Worker diversity and inclusion

The labour market in Ontario and across Canada is becoming more diverse. Greater attention to the labour market experiences of newcomers and recent immigrants to Canada is needed, as is greater attention to the ways race, age, gender and health status affect occupational health and safety (OHS) and disability management outcomes. Our research examines how our increasingly diverse workforce—racially, culturally and linguistically—affects OHS awareness, training and health outcomes. It also seeks to better understand the varied health and work experiences of workers with diverse health conditions and identities, and how workplaces can best support these workers.

Latest findings

Drawing of a Black youth looking at the Employee of the Month board, which features pictures of robots.

Three future of work scenarios to help develop inclusion strategies for young people with disabilities

What do we need to do now to ensure the inclusion of young adults with disability in the future world of work? Using strategic foresight methods, an IWH team generated three future scenarios of the working world and their implications for persons with disabilities.

A computer technician who uses a wheelchair works at his station

Canadians with disabilities twice as likely to report low quality employment than those without disabilities

According to a new IWH study that measures employment quality along 16 dimensions, persons with disabilities are almost twice as likely to find themselves in low quality jobs than those without disabilities.

Overhead view of two people in safety helmets walking up the stairs in a plant

IWH tool comes out ahead in Australian study of OHS leading indicator tools

In an Australian study of five health and safety leading indicator tools around the world, a measure developed by IWH has come out ahead for its ability to pick up workers’ risk of reporting a physical injury or a near miss at work.

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