2022-23-summary

York University’s Student Equity & Diversity Census was conducted in 2021 and 2022 to learn more about the University's population in order to help build a more inclusive community and support the academic success of you – our students. These survey responses are a step towards helping York reduce barriers to access and create targeted services, supports and resources to assist you on your academic journey.

Quick facts

  • The survey administered in the Fall 2022 term had 29% response rate based on York’s student population.
  • 95% of students who started the survey completed it.
  • Each survey question included a “prefer not to say” option, and where appropriate, a “custom text” option for students to input their own response.
  • The “Not available” option is shared when the census count is too low and to protect the confidentiality of respondents. While people still selected these categories, their percentages are not shown to maintain privacy.

Gender Identity

Gender identity refers to a person’s deeply felt sense of their own gender, which may align with being a woman, a man, both, neither or anywhere on the gender spectrum. This internal experience of gender is unique to each person and may not necessarily correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth or their sexual orientation.

3% of students identify with genders that aren’t “woman” or “man.”

Footnotes:

Where appropriate, survey questions included a “custom text” option for students to input their own response.

“Woman” and “man” include cisgender, transgender and anyone who identifies as a woman or man.

Cisgender means your gender identity matches your sex assigned at birth.

"Transgender" serves as an umbrella term for various gender identities and experiences. Transgender means your gender identity is different from your sex assigned at birth.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation refers to how a person identifies their internal sense of sexual identity or self-identification. Examples include bisexual, straight, gay, pansexual, queer etc. It’s important to note that sexual orientation or sexual identity is separate from gender identity, which is a person’s individual experience of gender. Gender identity involves one’s sense of being a woman, a man, both, neither or anywhere along the gender spectrum, and may not necessarily correspond to the sex they were assigned at birth or their sexual orientation.

21.4% of students identify as a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

2SLGBTQIA+ is used to represent people of various sexual orientations and gender identities. The letters stand for two spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans/transgender, queer, questioning, intersexual and asexual.

Footnote: You might see “Not available” if the census count is too low and to protect the confidentiality of respondents. While people still selected these categories, their percentages are not shown to maintain privacy.

Disability

Disabilities may not always be visible and can be temporary or permanent. Some examples of disabilities can include mobility disabilities, learning or mental health disabilities, hearing loss and other medical conditions.

9% of students identify as a person with a disability.

Ongoing Challenges

Sometimes we face challenges that can be related to our mental or physical health, our senses or the way we learn. These challenges may or may not be related to a defined disability.

27% of students indicate that they experience ongoing challenges
84% of students who said they faced ongoing challenges specifically indicated experiencing mental health challenges

Indigeneity

In Canada, the term “Indigenous” encompasses First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, either collectively or separately.

1.2% of students identify as Indigenous peoples.

Footnote: “Registered” or “status” refers to Indigenous peoples who are registered under the Indian Act of Canada.

You might see “Not available” if the census count is too low and to protect the confidentiality of respondents. While people still selected these categories, their percentages are not shown to maintain privacy.

Racial Identity

61.6% of students identified as racialized persons.

"Racialized" is a term used at York to describe people of color who were previously referred to as "visible minorities. Using “racialized” rather than terms like “visible minority” is one way of recognizing the problematic implications of using broad terms or individual racial or ethnic categories – such as Black, Asian, Latinx or Arab – with no clear context.

Ethnicity

61.6% of students identified as racialized persons.
  • Asian
  • European
  • African

Religion

Religious, spiritual beliefs and practices, as well as non-religious belief systems, can influence a person’s identity, worldview and way of life. People can be religious, spiritual, both or neither.

The religious and/or spiritual affiliations that students most frequently reported are:
  • Christian
  • No religion and/or spiritual affiliation
  • Muslim