The Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers (the College) is pleased to share some updates on the Equity and Inclusion Data Initiative.
What is the Equity and Inclusion Data Initiative?
The Equity and Inclusion Data Initiative is one way we are actioning our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. It is based on the fundamental principle that only what is measured can be truly understood and improved.
Through the collection of this data we aim to:
- Provide insight into the degree to which the diversity of the Ontario public is reflected in College registration.
- Highlight any disparities and systemic barriers which will support evidence-based decision-making.
- Understand what the demographics of Ontario social workers and social service workers looks like in terms of self-identified dimensions of diversity.
Contribute to the College’s inclusion journey
Registrants are invited to share demographic information on a voluntary basis when they renew their registration each year. We recognize that there is an inherent vulnerability that exists in sharing personal information. Participation is voluntary and valued.
New to the College? Previously participated? Haven’t yet participated? We sincerely hope that all registrants, no matter if they have participated in the past or not, choose to participate when they renew their registration for 2026 later this fall. We will only be able to use the data to address systemic barriers and inform equity initiatives to better serve the Ontario public if we have a statistically significant and robust data set.
Our commitment to registrants
The College remains committed to ensuring that this initiative is informed by the perspective of all registrants who bring different lenses and lived experiences. To this end, we reached out to registrants this past June to better understand perceptions of the initiative. We have incorporated key recommendations and improvements for the upcoming renewal period.
- We want to reassure registrants that data provided is stored in a secure system, kept confidential and not tied to a registrants’ profile.
- The data will be reported on only in the aggregate – we will never use or report the data in any way that could identify an individual registrant.
- Registrants can still complete the renewal process if they chose not to participate.
Register for an informational webinar
To learn more about the Equity and Inclusion Data Initiative, registrants are invited to attend a webinar on Thursday, October 30th from 12:30-1:30 p.m.
REGISTER NOW!
Veuillez noter que le webinaire se déroulera en anglais, mais un membre du personnel francophone sera disponible pour répondre aux questions en français.
For more information
Learn more about the initiative on our website or in this short video.
For questions about the webinar, contact communications@ocswssw.org. For questions about the Equity and Inclusion Data Initiative, contact inclusion@ocswssw.org.