Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 4
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YRP
( 2026)
p York Regional Police supports a variety of internal support networks to help employees from diverse communities network and advance in their careers.
Thriving in a vibrant metropolis
Workplace diversity and inclusion champions know how to attract and retain the GTA’s best and brightest
A
s Canada’s largest urban
area, the Greater Toronto
Area is a cultural mosaic
where 47 per cent of residents were born outside of
Canada. It’s a place where recognizing
diversity and promoting inclusion are facts
of life, not sources of debate or division.
“Making a place at the table for everyone”
isn’t just a slogan or workplace motto for
Greater Toronto’s Top Employers (2026) – the
vast majority of this year’s winners see it as
central to their business success that their
organizations reflect the community
where they operate.
Employees in the GTA are much more
likely to come from diverse backgrounds,
which makes employers far more interested in making sure they can bring their
“whole selves” to work each day. Indeed, if
a GTA employer wants to recruit the best
and brightest from the region and retain
these employees, it goes without saying
that they need to make sure their workplaces make people from widely diverse
backgrounds feel at home. For employers,
it’s not a matter of checking the boxes to
make sure they are hiring from each of the
diversity categories that the federal
government prescribes. It’s about
succeeding in a thriving, vibrant metropolis – and to do this, Greater Toronto’s Top
Employers (2026) are raising the bar in
making sure their workplaces help
everyone succeed.
“Employers are enhancing their
workplaces and benefits to be more
inclusive,” says Stephanie Leung, editor at
Mediacorp Canada, which runs the
competition. “These include more support
for individuals, such as health spending
accounts with flexible coverage, mental
health support, and family-forming
benefits like fertility treatment support
and equalizing parental leave top-up for
all types of families. A great example of
this is when employees are able to
substitute statutory holidays for days that
have cultural or religious significance to
them. In essence, these employers are
acknowledging people as individuals,
enabling them to do their best work in a
diverse environment.”
In the public sector, GTA employers are
also recognizing that promoting an
inclusive workplace helps the organization
carry out its mission. Several GTA police
services, including York Regional Police,
put a high priority on diversity and
inclusion – making sure their uniformed
and support staff reflect the communities
they protect. Peel Regional Police has
become an international leader with its
progressive policies on community safety,
and this starts with a police force that
reflects the people who live in the region.
Peel’s Deputy Chief, Mark Dapat, who
was born in the Philippines and is in
charge of hiring, notes that 70 per cent of
people in the region identify as being
racialized. “They come from so many
different parts of the world, and they bring
their values, they bring their cultures, they
bring their perceptions with them of what
the police are,” says Dapat. “In order for us
to make sure that we serve them in the
best way possible, hiring people that are
reflective of the community is essential.”
He sees the same need in any organization. “If you invest in your people, in the
way that we’re investing in them, your
people will feel valued – you’re supported
to thrive.”
– Mediacorp staff
