Pretty much no matter how you define diversity, Toronto is one of the most diverse cities in the world. But look at its leadership. The only non-European to get close to general election as mayor is trailing in third place, subject to racist attacks in public forums.
We’ve got to do better than that.
Civic Action seems to agree. Since 2009, they’ve been running the Diverse City fellowship program to address this very issue.
“It is like a 12-month civic MBA,” says Civic Action’s spokeswoman Sarah Harris. “We run this program because we don’t think there is anything more important to the future of our city than preparing those who are going to lead it.”
Twenty-five new fellows have just been named for the coming year, making a total of more than 130 in this program's history, including people like Gabrielle Scrimshaw, who co-founded and is now president of the Aboriginal Professional Association of Canada, Brent Chamberlain, who went on to become head of diversity and inclusion at Bell, and Orlando Bowen, now executive director of One Voice, One Team.
“The program offers more than 100 hours of programming,” Harris says, “which includes sessions on leadership, diversity and city-building with experts and guest leaders. The program also offers institutional support to help the Fellows incubate projects that create positive change in our communities. Fellows get to expand their network by connecting and working with city-builders from public, private, and non-profit sectors and through their mentorship relationship with a senior leader.”
Fellows are chosen from a pool of more than 100 applicants annually, each with more than five years of leadership experience and, according to Harris, “a passion for city-building.” They are chosen with an eye to representing different industries and sectors, and include visible minorities, a gender balance, immigrants, LGBTQ, and people with disabilities, among other groups in the GTA.
The program is funded by the province, with in-kind contributions from The Canadian Club, the Canadian Urban Institute and the Centre for Social Innovation, among others.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Sarah Harris