The University of Toronto has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top Family-Friendly Employers for the ninth consecutive year.

This special designation, issued as part of Mediacorp and The Globe and Mail’s Canada’s Top 100 Employers Project, acknowledges employers that do the most to help their employees balance work and family obligations.

“The University of Toronto is committed to helping employees and students meet their family obligations and to creating an equitable and inclusive environment for everyone in our community”, said Francesca Dobbin, Director, Family Programs & Service. “For example, during the pandemic, the Family Care Office has adapted all programming and appointments to an online format, and numerous just-in-time webinars and resources addressing current needs were created and implemented to support employees and students with family responsibilities. The Office has worked to provide support for employees requiring flexible work arrangements, assisting with determining which types of work arrangements are most suitable to accommodate their family responsibilities, and helping staff navigate their childcare options.”

The competition editors pointed to U of T’s broad range of family care benefits and resources available to its employees, as well as the university’s pension plan and health benefits coverage as their reasons for selection:

U of T supports families with generous pregnancy, parental, adoptive, and primary caregiver leave top-up payments (available to new parents) and provides workshops, discussion groups and access to a wide range of resources through a dedicated Family Care Office. Additionally, the organization has multiple child care options on campus and all three campuses offer a variety of family-friendly spaces, including designated areas for breastfeeding and pumping, baby change stations and a family study room at Robarts Library.

U of T encourages employees to save for the future with generous contributions to a defined benefit pension plan and offers health benefits coverage that extend to retirees (with no age limit and 75 per cent premium coverage) — additionally, the organization maintains a Senior College Centre to provide retired academics and librarians with space to meet and discuss topics of shared interest.

Overall, the University was given an ‘A’ rating in the category of Health & Family-Friendly Benefits.

U of T was recently also recognized as one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers for 2021.