Let’s Talk Data: The Role of Data Collection in our EDI Work

By: Craig Roxborough, Registrar and CEO

For my first blog post of the year, I want to start with a reflection on some learnings and spark a conversation on an important issue we’re facing as a regulator.

In the fall of 2023, we circulated by-law changes that would allow us to collect more demographic information from you through annual renewal. During that consultation, we heard you clearly as you raised questions about what we were considering and your uncertainty regarding a move towards a model requiring you to share additional sensitive information. It was clear we did not yet have your trust and confidence to move forward.

So, I wanted to go back to square one and engage with you more directly as part of our effort to continue exploring what we can do to better understand the diversity of individuals that make up our profession.

For me it was a good reminder of the need to live our commitment to engagement and to abide by the philosophy of “Nothing about me, without me.”

You raised several issues, but the big question was why would the regulator need to collect this information in the first place? So, let’s start there.

Who is Physiotherapy?

Right now, we don’t have a good sense of who comprises our profession.

Yes, we collect some information from you each year. But we’re not asking all the questions (or even the right ones) necessary to understand the diversity of identities and lived experiences that exist within physiotherapy.

One of the central goals of collecting demographic information is simply to bring visibility to the diversity that exists. Once we have this understanding, we can then explore new questions and learn from what we’ve discovered.

Putting This Information to Work

Okay, but what would this information do for the College, for the profession, and for the public?

At minimum, it would help us and our system partners understand whether the diversity of the profession reflects the diversity of the public we collectively serve. If not, we can start to explore why and identify if there are systemic barriers leading to these differences.

We can begin to consider if the composition of our Council and Committees – the decision-making bodies of the College – reflect the diversity of the profession. Ensuring that we are comprised of individuals representing a diversity of identities and lived experiences will strengthen our decision-making.

We’ll also be able to begin to proactively assess whether there is unequal or inequitable treatment or outcomes in our regulatory process and implement corrective actions if there are. For example, explore whether people of certain backgrounds experience challenges in the licensure process or whether there are signs of bias in our decision-making that advantage or disadvantage different groups. With information like Indigenous identity, race, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity we can start to analyze whether systemic racism and discrimination exists. Without this information, we can’t assess these questions and, as our statement on EDI notes, unaddressed discrimination results in continued oppression and marginalization.

At its core, one of the goals of collecting this information is to support the work needed to promote greater equity and equality for all people.

What’s Next?

For the time being, nothing has changed. We’ll continue to collect some information from you as part of the annual renewal process on a voluntary basis. The questions we ask are not perfect and we have much work to do, but I hope many of you will take the time to answer these questions and help us better understand the profession.

You also had questions around who we share this data with and how we protect it. We very much recognize how sensitive this (and all your) information is. We know that the potential move to a mandatory collection model increases the need to be transparent about the protocols and obligations we have. While we protect the data you already share with us, I’ll take some time in future blogs to come back to these issues, share our thinking and invite you to get involved in that process.

In other words – there is more to come as we continue to explore opportunities in this space.

To close, I want to take a moment to thank those who reached out during the consultation and provided thoughtful feedback. We as an organization are still on a journey of awareness and learning around issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion. We are committed to being humble as we learn and adjust our approach. I look forward to hearing from you and listening to what you have to teach us as we explore these issues and the role data can play in helping to make progress.

Please comment below or send me an email at registrar@collegept.org to help shape what comes next for us.