To learn more visit www.diversecitytoronto.ca

Overview

DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership Project is the combined work of the Toronto City Summit Alliance and Maytree. This project was developed out of the Alliance’s 2007 Toronto Summit “Making Big Things Happen” which was attended by over 600 Toronto region leaders who called for a collective effort to diversify leadership to help the GTA better achieve, excel and prosper.

DiverseCity includes eight initiatives led by a steering committee of prominent individuals in the GTA who recognize the value and potential of diversity in leadership for the region’s social and economic prosperity. They have come together to support and develop solutions that will address the under-representation of ethnic and racial groups in leadership positions in the GTA.

The benefits of diversity in leadership are well documented in research, including work conducted by The Conference Board of Canada. These include: improved financial and organizational performance; linking domestic and global markets; recruiting from global and domestic labour pools; creativity and innovation.

The Eight Initiatives

The DiverseCity project is a group of initiatives that will address the under-representation of ethnic and racial groups in leadership positions and bring social and economic prosperity to the GTA.

This multi-faceted initiative will change the face of leadership in the GTA through eight practical and measurable programs including:

Initiatives to expand the region’s networks:

• DiverseCity Nexus which will bridge business and social connections between established and rising executives through an annual speaker series.
• DiverseCity Fellows which will equip 25 next generation civic leaders each year through a fellowship that combines leadership, diversity, exposure to top leaders.

Initiatives to strengthen the region’s institutions:

• DiverseCity onBoard which will strengthen public and voluntary institutions by matching their governance positions with highly qualified candidates from racially and ethnically diverse communities.
• DiverseCity in Civic Leadership which will broaden involvement in the political process by identifying, training and mentoring diverse leaders who will run for elected office and manage election campaigns.
• DiverseCity Voices which will enrich the quality of print, radio and television news by identifying and training diverse spokespeople across a variety of subject areas and connecting them with journalists.

Initiatives to advance the region’s knowledge:

• DiverseCity Advantage which will build and communicate the body of knowledge on the economic and social benefits of diversity in leadership.
• DiverseCity Perspectives which will create opportunities for dialogue and surface new ideas on the systemic conditions that encourage or discourage diversity in leadership.

An initiative to track the region’s progress:

• DiverseCity Counts which will produce an annual check-up on the extent to which leadership reflects our demographic realities.

For the purpose of this project, leaders are those who work or volunteer in positions that are symbolically important to a city or region in the GTA or influential in the community. These positions provide them with decision-making powers within their organization that affect people living in the GTA. Leaders may include: executives, political representatives, board members and senior public servants.

What’s Next

Over the next three years, the DiverseCity project will expand existing professional networks, strengthen public and private institutions, and advance community knowledge on the role of diversity in leadership.

Ultimately, by 2010, the DiverseCity Project will have changed the leadership landscape in the following ways:

• 300 senior level executives will have created new networks across ethnic and racial groups;
• 75 rising leaders will be equipped to collaborate across sectors to address pressing civic challenges;
• 1,000 leaders from under-represented ethnic and racial backgrounds will be appointed to 500 agencies boards and commissions;
• 90 diverse leaders will be ready to participate in political processes as candidates, campaign managers and in media relations; and
• 300 diverse leaders will be identified to speak to the media on a range of issues (not just diversity).

Each year, the DiverseCity Counts’ annual report will measure the GTA’s success in diversifying its leadership.