Tana Turner

B.A. (Psychology), B.A. (Sociology), M.A. (Sociology)
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Education, York University


Tana has been a pioneer and leader in the field of EDI since the 1990s. She has worked on various analytical reports, including the first major analysis of the diversity of the City of Toronto (formerly Metro Toronto) in the early 1990s. This demographic analysis highlighted the changes in the City’s ethnic, racial and linguistic composition and identified the policy and program implications. This report analyzed census and immigration data, incorporating findings from various research reports to identify issues and trends, and the implications for the City of Toronto, as well as public and community agencies.
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Leveraging data for an evidence-based approach to equity, diversity, and inclusion.
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Tana then worked on the development of provincial employment equity legislation. She was responsible for the analytical work which identified the specific groups to be designated for employment equity, based on their experiences of historical and persistent discrimination in the labour market. She also developed the legislated requirements for conducting the employment equity survey and the workforce analysis.

From there, Tana worked within the Ontario Public Service to ensure that the organization met the requirements of employment equity legislation. As Senior Researcher, she worked on the project team to develop the survey for the Ontario Public Service (OPS) and ensure the successful surveying of 60,000 employees. While with the OPS, she also developed the framework for the analysis of the workforce data to support Employment Systems Reviews and public reporting on the OPS’s employment equity program. Tana managed a team of researchers who were responsible for creating and maintain the employment equity database, providing semi-annual employment equity data updates to each ministry, and conducting the analyses to support internal and public reporting as well as policy and program development.

Since 2002, Tana has been an independent consultant, providing human resource, diversity, equity, research, program evaluation and community consultation expertise to a range of clients. She has worked with a number of organizations to meet their internal diversity objectives as well as comply with federal employment equity requirements. This work has included designing and administering Staff Census surveys, conducting workforce analyses, conducting Employment Systems Reviews/Equity Audits, and developing Equity Plans.​ ​

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Tana is a leader in conducting Equity Audits/Employment Systems Reviews, having conducted over 100 for private, non-profit, and public sector organizations.
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Tana has completed a number of seminal projects to help organizations and sectors understand how anti-Black racism manifests itself and to work for systemic change. These projects include:

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Along her journey, Tana has served as an expert witness on anti-Black racism for the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. I have also prepared groundbreaking reports to help organizations understand, and develop strategies to address, anti-Black racism in child welfare, education, and child and youth mental health.
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"At the heart of my work is a commitment to make Canada a better place for everyone. My work turns research and the stories of Canadians into action.”