About Out on Bay Street

Out on Bay Street Inc. is Canada’s First and Sole professional organization focused on supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Ally (LGBTQA) Undergraduate and Graduate Students in Business, Law & Consulting.

About Out on Bay Street

Out on Bay Street Inc. is a non-profit organization that highlights Toronto’s Bay Street as the symbolic focal point of business in Canada. Originating in 2007 as a sole Business Conference for Undergraduate and Graduate Students; organized by students across Ontario; the conference expanded in the following years to primarily focus on students in the specializations of Business, Law, Consulting and Related Fields across Canada. In 2010, with much support from the Academic and Professional communities, the conference was incorporated for an ongoing effort to create the next generations of LGBTQA leaders in Canada and around the globe.

Vision Statement

To have all institutions across Canada embrace inclusiveness within the workplace and diversity within the workforce as Out on Bay Street Inc. empowers LGBTQA students to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Mission Statement

The mission of Out on Bay Street Inc is to educate and increase the public’s understanding of the LGBTQA community, both student and professional, by supplying the resources and opportunities to foster Out on Bay Street Inc’s fundamentals of Leadership, Mentoring and Networking.

Purpose and Objectives

  • Work with corporate partners, organizations and the community at large to ensure increased opportunity and equality for LGBTQA students and professionals
  • Provide an annual Conference and Career-Fair based on Out on Bay Street’s fundamentals of Leadership, Mentoring and Networking
  • Provide educational seminars and workshops about issues faced by the LGBTQA community in the workplace and on the advancement of the LGBTQA community in the workforce
  • Allow access to a network of professionals for students
  • Establish a positive public profile of the advancement of the LGBTQA community amongst the communities within which we operate

Out on Bay Street Inc’s Initiatives Include:

  • Leaders to be Proud Of (Newly Established in partnership with Accenture)
  • Women’s Initiative (In process of being established)
  • Scholarship Funding (In process of being established)
  • Community Partnerships and Outreach (In process of being established)

Governance

Out on Bay Street Inc. is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of professionals and students who are past Organizing Committee Members from across the country. They are elected on a yearly basis by Out on Bay Street’s Voting Members (former Officers or Organizing Committee Members of the corporation).  The Board of Directors’ elects annually the Officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer who run the organization. The Officers consist of Voting Members and Non-Voting Members (a Student who has participated in the prior year’s annual conference). To create uniformity within the Organization, the President is also on the Board of Directors.

An important role of the Officers is to annually elect the Organizing Committee for Out on Bay Street Inc’s, Annual Conference. The Organizing Committee consists of Non-Voting Members. The role of the Board of Directors is to annually appoint the Committee Chair and Co-Chair. To create uniformity within the Organization, the President is also the Chair of the Organizing Committee.

Each member of the organization from the Organizing Committee to the Board of Directors is completely voluntary. It is comprised of individuals who take pride in the advancement of the LGBTQA community and society at large.