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.
Launched last year during the renewal period, the Equity and Inclusion Data Initiative invites registrants to share demographic information on a voluntary basis. The initiative is based on the fundamental principle that only what is measured can be effectively understood and improved.
Contribute to the College’s Inclusion Journey
New to the College? We sincerely hope that registrants choose to participate in the initiative when they renew their registration for 2025 later this fall.
For an overview of the Equity and Inclusion Data Initiative, check out this quick guide video.
Already Provided your Data? Continue Making an Impact by Participating Again this Year!
For those registrants who participated last year, we hope you will consider participating again:
- Although your data is being used in the analysis of the inaugural year of the initiative, it will not be used in future data analysis.
- We will only be able to identify gaps and disparities between registrants and the Ontario public, and 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.
We recognize that through this initiative we are inviting registrants to self-identify and share personal information, and there is an inherent vulnerability within this disclosure.
- We want to reassure registrants that data provided will be kept confidential and not tied to a registrants’ profile, and data will be stored in a secure system.
- 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.
Year One Achievements: Participation Results and Data Insights Coming Soon
We were extremely pleased with the participation rate for the inaugural year, and are happy to share that just over 50% of registrants chose to participate in the initiative. We would like to thank everyone who chose to take part in the initiative; your data will support the College in evidence-based decision-making and provide insight into the degree to which the diversity of the Ontario public is reflected in College registration.
The College is currently analyzing the data from the first year of the initiative. Stay tuned for more information coming soon!
For questions or inquiries about the Equity and Inclusion Data Initiative, contact inclusion@ocswssw.org.