Taralyn Parr (she/they) is an award-wining equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) leader, known for designing innovative solutions that transform the modern workplace. Taralyn’s approach as an EDI practitioner is guided by her lived experience, workplace activism, and over a decade of education in gender and workplace equity studies.
As one of the lead architects of McCarthy Tétrault’s award-winning EDI framework, Inclusion Now, Taralyn has successfully developed and operationalized forward-thinking strategies that elevated the organization’s EDI capacity. Taralyn’s expertise lies in collaborating with leadership, lawyers, staff, educators, and community partners to develop research-driven solutions that prioritize equity for a more inclusive future of work. She has led initiatives that have transformed diversity data and analytics, embedded inclusive values into talent management practices and policies, increased the recruitment and retention of equity-deserving groups, and built cultural awareness, engagement, and a culture of allyship and belonging.
In 2023, Taralyn was recognized by Catalyst Canada as an Honours EDI Leader for the transformative changes that her work has had on McCarthy Tetrault LLP and the broader legal profession, including the forward-thinking and innovative diversity data and analytics platform that she spearheaded and the program that she led to make the firm more inclusive for trans and non-binary people.
Taralyn’s dedication to equity extends beyond the workplace. She earned her B.A. (Honours) from Nipissing University and her M.A. from the University of Ottawa, both degrees focusing on Gender Equality and Social Justice and Religions and Cultures. She is currently completing her Ph.D. at the University in Toronto in Adult Education, specializing in Workplace Learning and Social Change and Sexual Diversity Studies. Taralyn also teaches courses in the area of gender, work, and leadership in the School of Administrative Studies at York University.
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