Women as Senior Leaders: Progress or Decline in the GTA?

First of its Kind Report to be Released on March 8^th, International Women's Day

TORONTO, March 6, 2012 /CNW/ - Leaders from business, government, politics, education, law and the not-for-profit sectors will join researchers from Ryerson University's Diversity Institute and members of Equal Voice at an International Women's Day business breakfast briefing hosted by the Toronto Board of Trade. The Diversity Institute researchers will brief GTA leaders on their new research report, a first in a new series, which assesses and offers insights on where, how and why women in the GTA are making progress in leadership positions across a wide spectrum of sectors.

WHAT:

Launch of DiversityLeads* and breakfast briefing on the first findings from Women as Senior Leaders: Progress or Decline in the GTA a DiversityLeads* report. These findings will establish new benchmarking for the next five years and reveal:

• The progress of women overall in leadership positions in the GTA and comparison between sectors
• What kinds of organizations lead diversity efforts and which lag behind
• How visible minority women are faring in seven key sectors in the GTA
• Representation of women in elected positions in the GTA
• Evidence-based diversity strategies to help organizations move forward

WHO:

• Carol Wilding, President, Toronto Board of Trade
• Dr. Wendy Cukier, Founder/Director, Diversity Institute and VP, Research and Innovation at Ryerson University
• Jane Allen, Chief Diversity Officer, Deloitte
• Kristyn Wong-Tam, City of Toronto, Councillor, Ward 27
• Donna Dasko, Equal Voice, National Chair

GTA-Based corporate, government, and not-for-profit partner leaders will also be available to comment.

WHEN:	Thursday March 8, 2012, International Women's Day 8 A.M Breakfast. 8 30 A.M - 9:30 Briefing
WHERE:	Toronto Board of Trade 1 First Canadian Place (Entrance at 77 Adelaide St. W.)

*DiversityLeads is a five-year, $2.5 million Community University Research Alliance (CURA) project generously supported by Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Wendy Cukier, Founder of the Diversity Institute and Vice President, Research and Innovation at Ryerson University leads this alliance of 25 academic, private, public, non-profit, and government organizations that aims to: benchmark and assess diversity in leadership, explore barriers to diversity in leadership, examine leadership representation in media, and develop frameworks that allow an integrated approach across groups, sectors, and levels.

For further information:

MEDIA CONTACTS: Kathleen Powderley, Responsible Communications, 416-803-5597, [e-mail], or Claire M. Tallarico, 416-616-9940