After a comprehensive review, Women’s College Hospital has made the decision to eliminate the title of “chief” from our organization out of respect and allyship for the Indigenous community. As a partner of Women’s and the Centre for Wise Practices in Indigenous Health, we felt it was important to share this decision with you.
Effective immediately, all administrative roles with the title of “chief” will be replaced with the word “corporate”. For example, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will become Corporate Financial Officer. Physician leadership roles will also begin to evolve to Department Head.
Women’s College Hospital has a long-standing commitment to equity. As part of this, we consult with partners such as yourselves, review literature and actively engage in learning to consider organizational practices and ensure we are proactively taking action to create a culturally safe organization that is actively dismantling structural racism. The move to eliminate this title is but one step in a journey to address the structural racism that exists in our communities and also acknowledges and respects Indigenous identity, trauma and resilience.
Women’s College Hospital is committed to providing meaningful, culturally safe care, free of racism and discrimination and recognizes and values Indigenous worldview(s). This decision is right for our staff, physicians, learners, volunteers, patients and partners. We respect that every organization must determine their own journey and we would be honoured to share our learnings and experiences with others.