Nuzhat Jafri

Nuzhat Jafri

Biography

Nuzhat Jafri has held leadership positions in the public, private and non-profit sectors, including directing diversity initiatives at two of Canada's largest banks. At the Bank of Montreal, Ms. Jafri designed, developed and delivered a unique diversity education program entitled Business by Inclusion. She has developed numerous anti-discrimination, anti-harassment and anti-oppression workshops for a variety of audiences. In addition, Ms. Jafri has been volunteering with the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) for the past 25 years, where she has led several educational and instructional initiatives. Recently, she developed a toolkit for facilitators on Muslim and Canadian family laws, used for workshops delivered to over 480 participants across Canada. She has developed and facilitated civic engagement workshops for Muslim women and most recently facilitated a workshop on issues facing Muslim youth in the Greater Toronto Area. Currently, she is advising CCMW on two major projects: one focused on Muslim youth and identity and another focused on Muslim girls in the education system and resources for educators. Ms. Jafri is currently the Executive Director of the Office of the Fairness Commissioner, an arm’s-length agency of the Ontario government with a mandate to ensure that regulated professions have registration practices that are transparent, objective, impartial and fair. Previously, she developed a cultural policy framework at the Ontario Ministry of Culture and oversaw the passage of key legislation and the development and implementation of key regulations. She was also a director at the Employment Equity Commission. Ms. Jafri continues to be active in the community and has served as chair and member of several non-profit boards. Currently, she is a national board member of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women. She is multilingual and is proficient in both of Canada’s official languages.