In The News

A new report recognizes Toronto as the best city to be a woman in Ontario, and the sixth in Canada overall.

The report, entitled the Best and Worst Places to Be A Woman in Canada, was issued by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and provides an Index of Gender Equality in Canada’s Twenty Largest Metropolitan Areas. It takes "a closer look at how women are faring in their communities," the report says, focusing on the gap between men and women. 

Toronto's positioning as sixth overall shines both a positive and negative light on the discrepancies between women and men in Ontario's largest metropolitan area. 

Where we shine the brightest is in the realm of education. Both women and men were found equally likely to hold high school or university degrees. When it comes to the trades and apprenticeships, however, men outnumbered women two to one. 

When it comes to employment, our employment rates were consistent with national averages, at 66 per cent for men and 58 per cent for women. However, women's access to full-time employment was significantly lower than men's, and 44 per cent versus 58 per cent respectively. The report indicates that the wage gap is smaller than average, but still it women were found to earn 77 cents on the male dollar. 

And when it comes to women in leadership, there's nothing we didn't already know. Men outnumbered women, with three out of four positions held by men. We fare slightly better in municipal politics, with women representing one in three elected city councillors.  

Some good news for the city: Torontonians were found to have higher than average life expectancies regardless of sex, and men and women were equally likely to perceive their health as good or excellent. 

Read the full report here. 
Original Source: Policy Alternatives

In an article entitled When Did Toronto Get So Cool?, the BBC comes to a realization: Toronto is cool. 

"After all, the definitive, if circular logic of coolness is that cool things don’t need to convince anyone. They don’t even care. Because they’re cool.

"That’s why Toronto is cool: it has been for a long time, and since it doesn’t feel the need to advertise the fact, most of the world doesn’t even know. Canada in general is understated in this way; it’s not very Canadian to point out one’s own awesomeness. Toronto is so cool, it might not even know it is," the article says. 

Our coolness is realized by many factors. Reporter David G. Allan first started to notice it when he visited Monkey's Paw, one of Toronto's most unique bookstores, specializing in rare books. Then it was in the "Wes Anderson aesthetic" of the Drake. Furthermore in the "exceptional local [coffee] franchises."

"At the bright and airy Dark Horse Espresso Bars you’re as likely to find small groups playing cards as typing on laptops. Then there is Balzac’s, a small chain located in unique, at times historic, locations around town. The one I visited was housed inside a 1800s pump house in the Distillery District, where I sipped a bowl-sized café au lait from a balcony overlooking an enormous chandelier…My favourite coffeehouse was Kensington Market’s Café Panemar, with its retro-meets-industrial steampunk style, including track lighting of copper plumbing tubes."

The tubes fascinated the writer so much he makes a nod to Metropolis Living, the Junction-based furniture collective. 

The author's desire to visit Toronto was in part sparked by viewing Take This Waltz, the film by local native Sarah Polley. "…we kept asking ourselves, 'What city is that? It looks so cool. I want to go there!'" He romanticized the movie, and while staying at the Gladstone in West Queen West he "used the iPad supplied in [his] motorcycle-themed room" to look up the exact address. In true Toronto fashion, he walked there and could only think of one word to describe the experience: cool. 

Read the full story here. 
Original Source: BBC

"La ville a donné naissance à un nombre incroyable d’artistes," Paris-based newspaper Libération writes of Toronto, which translates to, "The city has given birth to an incredible number of artists."

It describes neighbourhoods—Kensington, Ossington, Parkdale, and Queen West—and how they are seducing young people.

"Avant que l’ouest de Queen Street West ne lui vole la vedette, Kensington Market était le quartier alternatif de Toronto," the newspaper goes on.

Yes, before Queen Street West stole the spotlight, Kensington Market was the alternative district of Toronto. The article likens Kensington and it's Carribean-style houses and Bahamas' inspired street names (Nassau) as distinct charms that beam like rays of sun. The writer is in the know of our locales, referring to Parkdale as P-dale and mentioning the area's growing number of cafes, vintage stores and restaurants, alongside wandering raccoons. The article praises the culture, the creativity of the neighbourhoods, and the sheer star power that has come out of the city. 

"C’est ce qui fait la force des Torontois, cette capacité à conjuguer les talent," the article says.

Or, roughly, "This is what makes Toronto strong, this ability to combine talents."

Read the full story here. 
Original Source: Libération

TEDxToronto has announced the theme of its 2014 conference: relentless pursuit, "of not just ideas worth spreading," which is TED's motto, "but ideas worth doing," a press release said. 

And, as of Monday, the organization is now seeking applications and nominations for its October 2nd conference at Koerner Hall at the Royal Conservatory of Music. 

TED, which stands for technology, entertainment and design, and its offshoot TEDx events have captured the imaginations of viewers and attendees for years. TEDx events are independently organized, with Toronto's annual TEDx conference being the largest in Canada. The conference is currently seeking speakers, performers, and technology demonstrations to take part in the event.

More diverse than one would think, TEDx events combine talks with innovative musical experiences, novel technologies, and imaginative presentations. This year's theme will likely be no exception. 

"We are driven by our pursuits," the press release states. "They are the ideas, goals and dreams in our lives that we commit to which are greater than ourselves, fuelled by a passion, dedication and the burning desire to achieve. Our relentless pursuits are what engage us and provide us with intense focus to improve the experience of tomorrow. They are the manifestation of our ideas in action and give us the uncompromising determination to venture into the unknown. Relentless pursuits feed our curiosity of the world, and present worthwhile challenges that bring meaning to our lives."

Applications are now open. They will close on June 30, 2014.

For those interested in applying, you can learn more here. 
Original Source: TEDxToronto

Economist magazine has named York University's Schulich School of Business one of the top 20 MBA programs in North America.

The school ranked the 15th top school in North America and the 22nd top school overall. The Economist reports that the size and history of American schools offer big advantages, but York managed to make the cut for its top rankings in the diversity of its recruiters (first), percentage increase on pre-MBA salaries (third), internationalism of alumni (fourth), and education experience (fifth), overall.

It also fared well in percentage of students who found jobs through careers services, faculty quality, and potential to network.

York was the only Canadian institution to make the list. 

Read the full report here.
Original Source: The Economist 

IBM has announced plans to open 18 new mobile application development studios internationally, including one here in Toronto. 

The company made the announcement at its Impact conference, which took place in Las Vegas last week. 

"The mobile lab will be part of the new Interactive Experience Lab for creating apps for the Web, kiosks and other multi-channel outlets in downtown Toronto and expected to open in a few months, said Warren Tomlin, IBM's North American labs leader. It will focus helping customers creating mobile applications based on industry-specific, pre-configured Ready Apps created by IBM," Computer Dealer News reports. 

The MobileFirst studios are designed, in part, to widen IBM's consumer base and attract new business—including startups—that are looking to move into or further develop their mobile platforms.

For IBM, one of the goals of launching the portfolio is to widen its customer base and to appeal to companies both large and small.

"We are transforming ourselves in the context of where the market is going," Nancy Pearson, vice-president of IBM’s cloud category marketing, is quoted as saying in the article. "It's the whole channel of IBM as a service."

Although IBM has announced the studio will open within the next few months, details on the location of the studio and the number of jobs this will create was not yet available.

To read the full article, click here. 
Original Source:  Computer Dealer News