EDI Resources & Reports

Professor Maydianne Andrade
University Professor Maydianne Andrade, Co-Chair, Toronto Initiative for Diversity and Excellence (TIDE). Photo by Ken Jones.

Advancing Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)

Updated: September 23, 2024

“Unconscious bias” (also referred to as “implicit bias”) in academic human resources refers to the influence of implicit or unconscious assumptions in the assessment of candidates and faculty. For some groups (e.g., faculty who self-identify as Black, Indigenous/Aboriginal People of North America, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, or persons with disabilities, as well as their intersecting identities), systemic or recurring bias contributes to lack of representation, advancement opportunities, and support across all stages of the academic life cycle. Faculty members and committees tasked with making decisions about academic careers or activities can undertake unconscious bias education to more effectively (1) identify, and (2) mitigate instances of unconscious bias in themselves, in others, and in the policies, practices and procedures of their unit.

Please check back at a later date.

Bias in the Context of Academic Reviews

The Bias in the Context of Academic Reviews workshop was organized by the Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty & Academic Life and delivered by the Toronto Initiative for Diversity & Excellence (TIDE) co-Chairs Professors Maydianne Andrade and Bryan Gaensler in fall 2022. This workshop was intended for Provostial, SGS, and Decanal assessors; members of any committee that involves peer assessment (e.g., search, PTR, tenure, continuing status); as well as Deans, Principals, Chairs and Directors.

The goals were to:

  • offer the tools to identify bias
  • introduce practical strategies to interrupt bias in the moment
  • discuss what a unit might consider/discuss/put in place to help mitigate bias in academic review processes and assessments

A recording of the workshop is available to faculty members. Please write to vpfal.prof.dev@utoronto.ca if you would to access the full transcript of the session.

Inclusive Practices in Recruitment Workshop

The Inclusive Practices in Recruitment workshop was organized by the Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty & Academic Life and delivered by the Toronto Initiative for Diversity & Excellence (TIDE) co-Chairs Professors Maydianne Andrade and Bryan Gaensler in fall 2020. This workshop was intended for academic leaders, assessors, faculty engaged in academic HR processes (hiring, tenure/continuing status review, promotion), and any faculty interested in learning more about this important topic.

The purpose of this workshop was to:

  • offer best practices/suggestions on how to advance equity and inclusion in hiring
  • provide an overview of how bias can affect decision-making
  • suggest strategies for reducing the effect of bias on structural and personal practices

A recording and full transcript of the workshop is available to faculty members.

The Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty & Academic Life recommends that all search, tenure review, continuing status review, and promotion committee members, faculty members on Progress Through the Ranks (PTR) committees, and assessors watch the recording of the Bias in the Context of Academic Reviews workshop. We recommend that Search Committee members should additionally watch the Inclusive Practices in Recruitment workshop at the outset of their work.

Contact tide@utoronto.ca if you require assistance accessing the recordings/transcripts.

The Unconscious Bias Training Modules were created at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) by University Professor Maydianne Andrade (Department of Biological Sciences) with input from members of the Toronto Initiative for Diversity & Excellence. It is intended for faculty and staff and provides an academic approach to understanding Unconscious Bias.

Its goals are to:

  • offer an introduction to how Unconscious Biases may manifest any time we assess other people’s performance, potential, or value to the organization (Module 1: What is Unconscious Bias)?
  • demonstrate how unconscious bias can lead to unfair assessment in contexts relevant to our work at the University (Module 2: Effects of Unconscious Bias on Assessment)
  • provide suggestions on personal approaches to mitigate bias, with a particular focus on committee dynamics and challenges with equitable assessment. (Module 3: Interrupting Bias)
  • offer ideas for making change at the unit level (Module 4: Inclusive Academic Cultures: Ideas for Making Change

The Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty & Academic Life recommends that all search, tenure review, continuing status review, and promotion committee members, faculty on Progress Through the Ranks (PTR) committees, and assessors review these modules at the outset of their work. Faculty and staff can access all four Unconscious Bias Modules on SuccessFactors. University students, partners, community members and collaborators who do not have access to SuccessFactors may access the modules through the Toronto Initiative for Diversity & Excellence (TIDE) website.

Contact tide@utoronto.ca if you require assistance.

Strategies for Recruiting an Excellent & Diverse Faculty Complement

Strategies for Recruiting an Excellent & Diverse Faculty Complement is a resource created by the Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty & Academic Life with input from the Toronto Initiative for Diversity & Excellence (TIDE). It is intended to provide all faculty members serving on hiring committees with concrete approaches to broadening candidate pools and supporting diversity at each stage of the recruitment and search process for academic positions.

The Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty & Academic Life recommends that all faculty on search committees review this resource at the outset of their work.

Through the University of Toronto’s institutional membership with the NCFDD, all faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows have free access to professional development, training, and a mentoring community designed to help academics to increase research and writing productivity and improve work-life balance. These resources will be of particular relevance to current tenure and teaching stream faculty members.

NCFDD membership offers relevant professional development training, reliable support from highly trained and successful mentors, a confidential “safe space” for problem solving, and a downloadable virtual format so members can learn at their convenience.

How to activate sub-account membership:

  1. Visit https://www.ncfdd.org/institutions/utoronto.
  2. Create a username and complete the registration process using your U of T-issued email address.
  3. You’ll receive a welcome email confirming that your account is active and that you can access NCFDD resources.

Contact vpfal.prof.dev@utoronto.ca for questions/more information.

Information about Provostial Funding for the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity’s Faculty Success Program & Post-Tenure Pathfinders Program, 2024-25 

The Toronto Initiative for Diversity and Excellence (TIDE) is a grassroots service group consisting of University of Toronto (U of T) faculty members from across disciplines, with a focus on advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion at U of T. TIDE provides free evidence-based workshops, education, and resources covering unconscious bias, racism, sexism, and other barriers to inclusion and belonging at U of T, along with recommendations on practical actions that aim to mitigate and overcome these barriers. TIDE’s services cover all aspects of departmental culture and the academic career arc, plus confidential counsel to academic leaders, staff units, and administrators.

Supports for some TIDE activities are provided by the Office of the Vice President & Provost and the Vice Principal Academic and Dean, University of Toronto Scarborough because of the important service provided to the University community by TIDE.

To learn more, or to book a workshop please visit the TIDE website. Questions can be directed to: tide@utoronto.ca.

The Provost recognizes that Black and Indigenous faculty are the most underrepresented groups across the University. Through a University Fund initiative — the Diversity in Academic Hiring Fund — the Provost provides funding to base for Black and Indigenous faculty hires. Contact your Dean’s Office for more information.

Reports & Data

Updated: May 31, 2023

Tableau dashboards have been developed to provide specific users with access to faculty data. Please see the Faculty Counts & Data Dashboards Overview web page for access and more information.

Joint Statement by UTFA and the University Administration, November 28, 2019

The University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) and the University Administration share a strong commitment to identifying and addressing gender-based salary equity issues for faculty and librarians at the University of Toronto. To that end, the Administration and UTFA agreed to examine the possibility of gender-based discrepancies in pay for librarians and each conducted a separate analysis of the issue. The Provost’s Office, in close consultation with the Chief Librarian’s Office, issued a Report on Librarians and Gender-Based Salary Equity.

Consistent with our shared commitment, we agree that it is important that the gender-based salary gap identified in the Report be addressed in a timely way and that all women librarians receive a 3.9% increase to their July 2, 2019 base salary. In addition, UTFA and the University Administration have agreed to establish a joint working group to explore issues that may affect the compensation of librarians who are members of equity seeking groups, including those who identify as women, Indigenous, racialized, LGBTQ2, non-binary and persons with disabilities.