Archived [2020-04-01] - Employment Equity Policy

A federal Public Service representative of the people it serves will be achieved by implementing employment equity with respect to Aboriginal persons¹, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and women (i.e. "the designated groups").

The main obligations of departments, agencies and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), under the Employment Equity Act and Treasury Board Employment Equity Policy, can be summarized as follows:

• conducting a self-identification survey;
• conducting a workforce analysis;
• conducting an employment systems review (if under-representation exists) and removing any barriers that may exist and that are not authorized by law;
• developing strategies to address under-representation;
• preparing an annual Employment Equity Plan that addresses the causes of under-representation and sets goals for the achievement of a representative workforce;
• communicating to employees;
• consulting and collaborating with employee representatives and representatives of designated groups; and
• maintaining records.

The Treasury Board's Employment Equity Policy and the Shared Responsibilities document set out the respective responsibilities of TBS and departments and agencies. These guidelines are intended to supplement those documents and contribute to a unified, co-ordinated implementation of employment equity in the federal Public Service.

Supportive work environment

A key element necessary in achieving and retaining a representative workforce is a supportive work environment and a corporate culture that is welcoming to the designated groups. The following practices have been found to be effective in creating such an environment:

• communicating to all employees the rationale, objectives and importance of equality in the workplace;
• emphasizing that the merit principle is at the core of employment equity;
• demonstrating a commitment to employment equity at all levels of the department or agency by hiring, promoting, developing and retaining members of designated groups, which is accomplished by using all existing initiatives, including special programs, using bridging, mentoring and outreach strategies, and supporting flexible work arrangements and developmental assignments;
• recognizing that different strategies are required for each designated group;
• combatting harassment in the workplace; and
• expecting accountability on the part of managers to set and achieve employment equity goals and objectives.

Self-identification survey

A high rate of response to a self-identification survey ensures that a department or agency has an accurate picture of the composition of its workforce. The following practices have been found to contribute to a high response rate in departmental workforce surveys:

• communicating effectively to all employees the purpose and importance of self-identification;
• involving bargaining agents and other employee representatives in the survey process, especially in the communications strategy;
• distributing the self-identification forms to all employees;
• requesting all employees to return a completed form, whether or not they identify themselves as members of a designated group;
• developing and implementing an effective follow-up strategy with respect to the self-identification survey; and
• assuring employees that information identifying them as members of a designated group will be kept confidential.

Departments and agencies should offer employees the opportunity to self-identify as designated group members at various stages of their careers, including at the time of hiring and at the time of transfer from another department.

Workforce analysis

Departments and agencies can ensure the continued accuracy of their workforce analysis by continuously collecting and maintaining data on recruitment, hiring, promotion, training and retention of members of designated groups. The Employment Equity Division of TBS can provide assistance to departments in the analysis of their workforces for the purposes of the Employment Equity Act, and in data reconciliation.

Employment systems review

Where the workforce analysis reveals under-representation, departments and agencies are required to conduct a review of their employment systems, as listed under the Employment Equity Regulations, to determine whether there are barriers to the representation of designated group members. It is suggested that departments and agencies follow the Employment Systems Review Guide, jointly published by TBS and the Public Service Commission of Canada.

The review will be more effective if employee representatives and representatives of designated groups are consulted with respect to the process and content of the review. Departments and agencies should also collaborate with those groups during the review.

It is recommended that departments and agencies:

• implement the recommendations of the review as soon as possible; and
• review new policies and practices as they are developed and implemented in order to ensure that they will not create barriers to employment.

Employment equity plan

Employment equity planning should be incorporated into the Human Resources/Business Planning exercises.

The contents of the employment equity plan should be in accordance with the Employment Equity Act. The Employment Equity Division of TBS can provide assistance in all aspects of employment equity planning, including advice on how to set appropriate representation goals.

Departments and agencies are not required to submit copies of their plans to TBS; however, departmental annual progress reports must be submitted to TBS to meet legislative requirements.

Positive policies and practices

Where under-representation of the designated groups occurs, departments and agencies are required to implement positive policies and practices in order to correct such under-representation.

Such policies and practices should be linked directly to the causes of the under-representation and should be monitored to ensure that they are effective.

Assistance to departments

The Employment Equity Division also offers the following assistance to departments in order that employment equity is implemented in a consistent fashion on a government-wide basis:

• develops administrative tools for government-wide use and co-ordinates the efforts of federal departments and agencies in the implementation of employment equity;
• determines and provides departments or agencies with labour market availability data on each designated group by occupational category;
• forwards updated data to departments or agencies on departmental representation and performance related to numerical goals; and
• assists departments in the setting of departmental goals.

Accountability

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat integrates employment equity implementation objectives into the input provided by the Secretary of the Treasury Board with respect to departmental management assessments.