Attracting A Diverse Workforce

The Toronto Police Service continues to attract, hire and promote an increasingly diverse workforce at all levels.

“We are committed to continuing to develop strategies that attract more applicants from diverse communities and create opportunities for our members to succeed in various processes,” says Chief Administrative Officer Svina Dhaliwal, who oversees the Corporate Services Command.

In the last four years, cadet classes have increased in racial diversity by 33 per cent. The Service has also experienced an increase in women hired for civilian roles (including special constables and administrative careers) – from 41.5% in 2022 to 46% last year.

The face of the TPS leadership is also changing.  Of the nearly 80 uniform senior officers, including the Deputy Chiefs, 48% belong to at least one historically underrepresented group compared to 29% in 2018.

In fact, the top two levels of the organization (Command, Directors and Staff Superintendents are 50% female, and a 60%-40% mix of sworn and civilian leaders.  There is no executive leadership team in policing as progressive as TPS. 

Though the Service has experienced positive results in hiring and promotional trends in recent years, Dhaliwal said there is still work to be done.

“For promotional processes, the insights tell us that we need to focus more upstream in the process, focusing on equitable access to training and development opportunities,” she said. “When it comes to external recruitment, female cadet applications remain below pre-pandemic levels.”

To build a resilient and diverse workforce at all ranks, the Service will continue community outreach and women-focused cadet recruitment, refine the Sergeant and Staff Sergeant promotional processes based on the evaluation results, apply an equity lens towards training and development opportunities, and explore the use of public and private sector partnerships for leadership development.

In addition, the socio-demographic makeup of Service members will be collected in through a workplace census in order to establish an overall baseline.  The information will help the organization understand member career journeys, identify culturally appropriate needs and programming – all to ensuring TPS is an employer of choice where you can thrive.