CNO has released its first Workforce Census report called Demographics and Nursing Practice. The report contains data from our inaugural Workforce Census survey which we shared with nurses in February. The Demographics and Nursing Practice report, the first report based on this data, summarizes the identity, practice, and employment characteristics of nurses in Ontario.
Collecting new information
“As the authoritative source of nursing statistics in Ontario, CNO has always collected basic demographic information from nurses upon initial registration and detailed employment information when they renew their registration each year,” explains Brent Knowles, Director of Analytics and Research. “However, information such as race, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation, is not collected so that demographic information is not known.”
To expand the scope of data CNO collects, we launched our first Workforce Census survey in February 2024 to understand better the composition and experiences of nurses registered in Ontario. The goal of the census was to capture a broad set of variables to better understand the identity of nurses in the province.
More than 31,000 members completed the Workforce Census, which represents 15% of nurses in the General, Extended and Non-Practising classes. “While we had a large sample of respondents, there are some differences between the composition of the nurses who completed the census and the population of nurses in Ontario,” says Knowles. “This was an interesting finding on its own and indicates we have more work to do to build trust with under-represented groups. Even though the sample is not perfectly representative of the larger population, it is the largest sample of nursing identity data we know of in Ontario, and we learned a lot about the lived experiences of over 31,000 nurses.”
How will we use the data?
Within CNO, we will use the data to identify actions related to our DEI strategy Inclusion for All: Nothing About Us, Without Us. The information will be used to identify DEI challenges, establish baselines and measure progress, and focus on where we can deliver meaningful change.
As a first step towards building stronger relationships with a diverse set of nurses, CNO will conduct focus groups to review data from the census and learn from their perspectives and experiences with CNO. Census data helps us to identify key communities for our first year of outreach and will allow us to create a list of priority system partners in nursing and build an external DEI engagement strategy.
“The process of broadly consulting with partners centres around building trust and creating opportunities to ensure we hear all perspectives,” says Knowles. “Those shared experiences and key learnings are foundational to creating and revising CNO policies, to advance both equity and inclusion.”
Read the report now