Dear York community,
Since its founding, Pride has been more than a celebration of sexual and gender diversity and of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. It is a call to advocacy and action to counteract interlocked forms of social injustice, the effects of stigma on physical and mental health, and the imposition of rigid norms on individuals’ identities and self-expression.
York answers this call by:
- enacting equity workplace policies and practices, this year earning recognition as one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers;
- supporting the learning of York students, faculty and staff, 700 of whom have received training regarding sex and gender discrimination by York’s Centre for Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion;
- generating research and resources regarding the complexity of gender and sexuality, such as Professor You-Ta Chuang’s research study to further understand the prevalence of workplace discrimination against LGBTQ2S+ employees in Canada and how they cope, and the 2SLGBTQ+ Poverty Project led by professor Nick Mulé;
- encouraging our community to take action by implementing the principles of York’s Decolonizing, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (DEDI) Strategy and by accessing the DEDI Toolkit; and
- collaborating with external community organizations on projects such as the Art Gallery of York University's BeadsAgainstFascism, a fundraiser for Maggie’s Toronto, a QT/BIPOC, 2SLGBTQIA+ led sex worker organization.
We invite you to visit the Pride website to learn more about how you can play a part in affirming 2SLGBTQIA+ rights at York and beyond. There, you will find the events calendar and opportunities to join us for events throughout Pride Month, including the flag unfurling on Tuesday, June 4 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the Vari Hall Rotunda.
Thank you. Merci. Miigwech.
Rhonda L. Lenton
President & Vice-Chancellor
Laina Y. Bay-Cheng
Interim Vice-President, Equity, People & Culture