As Toronto awaits an anticipated population shift that will see its percentage of visible minorities spike up dramatically, Ryerson is seeing the change as a positive for its graduates.

The university is already projecting the intake of an additional 1,000 first-year students in two years, many of whom could come from the visible minority population.

And now, a report released by Ryerson’s Diversity Institute states that diversity in the workforce leads to greater innovation, better performance and larger profits for companies, something that should bode well for Ryerson graduates.

The school’s location in the downtown core and its diverse student population give it a competitive edge in the workplace, says Wendy Cukier, founder of the Diversity Institute that conducted that research.

“Ryerson’s diverse environment sends a strong signal as an institution,” she says. “Today, the risk of avoiding diversity in the workforce is huge. If an organization sends a signal that it’s discriminatory, consumers might not want to buy its products.”

Cukier says the immigration study released by Statistics Canada earlier last month which predicts the city’s visible minority population to double, also carries economic implications.

Both studies bode well for Ryerson, Cukier says, because companies that want to meet the emerging needs of a diverse market are more likely to promote diversity in the workplace. This cultural shift in consumer demand will also benefit Ryerson’s reputation as a go-to hub for top talent.

“There is a strong link between the creation of an inclusive environment and organizational success,” she says. “Fifty per cent of the GTA’s population is visible minorities and they form a huge customer base.”

Statscan predicts the visible minority population will reach 5.6 million by 2031, up from 2.3 million in 2006. In 20 years, visible minorities will account for more than 60 per cent of greater Toronto’s population.

Research by Cukier’s institute also found that diversity in leadership supports improved financial and organizational performance, better corporate performance and higher profits.

Diversity also provides stronger links to domestic and global markets, reduces turnover rates and encourages talent to “think outside of the box,” the report says. 

Bradley Deokie, a fourth-year global management studies student, agrees. A Canadian of Trinidadian descent, Deokie currently oversees one of the most diverse clubs on campus: Ryerson’s DECA chapter.

He says that Ryerson’s diverse student body and location gives him a greater opportunity to better understand different cultures — a knowledge he hopes to apply in his career.

“A wider array of people from different cultures offers multiple perspectives. This allows them to make better decisions and add greater value to an organization,” Deokie said.