In this section, you will find resources including skills, techniques, strategies and practices other organizations in the sector (or similar sectors) have employed which hold promise in effecting measurable change with regards to embedding equity into the culture, practice and delivery of Developmental Services supports.
Research & Emerging Practices
Equity in Employment & LeadershipThis section includes research, reports, and case studies on equity in hiring, leadership representation, workplace diversity, and employment policies. It covers barriers to advancement, systemic discrimination in recruitment, and strategies for fostering inclusive leadership in various sectors.
- Audit of Employment Equity Representation in Recruitment (Gov. of Canada)
- A Study on the Black Executive Community in the Federal Public Service (Black Executive Network)
- Priorité Diversité – La Représentation de la Diversité dans les Postes de Direction (Diversity Institute)
- Diversity Leads – Diverse Representation in Leadership (Diversity Institute)
- Gender, Diversity and Discrimination in the Workplace (Diversity Institute)
- Moving Beyond Progress to Create Bold Change: Women in Corporate Canada (WXN)
- Using Data and Decent Work to Advance Equity Within the Non-Profit Sector (Ontario Non-Profit Network)
- CivicAction Report: Diversity in Non-Profit Leadership (Civic Action)
- 2024 Impact Report – Diversity Institute
- Black Nurses Task Force Report: Acknowledging, Addressing and Tackling Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination Within the Nursing Profession – Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario’s (RNAO)
- Imagine Canada Report: Diversity is Our Strength – Imagine Canada
- Industry Analysis & the Value of Black Music – Diversity Institute
- Islamophobia at Work: Challenges and Opportunities – Canadian Labour Congress
- Leading Our Future: Reimagining Leadership in Ontario’s Nonprofit Sector – Ontario Nonprofit Network
- Mentorship in the Workplace: Employee Participation and Perspectives – Diversity Institute
- Race and Gender in the Workplace: A Backgrounder – Woman ACT (Woman Abuse Council of Ontario) and Ontario Government
- Shifting Power Dynamics: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in the Non-profit Sector – Imagine Canada
- State of Black Economics Report (SOBER) 2025 – Diversity Institute
- Storying the Report: A River Journey into BIPOC Leadership Energies – Toronto Neighbourhood Centres
- Tangled in Red Tape: Ontario’s Employment Transformation is Leaving Too Many Job Seekers Behind – Community Living Ontario and ODEN
- Women in Ontario’s Labour Market – Financial Accountability Office of Ontario
- Women’s Voices – Stories About Working in Ontario’s Non-profit Sector – Ontario Non-profit Network (ONN)
Systemic Racism & Anti-OppressionThis section contains studies and analyses on systemic racism, anti-Black racism, colonialism, and other forms of oppression. It focuses on frameworks, policies, and organizational strategies aimed at dismantling inequitable systems and addressing racial discrimination in Canada.
- Driving Accountability on the Call to Action on Anti-Racism (Gov. of Canada)
- Systemic Anti-Black Racism by the Numbers (Turner Consulting Group)
- The Impact of Racial Microaggressions on Black Youth in Peel (Peel ABR Project)
- Confronting Anti-Black Racism Resources (City of Toronto)
- The Pervasive Reality of Anti-Black Racism in Canada (Boston Consulting Group)
- White Supremacy Culture in Organizations (Centre for Community Organizations)
- Understanding the Experiences of African Asylum Seekers in Peel, York Region, and Toronto – United Way Greater Toronto (July 16, 2025)
- Back 2 Our Roots – The Enchanté Network
- Dreams Delayed: Addressing Systemic Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Ontario’s Public Education System – Ontario’s Human Rights Commission
- The path forward to advancing economic equity for Black Canadians – Diversity Institute
- Yaqueen Institute – Yaqueen Institute
- Demographic Analysis of the Black Population in the Region of Peel – Feb. 2023 – Peel Anti-Racism Project, Family Services of Peel, and Peel Institute of Research and Training
- Everyday Racism: Experiences of Discrimination in Toronto – Toronto Social Capital Study
Health, Mental Health & Well-beingThis category includes research on health disparities, mental health, well-being, and the impact of social determinants on marginalized communities. Topics range from workplace health equity to the mental health needs of racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+, and disabled communities.
- A Generation at Risk: The State of Youth Mental Health in Canada (Mental Health Research Canada)
- Suicidality Among Sexual Minority and Transgender Adolescents (CMAJ)
- Predictors of Self-Harm and Suicide in LGBT Youth (Oxford Academic)
- Mental Health Playbook for Business Leaders (CAMH)
- The Importance of Feeling Safe (Dialogue – CPSO)
- COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy: The Five Cs (Royal Society of Medicine)
- World report on social determinants of health equity – World Health Organization (July 14, 2025)
- Advancing Urban Health – Wellesley Institute
- Feminist Scorecard 2023 – Oxfam
- Forming the Circle: 2023 Gathering on Indigeneity, Neurodevelopmental Disabilities & Mental Health – Brock University
- Health Care Access Research and Developmental Disabilities (H-CARDD) – CAMH
- Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities: Guide for Action – World Health Organization
- Navigating Digital Harms: An Investigation of Transphobic Online Hate Against 2SLGBTQIA+ Organizations – ODLAN
- Organizational Culture, Diversity, and Employees’ Health in Social/Human Services: A Systematic Review – International Health Trends and Perspectives
- Unlocking Solutions: Understanding and Addressing Ontario’s Mental Health and Additions Supportive Housing Needs – Addictions & Mental Health Ontario
- Including Every Child, Benefitting All: Disability-Inclusive Education (House of Commons)
- Centre of Expertise for Standards and Research on Accessibility (Accessibility Standards Canada)
- Equity Benchmarking Project (Imagine Canada)
- Social Assistance Summaries – Canada (Maytree)
- What’s at Stake: A Scan of Federal Government Action on Gender Equality in Canada 2015‑2025 – Canadian Women’s Foundation (May 21, 2025)
- Still Tangled in Red Tape: A 2025 Review of the Impact of Ontario’s Employment Services Transformation on Disability-Focused Service Providers and Job Seekers with Disabilities – Community Living Ontario and ODEN (July 18, 2025)
- Crisis in the Classroom: Exclusion, Seclusion, and Restraint of Students with Disabilities in Ontario Schools – Community Living Ontario
- Fostering a Human Rights Culture in Ontario – OHRC Annual Report 2023-24 – Ontario Human Rights Commission
- Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub – Statistics Canada
- Intergenerational Mobility in Canada – 2024 Update – Diversity Institute
- Invisible Three Percent – Dialogue – College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
- Literature Review of EDI Toolkit – Race & Disability Canada
- OHRC Poverty POV: What We Are Hearing – Ontario Human Rights Commission
- Promoting and Encouraging Intergenerational Volunteerism – House of Commons – Report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities
- Toronto Social Capital Study 2022 – Toronto Foundation
- United Way Greater Toronto – Research and Reports – United Way Greater Toronto
- In Search of Political Will: Strengthening Canada’s Mechanisms for the Domestic Implementation of International Human Rights Commitments – Maytree
- Global Disability Inclusion Report: Accelerating Disability Inclusion in a Changing and Diverse World – Global Disability Summit
- Welfare in Canada, 2024 – Maytree (July 17, 2025)
Emerging Issues & Future TrendsThis category highlights forward-looking research on evolving equity challenges and opportunities. It includes technological shifts, digital accessibility, artificial intelligence, economic changes, and other emerging trends that influence equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts in Canada.
- Artificial Intelligence at Work: The Future of Work (Diversity Institute)
- The Internet Isn’t All Rainbows: Online Queerphobic Hate (ODLAN)
- State of Global Workplace 2023 (Gallup)
- Welfare in Canada, 2023 (Maytree)
- Welfare in Canada, 2024 – Maytree (July 17, 2025)
- Anti-Gender Movements and Threats to Feminist Progress (July 18, 2025)
- Reporting Anti-2SLGBTQIA+ Online Hate: A Feasibility Study – ODLAN
- Seniors’ Poverty in Canada: Why it exists and why it doesn’t have to? – Maytree