 416-944-2627 x 284; c: 416-271-5654; e: mselder@maytree.com
