Demographic and Diversity Data Survey Dashboard
Students: Definitions
Dashboard developed by Institutional Research and Planning and the Equity Office.
- General Notes
- Dashboard Filters
- Equity Groups
General Notes
- Percentages in this dashboard are rounded to the nearest integer.
- 0% may represent a value equal to 0%, or greater than 0% but less than 0.5%
- 100% may represent a value equal to 100%, or less than 100% but greater than or equal to 99.5%
- The SFU Demographic and Diversity Data Survey includes a subset of core human rights/equity demographic questions based on the . We recognize that some of the Census questions do not represent SFU's approach and preferred language for demographic identifiers such as gender. These questions are included to allow for comparisons with Census data and reports, and therefore have retained the Census language as much as possible.
Residency Status
The student's residency status is based on whether a student has a visa.
- Domestic: A student who is a Canadian citizen, Canadian permanent resident, or refugee
- International: A student who has a visa (e.g., Student Visa, Visitor's Visa, Diplomatic Visa, etc.)
Student Faculty
This is the faculty associated with the student's academic program. Students who have more than one faculty are counted once under each one. Possible values are:
- Applied Sciences
- Arts and Social Sciences
- Beedie School of Business
- Communication, Art and Technology
- Education
- Environment
- Health Sciences
- Science
Student Type
This is the academic level of the student's program.
- Undergraduate: Students enrolled in an undergraduate-level program (e.g., bachelor's degree, undergraduate certificate, etc.)
- Graduate: Students enrolled in a graduate-level program (e.g., master's degree, doctorate degree, graduate diploma, etc.)
Gender
This equity group is based on the survey question:
"What is your gender?"
As noted on the Census, this question "Refers to current gender which may be different from sex assigned at birth and may be different from what is indicated on legal documents."
The possible responses are:
- Male
- Female
- Or, please specify your gender:
- Prefer not to answer
Note: The wording of this question follows the Census language to allow for comparisons with Census data and reports. Statistics Canada has revised the variable "gender of person" for the next Census. Gender is a reflection of how individuals describe themselves at the time of the survey (e.g., man, woman, non-binary), and it can change over time.
For reporting, the responses were relabeled and reported as:
- Man: if a respondent selected "Male"
- Woman: if a respondent selected "Female"
- Non-binary: if a respondent selected "Or, please specify your gender"
The "Prefer not to answer" response is not included in the percent calculations.
Indigeneity
This equity group is based on the survey question:
Content warning: The following question(s) ask about Indigenous identity. As these questions are based on the 2021 Canadian Census, the language used includes legal terms from the Indian Act of Canada which may be triggering for those historically and currently impacted by the Act and related Canadian policies. If you prefer not to respond to any of these questions, please select the "Prefer not to answer" option. If you need supports, please access identity-based resources here.
"Are you First Nations, M茅tis or Inuk (Inuit)? Please select all that apply. Note: First Nations (North American Indian) includes Status and Non-Status Indians."
The possible responses are:
- No, not First Nations, M茅tis or Inuk (Inuit)
- Yes, First Nations (North American Indian)
- Yes, M茅tis
- Yes, Inuk (Inuit)
- Prefer not to answer
Note: The wording of this question follows the Census language to allow for comparisons with Census data and reports. This is a multiple-selection question. If a respondent selected "No, not First Nations, M茅tis or Inuk (Inuit)" or "Prefer not to answer", then all other responses were automatically unselected.
For reporting, the responses are grouped into two categories:
- Indigenous: if a respondent selected at least one of "Yes, First Nations (North American Indian)", "Yes, M茅tis", or "Yes, Inuk (Inuit)"
- Not Indigenous: if a respondent selected "No, not First Nations, M茅tis or Inuk (Inuit)"
The "Prefer not to answer" response is not included in the percent calculations.
Note: We recognize that some of the Census questions do not represent SFU's approach and preferred language for demographic identifiers. In particular, we recognize that the possible responses to this question are limited and do not fully capture the cultural diversity of the Indigenous community at SFU. We have retained the Census language as much as possible to allow for comparisons with Census data and reports.
Long-term Conditions/Disabilities
This equity group is based on the survey question:
"Do you identify as having one or more of the following long-term conditions or disabilities that last or are expected to last for 6 months or longer (regardless of whether or not you have a diagnosis from a professional)? Please select all that apply."
The possible responses are:
- No, I do not identify as having any of the conditions or disabilities below
- Chronic health condition (e.g., epilepsy, diabetes, chronic pain, etc.)
- Neurodevelopmental and intellectual (e.g., Down's syndrome, Autism/ASD, ADHD, etc.)
- Mood and anxiety (e.g., depression, bipolar, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, etc.)
- Learning (e.g., dyslexia, etc.)
- Other mental health and psychological conditions (e.g., anorexia, bulimia, addiction, psychosis, schizophrenia, etc.)
- Perceptual - hearing (e.g., hard of hearing even when using a hearing aid, deaf, etc.)
- Perceptual - visual (e.g., visual impairment even when wearing glasses or contact lenses, colour blindness, prosopagnosia, etc.)
- Physical - mobility (e.g., paralysis, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury, etc.)
- Physical - coordination/dexterity (e.g., dyspraxia, etc.)
- Speech/Communication (e.g., dysarthria, apraxia, aphasia, etc.)
- Other, please specify:
- Prefer not to answer
Note: This is a multiple-selection question. If a respondent selected "No, I do not identify as having any of the conditions or disabilities below" or "Prefer not to answer", then all other responses were automatically unselected.
For reporting, the responses are grouped into two categories:
- Has Condition: if a respondent selected at least one of "Chronic health condition", "Neurodevelopmental and intellectual", "Mood and anxiety", "Learning", "Other mental health and psychological conditions", "Perceptual - hearing", "Perceptual - visual", "Physical - mobility", "Physical - coordination/dexterity", "Speech/Communication", or "Other"
- No Conditions: if a respondent selected "No, I do not identify as having any of the conditions or disabilities below"
The "Prefer not to answer" response is not included in the percent calculations.
Religious Affiliation
This equity group is based on the survey question:
"What is your religion?"
The possible responses are:
- No religion
- Buddhism - Do you want to be more specific? (Optional)
- Christianity - Do you want to be more specific? (Optional)
- Hinduism - Do you want to be more specific? (Optional)
- Judaism - Do you want to be more specific? (Optional)
- Islam - Do you want to be more specific? (Optional)
- Sikhism - Do you want to be more specific? (Optional)
- Traditional (North American Indigenous) spirituality- Do you want to be more specific? (Optional)
- Other religion or spiritual tradition - Do you want to be more specific? (Optional)
- Prefer not to answer
For reporting, the responses are grouped into two categories:
- Identified Religious Affiliation: if a respondent selected one of "Buddhism", "Christianity", "Hinduism", "Judaism", "Islam", "Sikhism", "Traditional (North American Indigenous) spirituality" or "Other religion or spiritual tradition"
- No Identified Religious Affiliation: if a respondent selected "No religion"
The "Prefer not to answer" response is not included in the percent calculations.
Sexual Orientation
This equity group is based on the survey question:
"Please indicate which of the following term(s) best describe your sexual orientation."
The possible responses are:
- Asexual
- Bisexual
- Gay
- Heterosexual/Straight
- Lesbian
- Queer
- Pansexual
- Two-spirit (select if it applies and only if you identify as an Indigenous person)
- Questioning
- Other, please specify:
- I don't know
- Prefer not to answer
Note: This is a multiple-selection question. If a respondent selected "I don't know" or "Prefer not to answer", then all other responses were automatically unselected.
For reporting, the responses are grouped into two categories:
- Heterosexual/Straight: if a respondent identified as heterosexual/straight only
- 2SLGBTQ+: if a respondent identified with at least one of the following sexual orientations: asexual, bisexual, gay, lesbian, queer, pansexual, two-spirit, questioning, or other
The "I don't know" and "Prefer not to answer" responses are not included in the percent calculations.
Note: We recognize that language and understandings related to 2SLGBTQ+ identities continue to evolve. We are committed to ongoing learning, inclusion, and respect for the communities we serve.
Short-term Conditions
This equity group is based on the survey question:
"Do you identify as someone who has difficulties or short-term conditions that last or are expected to last for less than six months? (e.g., concussion, physical injury, surgery recovery, seasonal affective disorder, etc.)"
The possible responses are:
- Yes
- No
- Prefer not to answer
For reporting, the responses are grouped into two categories:
- Has Condition: if a respondent selected "Yes"
- No Conditions: if a respondent selected "No"
The "Prefer not to answer" response is not included in the percent calculations.
Visible Minority
Visible minority refers to whether a person is a visible minority or not, as defined by the Employment Equity Act. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The visible minority population consists mainly of the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese.
This equity group is derived from the responses of two survey questions:
Content warning: The following question(s) ask about Indigenous identity. As these questions are based on the 2021 Canadian Census, the language used includes legal terms from the Indian Act of Canada which may be triggering for those historically and currently impacted by the Act and related Canadian policies. If you prefer not to respond to any of these questions, please select the "Prefer not to answer" option. If you need supports, please access identity-based resources here.
"Are you First Nations, M茅tis or Inuk (Inuit)? Please select all that apply."
The possible responses are:
- No, not First Nations, M茅tis or Inuk (Inuit)
- Yes, First Nations (North American Indian)
- Yes, M茅tis
- Yes, Inuk (Inuit)
- Prefer not to answer
Note: The wording of this question follows the Census language to allow for comparisons with Census data and reports. This is a multiple-selection question. If a respondent selected "No, not First Nations, M茅tis or Inuk (Inuit)" or "Prefer not to answer", then all other responses were automatically unselected.
"Are you... (please select all that apply)"
The possible responses are:
- White
- South Asian (e.g., East Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan)
- Chinese
- Black
- Filipino
- Arab
- Latin American
- Southeast Asian (e.g., Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai)
- West Asian (e.g., Iranian, Afghan)
- Korean
- Japanese
- Other group, please specify:
- Prefer not to answer
Note: The wording of this question follows the Census language to allow for comparisons with Census data and reports. This is a multiple-selection question. If a respondent selected "Prefer not to answer", then all other responses were automatically unselected.
The following definitions are based on the .
For reporting, the responses are grouped into two categories:
- Visible Minority: if a respondent
- identified as South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Arab, Latin American, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and/or Japanese, or
- identified as South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Southeast Asian, Korean or Japanese, in combination with White.
- Not Visible Minority: if a respondent
- identified as First Nations (North American Indian), M茅tis and/or Inuk (Inuit) on the Indigeneity equity group question, or
- identified as White only, or
- identified as Arab, Latin American or West Asian, in combination with White.
On the Demographics Details page, these categories are further separated into subcategories.
Under "Visible Minority", there are 12 subcategories:
- Arab: if a respondent identified as Arab only
- Black: if a respondent identified as Black only or Black in combination with White
- Chinese: if a respondent identified as Chinese only or Chinese in combination with White
- Filipino: if a respondent identified as Filipino only or Filipino in combination with White
- Japanese: if a respondent identified as Japanese only or Japanese in combination with White
- Korean: if a respondent identified as Korean only or Korean in combination with White
- Latin American: if a respondent identified as Latin American only
- Multiple Visible Minorities: if a respondent identified with more than one visible minority group. For example, respondents who identified as both "South Asian" and "Black" are included in this category.
- South Asian: if a respondent identified as South Asian only or South Asian in combination with White
- Southeast Asian: if a respondent identified as Southeast Asian only or Southeast Asian in combination with White
- West Asian: if a respondent identified as West Asian only
- Visible Minority (not included elsewhere): if a respondent specified an "other" response that is associated with a visible minority group not listed above or specified an "other" response in combination with White
Under "Not Visible Minority", there are three subcategories:
- Indigenous: if a respondent identified as First Nations (North American Indian), M茅tis, or Inuk (Inuit)
- White: if a respondent identified as White only
- White and Arab/Latin American/West Asian: if a respondent identified as Arab, Latin American, or West Asian in combination with White
The "Prefer not to answer" response is not included in the percent calculations.