Zanana Akande

Zanana Akande has worked towards equity in our society by addressing education, communication and the media, feminism, race relations and social change. Born into a family of educators, civic engagement has always been part of the fibre of her personal and social landscape. Her teaching career with the Toronto District School Board was a vindication of sorts for her parents who were denied the right to hold teaching positions in Canada. Injustices such as this, served to embolden her commitment to fairness and equity as she went on to become a consultant, designing programs for students with special needs, an adjunct instructor of Special Education at universities, and an accomplished principal.

Zanana was elected to the Ontario Legislature in 1990 and was recognized as the first Black woman to be elected to the provincial parliament. In her appointment as Minister of Community and Social Services she became the first Black woman to hold a cabinet position in Canada. Her time in office was instrumental in shaping public policies fundamental to the lives of marginalized women. She led a meaningful social welfare reform which materialized in increases to social assistance rates and benefits supporting women in shelters. She understood the importance of food security when she approved precedent-setting governmental support for our food bank system. Her strong voice as a Cabinet Minister, as the parliamentary assistant to the Premier, and a determined member, contributed to the passing of Ontario’s first Employment Equity legislation – legislation that would institutionalize rights and break down barriers for all women and people of colour and the differently-abled in the workplace.

Zanana also co-founded Tiger Lily, the first magazine/journal in Ontario grounded in the voices and experiences of women of colour. This magazine proved to be a profoundly empowering forum for women within the racialized, immigrant and refugee communities – shedding light on a richness of women’s experiences that would otherwise have remained invisible.

A community advocate, Zanana has served on the boards of many organizations which focussed on advancing support, enrichment and education to those who required it. She has been the recipient of many awards recognizing her commitment to education and community. In 2018 Zanana was selected one of the Women of Distinction by the YWCA Toronto, and in that same year she was presented The Keys to the City of Toronto by Mayor John Tory for her work in equity and social justice. Until mid-April 2021, she served as the Chair of the Board of the Black Legal Action Centre.