Update
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)

Written by: Kristi, Trish, and Ivneet

As members of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee associated with the SLP program at UofT, we wanted to share an update about the work that we have been doing. Our members include current SLP students, alumni of the UofT SLP program and a faculty advisor.

The University of Toronto Speech-Language Pathology Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee is a subcommittee of the UofT SLP Alumni Association. We are a group of SLPs and former graduates of the UofT SLP program along with current student representatives and a faculty advisor.

Read more about us including the development of the UofT SLP EDI Committee in the 2021 Alumni Newsletter.

EDI Feedback Survey

A recent project for the UofT SLP EDI committee has been reviewing and updating an EDI feedback survey we developed in 2021 with the goal of distributing it to current students. The original survey results can be read in the 2022-2023 Alumni newsletter (On the left menu, under Previous Editions).

We hope to survey each class in the future to monitor EDI-related changes in the program and evaluate anonymous input from the student perspective. Past survey results were used to make suggestions to the department and set goals for our committee. Representatives were invited to return to the annual Faculty Retreat to hear about new EDI initiatives within the program. Kristi Kwan and Jaspal (Pauly) Brar collaborated with academic and clinical faculty to learn more about how each course within the MHSc curriculum is incorporating EDI principles.

2023 appears to have been marked by an increase in BIPOC guest lecturers, case studies with more diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and intentional discussions on implicit bias.

We hope to continue supporting the department in spearheading concrete action items in 2024!

Summer Mentorship Program

In July 2023, the University of Toronto’s Speech-Language Pathology department participated in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s Summer Mentorship Program (SMP), a four-week program designed to provide Black, Indigenous and low socioeconomic status high school students with the opportunity to explore post-secondary education options in healthcare fields.

With the help of many community SLPs, UofT staff and current SLP students, and the SLP department spent an afternoon introducing the profession to the students in fun and engaging ways. The students left with new-found knowledge about the field of SLP and demonstrated that knowledge in an exciting game of Kahoot!

EDI Committee Members