Backgrounder: Projects funded through Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity 

Launched in 2014, the grants and contributions program Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity supports employers subject to the Employment Equity Act in their efforts to improve the representation of the four designated groups—women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities—in areas of low representation through partnerships and industry-tailored strategies.

In 2020, the Government of Canada expanded the program’s funding from $500,000 to $3 million per fiscal year to help break down barriers to employment experienced by the four designated groups in federally regulated private-sector workplaces.

Projects funded through the 2022 call for concepts

On January 18, 2022, the Government launched a call for concepts, through which 10 multi-year projects were selected to receive close to $9.5 million in funding over the next three fiscal years.

Toronto Metropolitan University

Project: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit for Federally-Regulated Companies

Funding: $1,500,000

Designated groups: All four designated groups

Targeted sectors: Banking and financial services¹, Communications², Transportation³

Formerly Ryerson, Toronto Metropolitan University’s project aims to increase the representation of women, members of visible minorities (particularly Black Canadians), Indigenous Peoples and persons with disabilities among senior, middle and other managers, professional, as well as administrative and senior clerical personnel positions in 8 to 10 federally regulated organizations in the targeted sectors. Through its project, the university will develop new inclusion tools and guides tailored to industry-specific needs in order to address current gaps in leadership roles. The project is carried out in partnership with HSBC Canada, 30% Club Canada, Laurentian Bank of Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, Green Shield Canada, Canadian Tire Financial Services, Afroglobal Television and Purolator.

Black Women Business Network Canada

Project: Improving the Representation of Blacks in Banking, Finance and Tech Sectors in British Columbia and Alberta

Funding: $1,465,793

Designated group: Members of visible minorities

Targeted sectors: Banking and financial services and Other⁴(technology)

Black Women Business Network’s project aims to improve representation of Black people, including newcomers, immigrants, persons with disabilities and francophones among senior, middle and other manager, supervisor and professional positions in the targeted sectors in British Columbia and Alberta. The project will identify industry-specific barriers and needs and disseminate newly developed diversity and inclusion tools and guides to 70 employers. The project is carried out in partnership with Tech and People Network, Black Buildup, Vancity Credit Union and British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society

Project: Developing Audit Tools to Advance Disability-Inclusive Employment Practices

Funding: $1,131,957

Designated group: Persons with disabilities

Targeted sectors: Banking and financial services, Communications and Transportation

The Institute’s project aims to develop a disability-inclusive employment practices audit process for both internal and external auditing that assists employers in the targeted sectors to effectively engage input of diverse persons with disabilities in identifying employment barriers, along with undertaking comprehensive workplace accessibility planning, tracking progress and measuring results. It will enable employers to access online opportunities to digitalize the audit process, by having the audit process, tools and related data collection on The Accessibility Exchange platform hosted by the Institute. The project is carried out in partnership with BDO, Inclusive Design Research Centre and Chronical Analytics.

ITANS – The Information Technology Industry Alliance of Nova Scotia

Project: Creating an Inclusive Culture: Building Tech Workplaces that Work

Funding: $1,024,843

Designated groups: All four designated groups

Targeted sector: Other (technology)

Operating as Digital Nova Scotia, the project of Information Technology Industry Alliance of Nova Scotia aims to increase understanding among employers in Nova Scotia’s technology industry of industry-specific barriers to diversity and inclusion. It will also provide access to human resources tools and resources to help increase representation of all four designated groups among professional, supervisor and mid-senior level manager positions. Over 700 employers, nationally, will receive the final report highlighting the research, framework and pilot results. The project is carried out in partnership with Mitacs, the Black Business Initiative, the Mi’kmaw Economic Benefits Office and industry partners, such as REDspace.

Realize

Project: Canada’s Museums: Putting the ‘A’ (Accessibility) in IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Leading to belonging)

Funding: $1,011,494

Designated group: Persons with disabilities

Targeted sector: Other (Canadian museums)

Realize’s project aims to improve the representation of persons with long term and episodic disabilities among senior, middle and other manager, supervisor as well as administrative and senior clerical personnel positions in Canadian museums. Realize will develop tools and guides to support and address industry-specific needs, such as an accommodation planning toolkit and awareness workshops on episodic disabilities. Realize will also share findings on needs and sector-specific strategies to support diversity, equity and inclusion through a national webinar. The project is carried out in partnership with Ingenium Canada.

National Educational Association of Disabled Students

Project: Building Employment Pathways for People with Disabilities

Funding: $967,887

Designated group: Persons with disabilities

Targeted sector: Transportation

The Association’s project focuses on identifying barriers, needs and best practices for accessible employment in the field of postal and courier services among senior, middle and other manager, supervisor, administrative and clerical personnel, skilled sales and service personnel as well as semi-skilled manual worker positions. The Association will develop a best practices toolkit tailored for Canada Post and will help improve access to certified coaches with Sustainable Livelihoods Canada to support persons with disabilities to become successfully employed. The project is carried out in partnership with Nipissing University, Sustainable Livelihoods Canada, OntarioTech University, Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities, Council of Canadians with Disabilities and Quebec Association for Equity and Inclusion in Post-Secondary Education.

Restigouche CBDC

Project: Removing Barriers for Persons with Disabilities in the Banking and Financial Services Sector

Funding: $875,000

Designated group: Persons with disabilities

Targeted sector: Banking and financial services

Restigouche CBDC’s project aims to improve understanding of industry-specific barriers to inclusion and provide effective human resources practices to address them. It will help improve the representation of persons with disabilities among senior, middle and other manager, professional, as well as administrative and senior clerical personnel positions in the banking sector. Restigouche CBDC will develop inclusion tools and guides tailored to industry-specific needs as well as an assessment tool for assisting employers in hiring and retaining persons with disabilities. The project is carried out in partnership with Gateway Association and National Bank.

Canadian Advanced Air Mobility

Project: Advanced Air Mobility Barriers to Equity Reduction

Funding: $695,598

Designated groups: Women, Indigenous peoples and members of visible minorities

Targeted sector: Transportation

Canadian Advanced Air Mobility’s project aims to improve the representation of women, Indigenous Peoples and members of visible minorities among manager and semi-skilled manual worker positions in the air transportation industry. By building on previous successful efforts to reduce barriers to equity, the consortium will engage with industry, academia and government partners to help increase the understanding of industry-specific barriers and industry-wide dialogue and understanding of current and desired future of state work environments.

The project is carried out in partnership with Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Bell Textron Canada Limited, British Columbia Institute of Technology, CAE, Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace, Canadian Mobility and Aerospace Institute, Community Air Mobility Initiative, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, Diversity Development Network of Canada, Flight Crowd, Hamburg Aviation, Helijet, Indigenous Aerospace, InDro Robotics, Iskwew Air, Ontario Aerospace Council, Supernal and Women and Drones.

Canadian Apprenticeship Forum

Project: Empowering Employers in Transportation to Embrace Inclusion and Training Women in the Trades

Funding: $426,132

Designated group: Women

Targeted sector: Transportation

Canadian Apprenticeship Forum’s project aims to increase the representation of women, including Indigenous and visible minority women, among senior, middle and other manager and supervisor positions in the transportation sector, specifically in the Red Seal trades. The Forum will engage more than 50 federally regulated employers through various events to share inclusion strategies and develop an inclusion guide so that higher numbers of women can be recruited, trained and retained. The project is carried out in partnership with Bison Transport and Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Women in Capital Markets

Project: Diversifying Finance: Dismantling Systemic Barriers Facing Women in Canadian Finance

Funding: $220,058

Designated group: Women

Targeted sector: Banking and financial services

The project of Women in Capital Markets aims to increase the representation of women, predominantly Indigenous and Black women, among senior, middle and other manager positions in the banking sector. It involves developing an industry-specific five-module education program for managers and human resources professionals that will help mitigate bias and reduce barriers that may be present in hiring and promotion policies and practices. The project will conclude with a study to measure the effect of the education program and identify the most effective strategies to increase representation. The project is carried out in partnership with PriceWaterhouse Cooper.

Project funded through the 2023 solicited process

Trucking Human Resources Canada

Project: Assessing and Responding to Challenges Trucking and Logistics Employers Face in Human Resource Reporting

Funding: $250,000

Designated group: All four designated groups

Targeted sector: Transportation

Trucking HR Canada’s project is intended to support ground transportation employers in their efforts to collect, format, and submit human resources (HR) data in accordance with the Legislated Employment Equity Program. Activities include employer surveys and key informant interviews designed to understand and assess challenges faced by such employers, especially small and medium sized trucking companies with limited HR capacity. The intended outcome will be the development of new HR tools to assist employers with respect to HR data collection and reporting requirements.

Funding amounts are subject to change. Grants and contributions agreements are disclosed on the proactive disclosure webpage.

1. Includes all major Canadian banks and other establishments primarily engaged in financial transactions or in facilitating financial transactions.

2. Covers businesses that operate radio and television broadcasting studios and facilities, as well as telecommunications services providers.

3. Consists of air, rail, bus, water and pipeline transportation industries, inter-provincial trucking, postal service couriers and warehousing and storage.

4. Encompasses industries such as nuclear power generation, metal ore mining, professional, scientific and technical services, investigation and security services, public administration.