Holland Bloorview’s ongoing commitment to equity, inclusion and meaningful change
In September 2023, Holland Bloorview launched its Roadmap to confront anti-Black racism, an organizational action plan designed to address anti-Black racism in the organization and create a safer, more inclusive environment for Black employees. This work reflects a long‑term commitment to building a hospital where every individual feels respected, valued and supported.
The Roadmap was informed by the findings of the Black staff experience survey led by Dr. Notisha Massaquoi and developed with input from Black staff and external experts. Released in March 2023, the report highlighted systemic issues such as barriers to career progression, disproportionate workloads and microaggressions experienced by Black employees at Holland Bloorview.
In response, the executive leadership team and board of directors approved the development and implementation of the Roadmap, setting the foundation for sustainable, equity‑driven change across all levels of the organization.
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“Confronting anti-Black racism is an important part of our organizational commitment to build an inclusive, diverse, equitable, accessible and anti-racist (IDEAA) environment that treats all individuals with respect and fairness. It is our collective responsibility to address and undo historical structures and processes that contribute to the marginalization of Black staff at Holland Bloorview.” - Joanne Maxwell, vice president, experience and transformation and social accountability What’s been implemented so far
Since the Roadmap’s launch, we have taken steps to address anti‑Black racism and build structures that foster accountability, transparency and long‑term impact. These include:
- Enhanced leadership and external accountability, with the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Anti-racism (IDEAA) office providing regular Roadmap progress updates to the board and executive leadership team.
- A strategic commitment to IDEAA in the HB2030 strategic plan, with a focus on elevating the diversity of staff voices and building a staff, leadership and board team representative of the communities we serve .
- The expansion of the IDEAA office which now includes an anti‑racism implementation specialist and dedicated administrative support.
- Roll out of a mandatory anti-Black racism e-module, developed by TAHSN (Toronto Academic Health Sciences Network) to all hospital staff and repeated every three years. This module equips staff with a common definition of anti-Black racism, related concepts and tools to identify it and to share historical examples of anti-Black racism in Canadian health care.
- Ongoing collection of socio-demographic data from clients, applicants and staff to identify gaps in hiring and inform equitable hiring and care practices over a sustained and multi-year effort.
- Formation of the Black Employee Resource Group (BERG) to provide a safe space for Black, African and Caribbean staff to connect, share experiences and resources.
- Development of an independent discrimination, racism and harassment reporting process with external oversight to support employee safety and psychological well‑being for reporting concerns.
- The establishment of the EMBARK program within the Bloorview Research Institute to provide personalized support, funding access and leadership opportunities for early‑career Black scientists, with a second scientist hire planned.
- The creation of a senior specialist, research, education and IDEAA role within the Bloorview Research Institute focused on creating transformative learning opportunities for trainees from all backgrounds, shaping the next generation of researchers, and fostering an inclusive, dynamic, and supportive learning environment.
- The creation of a manager’s debrief toolkit to guide leaders in facilitating team discussions related to the Black Staff Experience Report and anti‑racism learning.
Reflections from staff:
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Central to this evolution is our Donor Code of Conduct, which serves as a vital bridge between our values and our philanthropic community. By embedding IDEAA principles into our donor relations, we ensure that our commitment to a safe, inclusive environment for Black employees, clients, and families is upheld by everyone who come through our doors including our supporters.” - Melissa Edwards, director, philanthropy and gratitude, Holland Bloorview Foundation Read the full reflection |
“Each of us bears a responsibility to confront racism and discrimination wherever it persists. While this Roadmap was crafted around the needs of Black employees and by extension, Black clients and families, students and researchers, the insights gained can inform broader initiatives aimed at advancing anti-racism and reducing health inequities, while still centring the unique needs of this community.” - Lorraine Thomas, manager, inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility and anti-Racism (IDEAA) 
"Holland Bloorview is making significant progress in its anti-racism efforts by implementing mandatory anti-racism training. This training focuses on understanding the history and impact of racism, especially anti-Black racism, and its effects on the health-care system, which is crucial for ensuring safe, quality care and effective leadership.” - Sophia Okyere-Oduro, anti-racism implementation specialist 
“I have appreciated Holland Bloorview’s responsiveness and commitment to tackling anti‑Black racism in meaningful ways. The Roadmap to Confront Anti-Black Racism has opened the door for staff to begin - and continue - difficult yet necessary conversations, such as what it means to actually deliver equity and trauma-informed care.” - Lisa Kakonge, collaborative practice leader, and member of the Black Employee Resource Group (BERG) 
“I applaud and fully support the work that Holland Bloorview and other organizations have done and continue to do in support of 
“It has been humbling to witness the hospital’s transformative journey through the Roadmap to confront anti-Black racism. It is a commitment from our leadership, scientists, clinicians, researchers, and Foundation team to dismantle systemic barriers.Ongoing commitments
- Launch an equitable recruitment, retention and promotion strategy specific to Black employees, to strengthen fair and transparent hiring and retention practices and opportunities for Black employees to progress.
- Create an external Black community accountability panel to inform and steer Holland Bloorview’s long-term commitments to confront anti-Black racism, and to ensure representation from community partners, clients and families, as well as sector affiliations beyond health care.
- Launch an executive leadership team sponsorship program connecting ELT members with Black employees (voluntary), to leverage networks, endorsement and coaching to support career progression.
- Establish an auditing framework for hospital teams to assess their effective prevention, identification of and mitigations for potential occurrences of anti-Black racism.
Our work to address anti-Black racism is ongoing. We remain committed to sustained action, continuous learning, data‑informed decisions, safe and transparent reporting, and deeper engagement with Black communities and partners. These efforts reinforce our HB2030 IDEAA commitment and affirm Holland Bloorview’s responsibility to foster a workplace and care environment where every member of our community feels safe, valued, and supported.
