SDG 10: Reduced inequality within and among countries
2025 SDG report
SDG 10: Reduced inequality within and among countries
Through the Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion (OVPECI), significant progress has been made to dismantle systemic barriers to support and empower all members of the TMU community. The mandate of OVPECI is to maintain a visible presence for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and Indigenous values and experience as integral components across all teaching, learning, research, service and administrative functions of the university.
Ranked 64th among universities worldwide on initiatives to reduce inequalities (2026 QS Sustainability Rankings)
48% of our students are from families in which no parent has completed a bachelor's degree or higher degree at university.
Our goals in action
Access to education can transform lives and communities. TMU is committed to providing access to education, particularly to those from marginalized, underrepresented and equity-deserving groups. TMU continues to create an environment that actively removes barriers to participation. We foster partnerships, programs and initiatives that make education more accessible to all students. This includes lifelong learning and expanding our individual and collective horizons through professional development and learning opportunities that meet students’ needs.
- Academic Accommodation Support (AAS) provides resources, education, training and services related to academic accommodation plans to ensure students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to access and participate in higher education. SHIFT is a two-part orientation for students with disabilities designed to support and simplify their transition to TMU by walking them through the essentials of navigating AAS. In 2025, AAS announced a $2 million gift from the RBC Foundation that will expand and elevate programming for students with disabilities, improving opportunities for access, inclusion and success.
- The Spanning the Gaps – Indigenous Foundations Program, in partnership with The G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, offers Indigenous TMU students a free, flexible and culturally grounded way to strengthen writing and critical thinking skills while preparing for post-secondary studies. Delivered online, the course includes Indigenous cultural teachings, articles by Indigenous authors and highlights an adaptable, relationship-based teaching style that respects students' cultural backgrounds, all within a trauma-informed learning environment.
- The Curriculum Development Fund is available to faculties and departments across TMU who are interested in developing and embedding Indigenous content within their curriculum. This work is intended to increase: Indigenous content, knowledges and experiences into curriculum; research that involves First Nations, Inuit and Métis faculty and students; research on Indigenous topics; awareness and understanding of Indigenous-settler relations among all Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, faculty and staff; course offerings that focus on Indigenous content; and professional development opportunities for faculty so that they can develop this content.
Led by intellectual curiosity and a desire for sustainable change, TMU researchers are creating evidence-based solutions for real-world transformation. Our faculty and students are willing to defy convention as they seek to make the world a better place for all. As a globally connected urban university, we believe that inclusive and collaborative approaches are essential to great research. To that end, TMU is committed to cooperation and partnerships with diverse communities, industry, stakeholders, and government. TMU researchers are building on the success of these partnerships as we continue to forge new ones.
- The Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration and Integration program produces innovative and usable knowledge on the links between migration and post-migration processes, forced and voluntary mobility, internal and international migration, and the role of countries of origin and transit.
- TMU has been accepted as a new member of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Disability Health Equity Network. Launched in June 2025, the WHO Disability Health Equity Network is a global effort to close avoidable health gaps between people with disabilities and the general population. It focuses on leadership by persons with disabilities, political prioritization, inclusive health systems and strengthening data. Led by Karen Soldatic, the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Health Equity and Community Wellbeing (CERC HECW) and professor in the School of Disability Studies at TMU, the membership makes TMU one of only three Canadian research organizations in the network.
- Led by Dr. Cheryl Thompson, ArchiveBlack (external link) combines archival research, digital mapping, storytelling, and public scholarship to transform how Black histories are found, understood, and shared. ArchiveBlack connects dispersed archival materials, people, places, and stories while creating new ways to research, interpret, and engage Black history.
A major strength of our university comes from the diversity in our TMU family, which reflects the very essence of the Greater Toronto Area, the diverse, multicultural community we call home. Additionally, we recognize the relationship between the social and physical environment and disability, focusing on solutions to remove barriers. All students, staff and faculty are respected and appreciated as valuable members of the TMU community, and a commitment to equity is embedded in our everyday thinking and actions.
- The Accommodation for Person with Disabilities Policy applies to any university employee with a disability, and to job applicants that may require accommodation during the selection process.
- Access TMU is a university-wide initiative with a goal of removing barriers to the full participation of all community members with disabilities.
- The Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Policy provides direction to the university community on human rights matters, including the prohibition of discrimination and harassment with respect to the university’s delivery of educational services to students, employment of faculty and staff, and the provision of housing to students on the basis of the protected grounds. The policy was updated in 2025 after extensive engagement with the TMU community. The revised policy strengthens protection against discrimination and harassment across all areas of university life. It also ensures clearer, more accessible procedures for addressing concerns.
A critical component of the student experience is the creation of accessible, inclusive and engaging learning environments for a diverse student population. This involves examining how learning occurs and using a range of teaching practices and spaces to engage students. Inspirational teaching, an empowered faculty and staff, diverse learning environments and global experiences are components of the very best student-centred experience. This experience is uniquely TMU, and it prepares graduates to thrive in the world beyond the university.
- Gdoo-maawnjidimi Mompii Indigenous Student Services offers culturally supportive programs and support that balance academic excellence with traditional teachings and culture, addressing barriers to post-secondary education for Indigenous students.
- The Presidential Implementation Committee to Confront Anti-Black Racism has made significant investments in events and initiatives that centre Black students and promote Black flourishing on campus. The Black Student Success and Engagement website provides Black students with easy access to vital information about programs, services and opportunities.
TMU is committed to the success of its community by creating a safe, secure, collegial, healthy, and inclusive environment that puts people first, is supportive of the whole person and enhances the development of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Well-being is fundamental to positive social and academic outcomes and healthy communities. It focuses on the strengths individuals bring to our community, honouring and learning from each person’s lived experiences. It involves creating welcoming, accessible and accommodating work, learning, and social environments.
- TMU’s community networks are made up of students, faculty and staff from across campus and provide representation of a diversity of perspectives and experiences. Members work together to foster community, create more inclusive spaces and address barriers on campus.
- The Advanced Digital and Professional Training (ADaPT) for Black Youth program supports Black youth in developing skills for success, including those to build digital and professional competencies and help secure work. The program is for Black youth aged 15 to 29 across Ontario. Program sessions provide training, work placement and employment support, and career advancement opportunities. The program also provides tailored training to prepare participants to work in certain industries, including information and communications technology.
- Psychology professor and director of the HIV Prevention Lab and HOPE Centre for Sexual and Gender Minority People Trevor Hart and his team of researchers identify risk and protective factors associated with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among sexual minority men (SMM). In February 2025 Hart conducted professional training at the AIDS Prevention and Control Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Hart delivered training to peer educators in Beijing, aimed at cultivating their skills to enhance mental health intervention capacities for SMM living with HIV.
- To commemorate National AccessAbility Week, the School of Medicine hosted a panel discussion called "Disability Justice, Leadership and Inclusion in a New Era of Medicine" in May 2025. The session spotlighted physicians with disabilities who are not only overcoming systemic and personal barriers, but also redefining leadership, advocacy, and inclusion across the medical career spectrum—from training to practice to policy.
