It has been 3 years since the Canadian Urological Association (CUA) established a formal commitment to the promotion of equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility (EDIA). The CUA embraces the duty to ensure a culture of respect, inclusion, and fairness across all activities. Our EDIA policy, and appointment of an EDIA officer, was developed to ensure the CUA remains accountable to the members it serves, and to the Canadian population as a whole. Over the last 3 years, not only has EDIA become a standing agenda item at all executive meetings, but these concepts have infiltrated into decision-making, conversation, and process.

Looking back at our previous AUANews article,¹ I am proud to be able to reflect on our achievements and challenges as an organization. The CUA has continued to dedicate time toward educational initiatives for our board of directors and committee chairs, such as implicit bias training and workshops on navigating race, equity, and privilege. Each CUA committee has selected a representative to ensure the aims of the CUA EDIA policy are being upheld. We have implemented a process for tracking speaker invitations as a measure of accountability, and to identify barriers that may hinder participation at our national meeting. The CUA firmly believes we can promote opportunities for all individuals that best align with their strengths, without compromising merit.

For our membership, EDIA remains a prime educational topic at our CUA Annual Meeting with recent sessions addressing urological care for 2SLGBTQIA+ patients and racism in surgery. This year we look forward to the inaugural Women in Urology Lecture, “Female Leadership and Pioneering.” We hold national webinars throughout the year, which have included sessions on determinants of indigenous health care in urology and supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ learners and patients in clinical academic settings.

The CUA is eager to provide patient information brochures and support urologists in providing care for equity-deserving groups. Currently, we are working on developing patient information pamphlets on genitourinary syndrome of menopause and trans health care. We have created and disseminated a CUA pride poster to all members to be posted in clinical workspaces. The goal is for all patients, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, to recognize a safe medical environment with knowledgeable urological care providers.

The CUA is devoted to supporting research. Enhancing our knowledge of ways to improve equitable urological care for diverse populations will improve urological care for all Canadians. Studying ways in which disparities exist within our workforce will unroof vital issues threatening the wellness of Canadian urologists. Furthermore, growing our awareness of these themes will boost our ability to become culturally competent urologists. Abou Samra et al recently examined gender diversity within the CUA in comparison to the Quebec Urological Association.² Although the last decade has brought an increase in representation of women in the CUA, we lag in contrast to the Quebec Urological Association. The CUA is yet to have a woman president or recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. This study, like many others, highlights the significance of our ongoing pledge to promoting equity within Canadian urology.

It is noteworthy that in 2023 the CUA Scholarship Foundation awarded the first annual CUA EDIA research grants. Dr Jesse Ory of Dalhousie University received funding in support of his work assessing the use of fertility preservation techniques in the transgender population in Nova Scotia, Canada. Dr David-Dan Nguyen of the University of Toronto received funding to explore disparities in urology resident recruitment in Canada. We look forward to reviewing this year’s applications for this innovative grant competition (https://cuasf.org/grants/).

With transformation comes challenge. We continue to face the challenge of improving rates of self-identification. Subjectively, it appears that the face of urology is changing in Canada. Self-identification is a priority for our organization as objectively knowing our “starting point” is the only way to document change. A self-identification process capturing race, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, and physical ability will aid the CUA in predicting and addressing issues pertinent to the members we serve.

The last 3 years have revealed that the CUA is dedicated to the EDIA mission with the aspiration of evolution, as an organization, to stay in tune with CUA membership and the exceptionally diverse patient population we serve.