Background
Our Work
The Mary Ann Shadd Cary Centre for Journalism and Belonging is the first of its kind in Canada. Until now, there has been no Canadian institution that focuses on supporting more diversity and inclusion in Canada’s journalism industry. The need is evident.
The Canadian Association of Journalists conducted a survey of diversity in Canadian news media, spanning 209 newsrooms across the country, and 3,873 journalists. Two key findings are:
80 percent of these newsrooms have no racialized people in a top leadership role.
68-78% of part-time, full-time and supervisor roles are filled by white people.
Toronto Metropolitan University professors Asmaa Malik and Sonya Fatah conducted a 21-year survey of Canada’s three largest publications, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and the National Post. The survey found:
Between 1998 and 2018, 92.8 per cent of columnists were white, over-representing corresponding census statistics by four per cent.
Over the period of the study, none of the publications had an Indigenous columnist who appeared regularly. Only three Black men and no Black women met criteria for columnists.
As the proportion of white people in Canada’s population declined, the representation of white columnists increased.
