The Equity [r]Evolution in Photos

Igniting a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion

With the mission to revolutionize healthcare for a healthier and more equitable world, equity is a core tenet of Women’s College Hospital (WCH). With the committed leadership across the organization, along with a newly established Office of Equity, WCH has made strides towards building a strong and bold culture of diversity, equity and inclusion for employees, physicians, learners, volunteers, community and patients over the past year.

Since the formation of the Office of Equity in 2022, there has been a marked increase and alignment of equity-based initiatives throughout the hospital – from the establishment of the hospital’s first Employee Resource Group to a transparent update on WCH’s journey to dismantle anti-Black racism and the creation of an Equity Roadmap guiding the way into 2024.

The Equity [r]Evolution is a collective journey that has only been made possible because of the culture of caring, collaboration and commitment to listen and foster safe spaces across #TeamWCH. In this photo essay, we share impactful initiatives and powerful testimonials about the equity impacts that WCH has achieved.

Office of Equity

“With structural changes and the establishment of the Office of Equity, people can see that we as an organization care, and we are doing something to uncover and address issues of health inequity.”

– Suzanne Charles Watson, Director of Anti-racism, Equity and Social Accountability

Centre for Wise Practices in Indigenous Health

“We have an Anishinaabe name for our Centre for Wise Practices – Ganawishkadawe. The name translates in English to The Heart of the Fire. We all tend to the heart of the fire. That’s the essence of the Centre because we are bringing spirit back into health care.”

– Kawennanoron Cindy White, Elder-in-Residence and Traditional Healer

Black History and Futures Month

“Making Black History and Futures Month more inclusive and bigger than ever was a huge priority for us. It’s a measure of our progress and success as committees when we can celebrate Black people with all our hospital’s executives supporting. It sends a clear message to the community that we, as a hospital, are the vanguard of change.”

– Allan Smart, Addiction Outreach Worker and member of the Corporate Equity Committee

Jewish Heritage Month

“The Jewish community has a longstanding history of advocacy for health equity and access to culturally safe care, partially born out of the response to the discrimination experienced by Jewish immigrants both as patients and providers. Here at Women’s, we are proud to have an incredible community of Jewish staff, physicians and learners who have continued to build on this legacy of breaking down barriers to inclusive care.”

– Heather McPherson, President and CEO

International Women’s Day

“My vision for a gender equal future is a world where everyone is safe and valued regardless of their gender or self-expression.”

– WCH Team Member

2SLGBTQ+ Pride

“For trans people, not everyone gets surgery... but for those who decide to, it's a life-saving treatment and medically necessary. Their ability to live true lives really depends on our ability to do our work."

– Dr. Yonah Krakowsky, Medical Director, Transition Related Surgery Program

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