Employment Equity in the Public Service of Canada for Fiscal Year 2017 to 2018

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Message from the President of the Treasury Board

As the President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government, I am pleased to present the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s 26th annual report to Parliament on employment equity in the public service of Canada.

The Government of Canada believes strongly that the federal public service must be representative of the public it serves. It is not only the right thing to do, it also makes for better results. An inclusive and diverse workforce allows the public service to keep up with emerging trends and the evolving expectations of citizens, and to embrace new ways of thinking, experimentation and innovation.

Employment equity is an important element in building a diverse workforce. Under the Employment Equity Act, the government is required to strive to meet representation levels, based on estimated workforce availability, for the four employment equity designated groups: women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, the core public administration met and surpassed workforce availability, which is the minimum benchmark, for each of the four designated groups. While the employee population in the regions has increased compared with the previous fiscal year, representation of women and members of visible minorities across the regions has also increased. In addition, the rate of hiring for women, Aboriginal peoples and members of visible minorities was above workforce availability.

Federal departments and agencies are now looking beyond the minimum benchmarks set out in the Employment Equity Act to take a more comprehensive approach to creating and sustaining a workplace that is equitable and inclusive of the LGBTQ2+ community, other equity-seeking groups and all public service employees. For example, thanks to their efforts, four of the government’s largest departments have been recognized nationally as being among Canada’s best employers because of their diversity practices and programs.

In the year ahead, the public service will continue to recruit and develop a new generation of employees who represent the full diversity of Canada. To learn more about the government’s efforts to grow a diverse public service that reflects Canada and is a model of inclusion for employers around the world, I invite all parliamentarians and all Canadians to read this report.

Original signed by

The Honourable Joyce Murray, P.C., M.P.
President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government

Introduction

Canada’s first Employment Equity Act came into force in 1986 with the objective to build a foundation for equal access to employment opportunities or benefits and to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by:

  • women
  • Aboriginal peoplesFootnote 1
  • persons with disabilities
  • members of visible minorities

In 1996, Canada’s federal public service became subject to the Employment Equity Act. The act, which has now been in place within the public service for 23 years, is the foundation for progress toward building a public service capable of serving people who live in Canada and Canadians abroad.

Employment equity reporting requirements

Each fiscal year, the President of the Treasury Board must table a report in Parliament on the state of employment equity of the four designated groups within the core public administration, which comprises 66 departments and agencies listed in Schedule I and Schedule IV of the Financial Administration Act.

The President of the Treasury Board is also responsible for tabling in Parliament the reports of federal organizations listed in Schedule V of the Financial Administration Act that have 100 employees or more. Currently, 20 separate agenciesFootnote 2 are required to submit employment equity annual reports to Parliament.

For more information on employment equity reporting requirements, see subsection 21(1) of the Employment Equity Act.

Under the Employment Equity Act and within the scope of its powers and functions under the Financial Administration Act, the Treasury Board has “employer” obligations for the core public administration. The Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer (OCHRO) supports the Treasury Board in its role as the employer by driving excellence in people management and ensuring the appropriate degree of consistency across the public service.

The Employment Equity Act requires that employers under federal jurisdiction engage in proactive employment practices to increase the representation of the four designated groups at all levels of employment.

The activities underway across the public service help with:

  • removing barriers
  • setting the stage for all public service employees to:
    • fully participate in the workplace
    • contribute their potential to the workplace

These activities, including the recently launched Centre for Wellness, Inclusion and Diversity, recognize employment equity as a foundation for achieving a representative public service. The Centre is one of several initiatives to ensure that decisions, initiatives and programs across the federal public service foster and promote a workplace that:

  • is healthy, respectful, diverse and inclusive
  • represents the population it serves
  • enables each employee to contribute at their full potential

Service renewal is a key priority for the federal public service of Canada, and establishing a workplace that is healthy, inclusive, diverse and accessible is central to successful renewal.

Based on current workforce availability data,Footnote 3 the core public administration has achieved overall representation for each of the employment equity designated groups.

Roles and responsibilities of employment equity stakeholders

For information on the roles and responsibilities of employment equity stakeholders, see sections 4, 5 and 22 of the Employment Equity Act.

In 2019, Statistics Canada will release new data from the 2016 Census, which will allow workforce availability numbers to be updated. In order to fulfill the requirements of the Employment Equity Act, federal employers must ensure that their human resources plans reflect expected increases in workforce availability rates for members of designated groups.

Without losing ground on the gains achieved to date, it is time to also focus on consistently identifying and removing barriers to employment and to the full participation of all public service employees.

This report:

  • presents the quantitative results achieved in the representation of each of the four employment equity designated groups for the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
  • describes the activities of federal departmentsFootnote 4 to:
    • identify, remove and prevent barriers to employment
    • foster the full participation of equity group members, and all public servants, in a workplace that promotes wellness, respect, inclusiveness and diversity

Results and analysis

The analysis of dataFootnote 5 presented in this report relates to:

  • employees in indeterminate positions
  • employees whose term is more than three months
  • seasonal employees
  • employees who have self-identified as belonging to one or more of the four employment equity designated groups (employees who have not self-identified are not represented in the employment equity data analyzed or provided in the statistical tables in Appendix A)

Public service population and designated group representation

The number of employees in the core public administration steadily increased over the last four consecutive fiscal years, reaching a total of 192,467 as at March 31, 2018, which is a 3.8% increase from the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year.

Likewise, the number of women, Aboriginal peoples and members of visible minorities increased year after year, although at different rates. As shown in Figure 1:

  • the number of members of visible minorities increased the most
  • there was a decrease in the number of persons with disabilities
Figure 1: number of total employees and number of employees in each employment equity designated group in the core public administration from the 2014 to 2015 fiscal year to the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Figure 1: number of total employees and number of employees in each employment equity designated group in the core public administration from the 2014 to 2015 fiscal year to the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Figure 1 - Text version
  2014 to 2015 fiscal year 2015 to 2016 fiscal year 2016 to 2017 fiscal year 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Total employee population 180,681 181,674 185,484 192,467
Women 98,051 98,846 101,136 105,465
Aboriginal peoples 9,232 9,358 9,726 9,876
Persons with disabilities 10,204 10,092 10,259 10,181
Members of visible minorities 24,849 26,336 28,058 30,273

Overall, the core public administration is representative of the population it serves. It has:

  • met and surpassed the current estimated workforce availability benchmark for each of the four employment equity designated groupsFootnote 6
  • implemented educational and awareness programs and supporting initiatives, and contributed to achieving diversity across departments in the core public administration

Overall representation levels achieved

The core public administration comprises 66 departments. From March 31, 2017, to March 31, 2018, those departments that exceeded workforce availability, compared with the previous fiscal year:

  • decreased from 50 departments to 46 for women, and from 54 to 50 for persons with disabilities
  • increased from 54 departments to 57 for Aboriginal peoples, and from 34 to 54 for members of visible minorities

As shown in Table 1, the representation rate for each of the four employment equity designated groups continued to be above their current estimated workforce availabilities in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year. Over a four-year period:

  • the representation rate for women and members of visible minorities steadily increased
  • the representation rate for Aboriginal peoples decreased in the last fiscal year
  • the representation rate for persons with disabilities decreased in the past two years

Also, the representation rate at the executive level for Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities decreased in the last fiscal year (see Table 2).

Table 1: representation rate of employment equity groups from the 2014 to 2015 fiscal year to the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year compared with estimated workforce availability
Employment equity group 2014 to 2015 fiscal year 2015 to 2016 fiscal year 2016 to 2017 fiscal year 2017 to 2018 fiscal year Workforce availability in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Women 54.3% 54.4% 54.5% 54.8% 52.5%
Aboriginal peoples 5.1% 5.2% 5.2% 5.1% 3.4%
Persons with disabilities 5.6% 5.6% 5.5% 5.3% 4.4%
Members of visible minorities 13.8% 14.5% 15.1% 15.7% 13.0%

The importance of government’s efforts to continually incorporate employment equity considerations in its resources planning cannot be underestimated.

Revised workforce availability estimates based on the 2016 Census will become available in 2019. Developing a robust human resources plan that effectively takes into account projections for employment equity group workforce availability is a prudent approach to ensure that the public service remains reflective of the populations it serves.

Appendix A of this report provides a detailed breakdown of numerical trends and rates of representation for each of the four employment equity designated groups.

Representation at the executive level

As shown in Table 2, in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, internal representation at the executive level was above workforce availability for women, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. A gap in representation at the executive level persists for Aboriginal peoples.

Table 2: internal representation rate at the executive level from the 2014 to 2015 fiscal year to the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Employment equity group 2014 to 2015 fiscal year 2015 to 2016 fiscal year 2016 to 2017 fiscal year 2017 to 2018 fiscal year Workforce availability in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Women 46.4% 47.3% 48.0% 49.1% 47.8%
Aboriginal peoples 3.4% 3.7% 3.9% 3.7% 5.2%
Persons with disabilities 5.3% 5.1% 5.2% 4.8% 2.3%
Members of visible minorities 8.8% 9.4% 10.2% 10.1% 9.5%

Table 2 shows that:

  • women are the only designated group in the core public administration to experience a consistent increase in representation at the executive level
  • the representation rate at the executive level for the other three employment equity groups decreased in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, following gains in the previous fiscal year

The value of providing training, career development and advancement programs to support employment equity designated groups to reach their full potential, including within the executive category, cannot be underestimated.

Representation by occupational group

In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, the representation rate of women slightly increased, compared with the previous fiscal year, in the following occupational groups:

  • Scientific and Professional: from 52.5% to 53.1%
  • Technical: from 26.6% to 27.0%
  • Operational: from 29.2% to 29.3%

Table 3 compares the internal representation of women with the estimated workforce availability for each occupational group at the aggregate level across the core public administration. It also compares the percentage of women and men by occupational group.

In Budget 2018, the Government of Canada committed funding to encourage women to develop the technical and semi-professional skills needed to pursue careers in fields in which they are currently under-represented.

Employment and Social Development Canada is developing a program for women in construction, and Status of Women Canada is piloting a project to analyze the challenges that visible minorities and newcomer women face in finding employment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) occupations across Canada.

In addition to Table 3, Table A3 in Appendix A provides information on representation by occupational group.

Table 3: internal representation of women by occupational group compared with men as at March 31, 2018
Occupational groups in the core public administration (Schedule III of the Employment Equity Regulations) Women Men
Number of women Internal representation rate (%) Workforce availability (%) Number of men Internal representation rate (%)

Table 3 Notes

Table 3 Note *

Representation of the Technical group at the aggregate level is above its estimated workforce availability. However, there are gaps in representation when disaggregated by subgroups. For example, there is a representation gap in the General Labour and Trades subgroup and the Correctional Services subgroup under the Operational group.

Return to table 3 note * referrer

Executive 2,733 49.1 47.6 2,832 50.9
Scientific and Professional (includes Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematics, Economic, Sociology and Statistics) 19,061 53.1 46.3 16,856 46.9
Administrative and Foreign Service (includes Commerce, Computer Systems, Financial Administration, Personnel Administration and Program Administration) 56,613 62.8 59.1 33,512 37.2
Technical (includes Air Traffic Control, Engineering and Scientific Support, General Technical, Primary Products, Inspection and Social Science Support) 3,505 27.0 26.3table 3 note * 9,479 73.0
Administrative Support (includes Communications and Clerical and Regulatory) 15,289 77.8 81.1 4,353 22.2
Operational (includes General Labour and Trades, Ship’s Crew, Ship Repair and Correctional Services) 8,264 29.3 28.3table 3 note * 19,925 70.7

Region of work

In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, the employee population in the regions increased compared with the previous fiscal year:

  • the representation of women and members of visible minorities across the regions increased
  • the representation of Aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities decreased
  • there is a representation gap for Aboriginal peoples in the Northwest Territories and in Nunavut

Saskatchewan was the exception, as its employee population remained stable.

Table A2 in Appendix A provides a detailed breakdown by location and employment equity group for the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year.

Distribution by annual salary ranges

Although 17.9% of the overall employee population annually earns $100,000 and over, a lower percentage of employment equity groups, with the exception of women, had earnings at that level:

  • 44.0% of employees who earned $100,000 and over were women
  • 16.3% of employees who earned $100,000 and over were persons with disabilities
  • 15.3% of employees who earned $100,000 and over were members of visible minorities
  • 11.4% of employees who earned $100,000 and over were Aboriginal people

Representation by gender for each employment equity group

In the core public administration in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, 45.2% of employees were men, and 54.8% were women. As outlined in Table 4:

  • the difference in the percentage of men and women among Aboriginal employees is the widest, with 61.4% of Aboriginal employees being women
  • the gender balance among persons with disabilities and among members of visible minorities was more narrow than that for Aboriginal employees:
    • 52.7% of persons with disabilities were women
    • 55.5% of members of visible minorities were women
Table 4: breakdown of employees by gender and employment equity designated group, as at March 31, 2018
Gender Aboriginal peoples Persons with disabilities Members of visible minorities
Number % Number % Number %
Women 6,066 61.4 5,363 52.7 16,799 55.5
Men 3,808 38.6 4,817 47.3 13,468 44.5
Unknown 2 0.0 1 0.0 6 0.0

In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, women comprised:

  • up to 78% of the overall employee population in smaller departments
  • over 66% in larger departments

This gender imbalance points to the need for efforts in human resources planning and recruitment and for considering activities to attract, recruit and retain employees (see Tables A1 and A3 in Appendix A for the number and percentage of women in each department and by occupational group).

Representation and distribution of gender-diverse employees

In light of the evolving definition of gender beyond the traditional binary male and female definitions, the term “gender equality” has taken on a broader meaning. Various aspects of gender, including gender diversity, are being studied to support greater equality in the core public administration.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is developing a government-wide approach on how federal programs and services collect, use, and indicate sex and gender information. This approach will:

  • promote respect for and inclusion of gender-diverse people living in Canada, including federal public servants
  • support the collection of accurate data on sex and gender for:
    • program operations
    • analysis
    • evidence-based decision-making

Options for collecting non-binary gender information are being explored to reflect the representation of persons who identify as neither strictly male nor female. The aim is to have more accurate disaggregated data as input to policy and planning, both for government and for Canada’s general population.

In addition, the administrative implications of federal departments implementing a non-binary gender option are being analyzed.

Age distribution in the public service

As shown in Table A6, the large majority (91.5%) of the public service overall employee population is 30 years old or older, with a greater percentage of employees between the ages of 40 and 59. In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year:

  • the age profile for women, Aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities was similar to that of the overall population, with an increased representation within the above-mentioned age range
  • members of visible minorities tended to be younger than the overall employee population, with an increased representation under 30 years old and a decreasing trend from 18.6% for employees between 30 and 34 years old to 11.4% for employees between 55 to 59 years old

Representation through the employment cycle: hiring, promotion and separation

Hiring, promotion and separation rates for the four designated employment equity members into the public service, as shown in Table 5, provides useful information regarding:

  • recruitment and staffing practices
  • employee development
  • succession planning
Table 5: indicators of rates of hiring, promotion and separation for employment equity groups for the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year
Rate Women Aboriginal peoples Persons with disabilities Members of visible minorities
Rate of hiring Above workforce availability
58.7%
Above workforce availability
4.0%
Lower than workforce availability
3.6%
Above workforce availability
17.7%
Rate of promotion Higher than internal representation
59.3%
Lower than internal representation
4.9%
Lower than internal representation
4.1%
Higher than internal representation
17.2%
Rate of separation Higher than internal representation
56.9%
Higher than internal representation
5.3%
Higher than internal representation
7.7%
Lower than internal representation
10.1%
Workforce availability 52.5% 3.4% 4.4% 13.0%
Representation rate 54.8% 5.1% 5.3% 15.7%

Indicators of rates of hiring, promotion and separation derived from human resources data, as shown in Table 5 and Table A5 in Appendix A, highlight that:

  • there were positive results in:
    • hiring, promotions and separations for members of visible minorities
    • hiring and promotions for women
  • although the rate of separation for women is higher than their rate of representation, there is no concern regarding a decrease in their numbers or rate of representation to sustain results achieved in previous years
  • the public service must set priority objectives to:
    • improve the rate of hiring of persons with disabilities
    • improve the rate of promotion of:
      • persons with disabilities
      • Aboriginal peoples
    • improve the work experience, to reduce their separation rate, of:
      • persons with disabilities
      • Aboriginal peoples
  • human resources planning should always include:
    • strategies for employment equity designated group recruitment, training, and career and talent management
    • measures to ensure that employment equity designated groups have access to opportunities and required supports

Continuing momentum: government actions and initiatives to foster a diverse and inclusive public service

Reporting on employment equity results in the federal public service must include developments and initiatives in the areas of wellness, inclusion and diversity. In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, departments in the core public administration continued to work toward achieving a workforce that fully represents the diversity of the Canadian population.

Appendix B shows a sample of departments’ activities in support of an inclusive workplace. Notably, four of the government’s largest departments have been recognized nationallyFootnote 7 as being among Canada’s best employers because of their diversity practices and programs:

  • Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
  • Employment and Social Development Canada
  • Health Canada
  • Public Services and Procurement Canada

Employment equity practices in Canada’s federal public service are maturing beyond basic compliance with benchmark levels of representation to a more holistic approach that fosters the development of federal organizations:

  • that are more inclusive
  • in which all employees have equal opportunities and are valued, respected and able to contribute at their full potential

Centre for Wellness, Inclusion and Diversity

Budget 2018 earmarked funds for OCHRO, in its role as the leader in people management in the public service, to create the Centre for Wellness, Inclusion and Diversity, with a mandate to support departments in creating workplaces that are safe, healthy, inclusive and diverse. A government-wide strategy and a multi-year action plan for wellness, inclusion and diversity will provide a framework and will guide efforts and initiatives throughout the public service.

The initiatives outlined in the action plan will achieve tangible results for Canada’s public service to:

  • lead by example as an inclusive and diverse employer
  • become a workforce that fully represents Canada’s evolving population

Ongoing work to achieve full representation across all occupational groups

OCHRO is undertaking a deeper analysis of occupational groups and levels to determine new approaches and strategies to meet representation benchmarks.

Incorporating evidence-based targets for hiring and promoting equity group members as part of executives’ performance evaluations may be an additional way to sustain representation rates.

A public service that is accessible by design

In summer 2018, the Government of Canada established the Office for Public Service Accessibility as part of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. The intent is to:

  • prepare the federal public service for implementation of the Accessible Canada Act
  • design an overarching plan to identify, remove and prevent barriers to the full participation of persons with disabilities and all employees in the workplace
  • set a gold standard for an accessible and inclusive workplace

In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, the Treasury Board’s Policy on the Management of Information Technology was amended, effective April 1, 2018. The amended policy will require that all newly procured and developed technology solutions and equipment meet or exceed requirements and standards for:

  • persons with disabilities
  • Canada’s official languages

Departments are exploring and implementing new strategies to recruit and retain persons with disabilities, including:

  • targeted recruitment of students with disabilities
  • collaboration with community-based organizations to increase access to employment for persons with intellectual disabilities

Pathway to reconciliation: paving the way to cultural change

Strategies to recruit Aboriginal peoples continue to be a public service priority. In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year:

  • The Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity pilot was expanded into an ongoing program across Canada:
    • the program provides Indigenous youth with valuable work experience close to where they live or go to school
    • departments hired over 180 Indigenous students for the summer of 2018, an increase from 99 in 2017
  • OCHRO, with the Public Service Commission of Canada, continues to closely collaborate with Pilimmaksaivik, the Federal Centre of Excellence for Inuit Employment, to improve Inuit representation in the federal public service in Nunavut

A harassment-free workplace

In November 2017, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour introduced Bill C-65: An Act to amend the Canada Labour Code (harassment and violence), the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act and the Budget Implementation Act, 2017, No. 1. Bill C-65 would amend several pieces of legislation and grant the Labour Program with the authority to develop consolidated regulations for harassment and violence prevention. The new legislative and regulatory regime would apply to all federally regulated employers, including the public service, parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and ministers’ offices.

The introduction of Bill C-65 coincided with an increase in the number of sexual misconduct allegations around the world and the rise of the #MeToo movement. These events underscored the importance of equipping deputy heads and managers with up-to-date policies and tools to address and prevent all forms of harassment and violence in the workplace.

In January 2018, the Clerk of the Privy Council tasked a Deputy Minister Task Team to:

  • undertake a targeted review of the harassment framework in the public service
  • identify actions that will better support employees

The Task Team was specifically asked to consider what actions could be taken within the public service’s existing legal and policy framework, in the context of Bill C-65, and to provide their recommendations in a report to be published in the course of 2018. The Task Team’s report, Safe Workspaces: Starting a Dialogue and Taking Action on Harassment in the Public Service, was published in August 2018, after the current reporting period.

Positive Space initiative

The Positive Space initiative, which LGBTQ2+Footnote 8 employees began at the grassroots level in the public service, continued to expand its networking activities and raise awareness through employee-led training.

The Canada School of Public Service also continued to offer training in understanding the challenges that the LGBTQ2+ community faces.

The Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on LGBTQ2+ issues and challenges continued to lead the way forward for the LGBTQ2+ community within the broader Government of Canada agenda for diversity and inclusion.

Employment Equity Champions and Chairs Committees and Circle

Deputy heads in the core public service administration collaborate regularly, sharing best practices through the Employment Equity Champions and Chairs Committees (EECCC) and Circle to fulfill their employer obligations under the Employment Equity Act.

The role of the EECCC is to:

  • identify and eliminate employment barriers for the four employment equity groups
  • ensure that representation within each occupational group reflects the representation of the employment equity groups in the Canadian workforce

Each committee:

  • is chaired by a Deputy Minister Champion
  • has more than 70 members
  • meets three times a year on average

The members of the committees are:

  • departmental champions for that employment equity group (usually a senior manager)
  • the chair of the departmental committee for that group (usually at the working level)

Including both the champions and the chairs in EECCC meetings is intended to foster communication within and across organizations.

The Clerk of the Privy Council has designated three deputy minister champions of employment equity, one for each of the following groups:

  • Aboriginal peoples (Champions and Chairs Circle for Indigenous Peoples)
  • persons with disabilities (Persons with Disabilities Champions and Chairs Committee)
  • members of visible minorities (Visible Minorities Champions and Chairs Committee)

In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, the EECCC worked together and with other employee groups and representatives to:

  • engage employees at all levels
  • provide opportunities for all employees to have an increased sense of belonging to their work teams and to the public service
  • achieve greater inclusion of all employees

The work of the EECCC has revealed a number of areas for continued efforts across the core public administration for all groups to:

  • eliminate barriers to career development, progression and elimination of barriers found in policies, practices, attitudes, physical facilities, and information and communications technologies
  • define and promote the value of self-identification
  • achieve culture change
  • understand the causes of harassment and take actions to reduce harassment and discrimination in the workplace
  • develop cultural competencies to support employees

Champions and Chairs Circle for Indigenous Peoples

In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, Gina Wilson, Deputy Minister Champion for Indigenous Federal Employees released the final report of the Interdepartmental Circles on Indigenous Representation, Many Voices One Mind: A Pathway to Reconciliation, which outlines ways to achieve a federal public service that welcomes, respects, supports and acts to fully include Indigenous peoples who are seeking a public service career and those who have such a career.

The recommendations made in Many Voices One Mind: A Pathway to Reconciliation have been endorsed by the Clerk of the Privy Council and incorporated into a multi-year action plan for wellness, inclusion and diversity for the public service.

Many Voices One Mind: A Pathway to Reconciliation also informed the recommendations of the final report of the Joint/Union Management Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion, published in January 2018.

Members of the Champions and Chairs Circle for Indigenous Peoples reiterated a call for action to support system-wide changes to improve inclusion and retention of Indigenous employees in the public service. Such changes would support the government’s priority for:

  • a renewed nation-to-nation relationship
  • the inclusion of Indigenous peoples in Canadian society

With Indigenous peoples being the fastest-growing segment of the Canadian population, members highlighted the importance of inclusion and that public service leaders are accountable for:

  • encouraging Indigenous peoples and youth to join the public service
  • supporting Indigenous peoples’ training, career development and advancement, including to the executive level, and enhancing their work experiences
  • improving the cultural competencyFootnote 9 of non-Indigenous employees and managers to better address bias, racism, discrimination and harassment

Persons with Disabilities Champions and Chairs Committee

During the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, members of the Persons with Disabilities Champions and Chairs Committee, led by Deputy Minister Champion Yazmine Laroche, examined:

  • accessibility challenges that persons with disabilities experience in the workplace
  • the career progression of persons with disabilities
  • the organizational culture change necessary to ensure full inclusion of persons with disabilities

The committee promotes a user-centred approach of “nothing about us without us,” which underscores the idea that no policy should be decided without the participation of the members of the group affected.

The work experience of persons with disabilities and members was solicited to identify areas for improvement and action that include:

  • difficulty in employees moving from one position to another because of the need to request accommodation with each move
  • possible difficulty in meeting performance standards that have been established for persons who do not have a disability, with an underlying concern that persons with disabilities are perceived as not pulling their own weight for reasons not related to their disability
  • employees on selection boards and managers who are unfamiliar with accessibility and accommodation supports
  • equity considerations that are not built into human resources processes

Public servants with disabilities were also consulted, and their views were considered, in the development of Canada’s first legislation developed exclusively for accessibility, the Accessible Canada Act.

Each year, in observing the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the committee chooses a federal department to champion activities to promote increased understanding of human rights, as well as the inclusion and well-being for persons with disabilities.

On November 1, 2017, Health Canada presented to committee members its findings regarding accessibility barriers that were identified by all four employment equity groups. Health Canada’s findings included the following:

  • the performance of persons with disabilities is not appropriately measured, and evaluation of performance does not use the right tools
  • persons with disabilities perceive harassment and discrimination at a disproportionately higher level than that of the overall employee population
  • employees with disabilities who are members of visible minorities tended to be most disadvantaged

Visible Minorities Champions and Chairs Committee

Deputy Minister Champion Daniel Watson created a steering committee of the Visible Minorities Champions and Chairs Committee (VMCCC) to set priorities for the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year and beyond.

Committee members highlighted the following challenges and areas for improvement:

  • mentoring and coaching to support career development and advancement, including to the executive level
  • a review of the methodology used to estimate workforce availabilities for members of visible minorities
  • increased employment opportunities for members of visible minorities youth in light of the projected increase in members of visible minorities in the Canadian population and labour marketFootnote 10
  • enhanced support for language training that takes into consideration the linguistic profiles of members of visible minorities whose first language is neither English nor French
  • enhanced support to members of visible minorities employees and employees who are from groups whose first language is neither English nor French
  • revisiting of the term “visible minorities” and the language used in the Employment Equity Act, as there is vast diversity among members of visible minorities who have unique challenges that require unique solutions
  • increased diversity of perspectives in decision-making, policy development, and designing and delivering programs

Proposal for a public service–wide committee for women

OCHRO is exploring options to restructure the governance of employment equity and employee engagement across the public service.

A new National Women’s Champions and Chairs Committee (NWCCC) is being considered that would provide a formal forum for addressing employment barriers, issues and challenges that are specific to women.

The NWCCC could:

  • foster further interdepartmental collaboration to avoid duplication and increase awareness of best practices
  • provide a consistent framework and structure within which to address common issues

Joint Employment Equity Committee

The Joint Employment Equity Committee (JEEC) is a national forum for collaboration on employment equity and diversity issues between the employer (the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and the Public Service Commission of Canada) and bargaining agents.

In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat continued its consultations with bargaining agents, through the JEEC, on a number of initiatives and issues related to employment equity, diversity and inclusion, and on other policy and program areas that involve people management, such as:

  • the Treasury Board’s draft policy on employment equity, inclusion and diversity
  • considerations regarding how to handle data integrity problems with the Phoenix pay system that affect reporting of employment equity demographics
  • the approach to implementing the recommendations of the final report of the Joint Union/Management Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion
  • the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s strategy and action plan developed to implement the recommendations of the Joint Union/Management Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion

In addition, JEEC, like the VMCCC and external partners, is interested in obtaining more disaggregated data and analysis pertaining to employment equity representation across departments to better understand and address employment equity issues that persist in the public service.

The JEEC indicated that it will be consulting with bargaining agents at departments to:

  • request information on departments’ employment equity programs
  • assess the effectiveness of departments’ employment equity programs

Conclusion

In the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, rates of representation in the core public administration for each of the four employment equity designated groups continued to be above their estimated workforce availability, which is the minimum benchmark used to assess performance. This achievement has been sustained over the past six years.

While workforce availability is exceeded for each employment equity group, data show priority areas in the representation of:

  • Aboriginal peoples
  • persons with disabilities

Targeted recruitment, as well as initiatives to improve work experience and career progression, may positively impact the representation rate of the two above-mentioned employment groups and reduce their separation rate from the public service.

Legislation and best practices for inclusion and diversity are leading federal employers to:

  • look beyond minimum benchmarks
  • be more comprehensive in their approach to creating and sustaining a workplace that is equitable and inclusive

A public service that is agile, inclusive, diverse, equipped with the tools and training it needs, and free from harassment and violence is essential to:

  • supporting innovation, productivity and career advancement
  • developing programs and delivering services to meet the ever-increasing diversity of Canada’s population

The federal public service’s employment equity programs implemented in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year demonstrate that, in addition to striving to meet representation levels, departments are paying more attention and supporting efforts to achieve an inclusive workplace.

With new data from the 2016 Census becoming available in 2019, Canada’s public service will continue to plan how it manages its human resources to ensure a fully representative and equitable workplace.

Appendix A: statistical tables for the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year

Table A1: distribution of public service of Canada employees by designated group according to department or agency

Financial Administration Act, Schedules I and IV indeterminates, terms of three months or more, and seasonal employees (as at March 31, 2018)

Department or agency All employees Women Aboriginal peoples Persons with disabilities Members of visible minorities
Number Number % Number % Number % Number %
Employment and Social Development Canada 23,355 15,963 68.3 1,026 4.4 1,380 5.9 5,073 21.7
National Defencetable A1 note 22,644 9,004 39.8 799 3.5 1,383 6.1 2,058 9.1
Correctional Service Canada 16,770 8,121 48.4 1,786 10.6 1,063 6.3 1,742 10.4
Canada Border Services Agency 13,107 6,182 47.2 456 3.5 473 3.6 2,122 16.2
Public Services and Procurement Canada 12,854 7,655 59.6 448 3.5 694 5.4 1,804 14.0
Fisheries and Oceans Canadatable A1 note 10,347 4,111 39.7 485 4.7 460 4.4 679 6.6
Health Canada 9,180 6,127 66.7 696 7.6 494 5.4 2,077 22.6
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Civilian Staff) 6,986 5,374 76.9 416 6.0 280 4.0 929 13.3
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada 6,146 4,036 65.7 225 3.7 291 4.7 1,780 29.0
Environment and Climate Change Canada 6,131 2,999 48.9 185 3.0 282 4.6 1,025 16.7
Global Affairs Canada 5,724 3,185 55.6 286 5.0 219 3.8 1,206 21.1
Shared Services Canada 5,334 1,699 31.9 180 3.4 334 6.3 906 17.0
Transport Canada 4,956 2,218 44.8 185 3.7 217 4.4 793 16.0
Statistics Canada 4,852 2,433 50.1 119 2.5 286 5.9 1,126 23.2
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada 4,798 2,473 51.5 129 2.7 199 4.1 865 18.0
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 4,614 2,353 51.0 141 3.1 189 4.1 717 15.5
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada 4,423 2,869 64.9 1,184 26.8 242 5.5 632 14.3
Department of Justice Canada 4,367 3,007 68.9 167 3.8 244 5.6 804 18.4
Natural Resources Canada 3,916 1,801 46.0 99 2.5 149 3.8 540 13.8
Veterans Affairs Canada 2,617 1,931 73.8 105 4.0 202 7.7 221 8.4
Public Health Agency of Canada 1,966 1,336 68.0 60 3.1 109 5.5 400 20.3
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat 1,790 1,082 60.4 45 2.5 104 5.8 339 18.9
Canadian Heritage 1,661 1,100 66.2 76 4.6 80 4.8 220 13.2
Public Safety Canada 1,036 625 60.3 53 5.1 73 7.0 157 15.2
Public Prosecution Service of Canada 987 664 67.3 63 6.4 54 5.5 127 12.9
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 897 559 62.3 41 4.6 42 4.7 286 31.9
Privy Council Office 874 506 57.9 42 4.8 40 4.6 134 15.3
Library and Archives Canada 871 540 62.0 34 3.9 39 4.5 75 8.6
Department of Finance Canada 753 354 47.0 19 2.5 28 3.7 138 18.3
Public Service Commission of Canada 738 498 67.5 35 4.7 63 8.5 140 19.0
Courts Administration Service 600 398 66.3 22 3.7 37 6.2 107 17.8
Elections Canada 596 321 53.9 19 3.2 38 6.4 93 15.6
Canadian Space Agency 588 256 43.5 9 1.5 33 5.6 103 17.7
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency 556 355 63.8 15 2.7 32 5.8 24 4.3
Canada School of Public Service 511 345 67.5 23 4.5 38 7.4 78 15.3
Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada 425 278 65.4 13 3.1 28 6.6 59 13.9
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission 417 229 54.9 19 4.6 14 3.4 70 16.8
Canadian Grain Commission 415 198 47.7 24 5.8 24 5.8 95 22.9
Parole Board of Canada 372 292 78.5 14 3.8 22 5.9 49 13.2
Infrastructure Canada 355 219 61.7 12 3.4 14 3.9 59 16.6
Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec 290 166 57.2 table A1 note * table A1 note * 12 4.1 47 16.2
Western Economic Diversification Canada 268 156 58.2 15 5.6 12 4.5 59 22.0
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency 258 168 65.1 16 6.2 9 3.5 27 10.5
Offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Canada 234 140 59.8 12 5.1 10 4.3 32 13.7
Canadian Transportation Agency 209 120 57.4 5 2.4 15 7.2 35 16.7
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario 206 132 64.1 table A1 note * table A1 note * 21 10.2 48 23.3
Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada 204 123 60.3 9 4.4 13 6.4 15 7.4
Transportation Safety Board of Canada 190 64 33.7 table A1 note * table A1 note * 7 3.7 20 10.5
Canadian Human Rights Commission 180 128 71.1 10 5.6 36 20.0 29 16.1
Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages 150 100 66.7 6 4.0 9 6.0 16 10.7
Office of the Governor General’s Secretary 127 77 60.6 table A1 note * table A1 note * 9 7.1 15 11.8
Status of Women Canada 91 80 87.9 table A1 note * table A1 note * 5 5.5 19 20.9
Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency 76 43 56.6 19 25.0 table A1 note * table A1 note * 11 14.5
Veterans Review and Appeal Board 70 52 74.3 table A1 note * table A1 note * 8 11.4 1 1.4
Canadian Dairy Commission 66 39 59.1 table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * 11 16.7
Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada 61 44 72.1 table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * 7 11.5
Patented Medicine Prices Review Board Canada 57 32 56.1 table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * 10 17.5
Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP 54 30 55.6 table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * 4 7.4
Military Grievances External Review Committee 29 18 62.1 0 0.0 table A1 note * 6.9 table A1 note * 3.4
International Joint Commission 24 11 45.8 0 0.0 5 20.8 table A1 note * 8.3
Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada 22 8 36.4 0 0.0 table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * 13.6
Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada 20 11 55.0 table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * 0 0.0
Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat 16 8 50.0 table A1 note * table A1 note * 0 0.0 table A1 note * table A1 note *
Copyright Board Canada 15 7 46.7 0 0.0 0 0.0 table A1 note * table A1 note *
Military Police Complaints Commission of Canada 15 11 73.3 table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note *
RCMP External Review Committee 6 table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * table A1 note * 0 0.0 0 0.0
Total 192,467 105,465 54.8 9,876 5.1 10,181 5.3 30,273 15.7

Table A1 Notes

Notes

The sum of the designated groups does not equal the total (“all employees”) because employees may have chosen to self-identify in more than one designated group, and men are included in the total.

Table A1 Note 1

National Defence includes civilian staff only (data for members of the Canadian Armed Forces are not included because the Treasury Board is not the employer).

Return to table A1 note referrer

Table A1 Note 2

Fisheries and Oceans Canada data include data for the Canadian Coast Guard.

Return to table A1 note referrer

Table A1 Note 3

Information for small numbers has been suppressed.

Return to table A1 note * referrer

Table A2: distribution of public service of Canada employees by designated group and region of work

Financial Administration Act, Schedules I and IV indeterminates, terms of three months or more, and seasonal employees (as at March 31, 2018)

Region of work All employees Women Aboriginal peoples Persons with disabilities Members of visible minorities
Number Number % Number % Number % Number %
Newfoundland and Labrador 3,111 1,456 46.8 209 6.7 166 5.3 67 2.2
Prince Edward Island 1,722 1,098 63.8 42 2.4 100 5.8 53 3.1
Nova Scotia 8,153 3,725 45.7 452 5.5 589 7.2 503 6.2
New Brunswick 7,546 4,400 58.3 279 3.7 374 5.0 213 2.8
Quebec (without the NCR)table A2 note 20,393 10,685 52.4 489 2.4 700 3.4 2,318 11.4
NCR (Quebec)table A2 note 27,886 15,982 57.3 1,466 5.3 1,446 5.2 4,505 16.2
NCR (Ontario)table A2 note 58,489 32,594 55.7 1,930 3.3 3,187 5.4 10,625 18.2
NCRtable A2 note 86,375 48,576 56.2 3,396 3.9 4,634 5.4 15,130 17.5
Ontario (without the NCR)table A2 note 24,036 13,351 55.5 1,208 5.0 1,411 5.9 5,107 21.2
Manitoba 6,503 3,701 56.9 940 14.5 382 5.9 723 11.1
Saskatchewan 4,597 2,739 59.6 770 16.8 245 5.3 378 8.2
Alberta 9,825 5,560 56.6 793 8.1 592 6.0 1,538 15.7
British Columbia 16,283 8,081 49.6 968 5.9 803 4.9 3,701 22.7
Yukon 306 189 61.8 50 16.3 22 7.2 14 4.6
Northwest Territories 398 245 61.6 60 15.1 16 4.0 32 8.0
Nunavut 237 140 59.1 100 42.2 9 3.8 22 9.3
Outside Canada 1,325 637 48.1 46 3.5 41 3.1 253 19.1
Not availabletable A2 note * 1,657 882 53.2 74 4.5 98 5.9 221 13.3
Total 192,467 105,465 54.8 9,876 5.1 10,181 5.3 30,273 15.7

Table A2 Notes

Notes

The sum of the designated groups does not equal the total (“all employees”) because employees may have chosen to self-identify in more than one designated group, and men are included in the total.

Table A2 Note 1

“NCR” stands for National Capital Region and includes NCR (Quebec) and NCR (Ontario).

Return to table A2 note referrer

Table A2 Note 2

A portion of the 2017 geographic data is not available due to changes in the central data systems.

Return to table A2 note * referrer

Table A3: distribution of public service of Canada employees by designated group and occupational group

Financial Administration Act, Schedules I and IV indeterminates, terms of three months or more, and seasonal employees (as at March 31, 2018)

Occupational group All employees Women Aboriginal peoples Persons with disabilities Members of visible minorities
Number Number % Number % Number % Number %
Executives 5,565 2,733 49.1 207 3.7 269 4.8 564 10.1
EX (Executive) 5,266 2,553 48.5 198 3.8 250 4.7 542 10.3
LC (Law Management)table A3 note 299 180 60.2 9 3.0 19 6.4 22 7.4
Scientific and Professional 35,920 19,061 53.1 1,148 3.2 1,466 4.1 6,938 19.3
Administrative and Foreign Service 90,144 56,613 62.8 4,888 5.4 5,340 5.9 15,605 17.3
Technical 12,988 3,505 27.0 589 4.5 554 4.3 1,211 9.3
Administrative Support 19,651 15,289 77.8 1,304 6.6 1,412 7.2 3,316 16.9
Operational 28,198 8,264 29.3 1,740 6.2 1,140 4.0 2,639 9.4
Undetermined 1 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
Total 192,467 105,46 54.8 9,876 5.1 10,181 5.3 30,273 15.7

Table A3 Notes

Notes

The sum of the designated groups does not equal the total (“all employees”) because employees may have chosen to self-identify in more than one designated group, and men are included in the total.

Table A3 Note 1

LCs have been included in the Executive group since the 2011 to 2012 fiscal year.

Return to table A3 note referrer

Table A4: distribution of public service of Canada employees by designated group and salary range (cont’d)

Financial Administration Act, Schedules I and IV indeterminates, terms of three months or more, and seasonal employees (as at March 31, 2018)

Salary range ($) All employees Women Aboriginal peoples Persons with disabilities Members of visible minorities
Number % of all employees Number % of salary range % of EEtable A4 note group Number % of salary range % of EEtable A4 note group Number % of salary range % of EEtable A4 note group Number % of salary range % of EEtable A4 note group
Under 5,000 83 0.0 25 30.1 0.0 table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note *
5,000 to 9,999 129 0.1 33 25.6 0.0 table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note *
10,000 to 14,999 57 0.0 31 54.4 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 6 10.5 0.1 9 15.8 0.0
15,000 to 19,999 160 0.1 108 67.5 0.1 table A4 note * table A4 note * table A4 note * 9 5.6 0.1 24 15.0 0.1
20,000 to 24,999 160 0.1 113 70.6 0.1 8 5.0 0.1 9 5.6 0.1 28 17.5 0.1
25,000 to 29,999 252 0.1 220 87.3 0.2 20 7.9 0.2 18 7.1 0.2 33 13.1 0.1
30,000 to 34,999 376 0.2 319 84.8 0.3 19 5.1 0.2 20 5.3 0.2 62 16.5 0.2
35,000 to 39,999 592 0.3 448 75.7 0.4 41 6.9 0.4 26 4.4 0.3 75 12.7 0.2
40,000 to 44,999 2,144 1.1 1,534 71.5 1.5 117 5.5 1.2 108 5.0 1.1 340 15.9 1.1
45,000 to 49,999 6,873 3.6 4,655 67.7 4.4 405 5.9 4.1 459 6.7 4.5 1,177 17.1 3.9
50,000 to 54,999 17,345 9.0 12,184 70.2 11.6 1,014 5.8 10.3 1,055 6.1 10.4 2,965 17.1 9.8
55,000 to 59,999 21,616 11.2 13,983 64.7 13.3 1,201 5.6 12.2 1,216 5.6 11.9 3,780 17.5 12.5
60,000 to 64,999 16,539 8.6 10,737 64.9 10.2 888 5.4 9.0 922 5.6 9.1 2,649 16.0 8.7
65,000 to 69,999 20,799 10.8 11,359 54.6 10.8 1,086 5.2 11.0 995 4.8 9.8 3,014 14.5 10.0
70,000 to 74,999 18,553 9.6 8,108 43.7 7.7 1,436 7.7 14.5 991 5.3 9.7 2,491 13.4 8.2
75,000 to 79,999 9,028 4.7 4,234 46.9 4.0 364 4.0 3.7 381 4.2 3.7 1,345 14.9 4.4
80,000 to 84,999 10,793 5.6 5,927 54.9 5.6 539 5.0 5.5 507 4.7 5.0 1,802 16.7 6.0
85,000 to 89,999 16,294 8.5 7,740 47.5 7.3 953 5.8 9.6 1,008 6.2 9.9 2,335 14.3 7.7
90,000 to 94,999 8,631 4.5 4,731 54.8 4.5 368 4.3 3.7 429 5.0 4.2 1,685 19.5 5.6
95,000 to 99,999 7,658 4.0 3,830 50.0 3.6 281 3.7 2.8 355 4.6 3.5 1,182 15.4 3.9
100,000 and over 34,385 17.9 15,146 44.0 14.4 1,128 3.3 11.4 1,661 4.8 16.3 5,267 15.3 17.4
Total 192,467 100.0 105,465 54.8 100.0 9,876 5.1 100.0 10,181 5.3 100.0 30,273 15.7 100.0

Table A4 Notes

Notes

The sum of the designated groups does not equal the total (“all employees”) because employees may have chosen to self-identify in more than one designated group, and men are included in the total.

Table A4 Note 1

EE: employment equity

Return to table A4 note referrer

Table A4 Note 2

Information for small numbers has been suppressed.

Return to table 2 note * referrer

Table A5: hirings and promotions into the public service of Canada by designated group and separations from the public service of Canada by designated group

Financial Administration Act, Schedules I and IV indeterminates, terms of three months or more, and seasonal employees (April 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018)

Action All employees Women Aboriginal peoples Persons with disabilities Members of visible minorities
Number Number % Number % Number % Number %
Hirings 19,249 11,290 58.7 767 4.0 685 3.6 3,402 17.7
Promotions 20,660 12,260 59.3 1,015 4.9 837 4.1 3,560 17.2
Separations 12,995 7,390 56.9 687 5.3 995 7.7 1,317 10.1

Notes

The sum of the designated groups does not equal the total (“all employees”) because employees may have chosen to self-identify in more than one designated groups, and men are included in the total.

“Hirings” refers to employees who were added to the public service of Canada payroll between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2018.

Data on promotions are obtained from the Public Service Commission of Canada and include information from departments and agencies that fall under both the Financial Administration Act, Schedules I and IV, and the Public Service Employment Act.

“Separations” refers to employees who left the public service of Canada payroll between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2018.

Percentages are that designated group’s share of all actions of the given type.

See the definitions of “hirings,” “promotions” and “separations” in Appendix C.

Table A6: distribution of public service of Canada employees by designated group and age range

Financial Administration Act, Schedules I and IV indeterminates, terms of three months or more, and seasonal employees (as at March 31, 2018)

Age range  All employees Women Aboriginal peoples Persons with disabilities Members of visible minorities
Number % of all employees Number % of age range % of EE table A6 note group Number % of age range % of EEtable A6 note group Number % of age range % of EEtable A6 note group Number % of age range % of EEtable A6 note group
Under 20 89 0.0 28 31.5 0.0 table A6 note * table A6 note * 0.0 table A6 note * table A6 note * 0.0 5 5.6 0.0
20 to 24 3,680 1.9 2,201 59.8 2.1 152 4.1 1.5 80 2.2 0.8 748 20.3 2.5
25 to 29 12,749 6.6 7,542 59.2 7.2 509 4.0 5.2 329 2.6 3.2 2,685 21.1 8.9
30 to 34 20,044 10.4 11,137 55.6 10.6 918 4.6 9.3 588 2.9 5.8 3,722 18.6 12.3
35 to 39 27,313 14.2 15,453 56.6 14.7 1,320 4.8 13.4 971 3.6 9.5 4,837 17.7 16.0
40 to 44 30,513 15.9 17,377 56.9 16.5 1,628 5.3 16.5 1,368 4.5 13.4 5,190 17.0 17.1
45 to 49 29,382 15.3 16,279 55.4 15.4 1,793 6.1 18.2 1,601 5.4 15.7 4,541 15.5 15.0
50 to 54 30,499 15.8 16,537 54.2 15.7 1,752 5.7 17.7 2,078 6.8 20.4 3,864 12.7 12.8
55 to 59 23,978 12.5 12,298 51.3 11.7 1,202 5.0 12.2 1,921 8.0 18.9 2,725 11.4 9.0
60 to 64 10,615 5.5 5,064 47.7 4.8 477 4.5 4.8 923 8.7 9.1 1,361 12.8 4.5
65 to 69 2,889 1.5 1,274 44.1 1.2 102 3.5 1.0 267 9.2 2.6 457 15.8 1.5
70 + 714 0.4 274 38.4 0.3 21 2.9 0.2 54 7.6 0.5 138 19.3 0.5
Unknown 2 0.0 1 50.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0
Total 192,467 100.0 105,465 54.8 100.0 9,876 5.1 100.0 10,181 5.3 100.0 30,273 15.7 100.0

Table Notes A6

Notes

The sum of the designated groups does not equal the total (“all employees”) because employees may have chosen to self-identify in more than one designated group, and men are included in the total.

Note 1 of table A6

EE: employment equity

Return to note of table A6

Note 2 of table A6

Information for small numbers has been suppressed.

Return to note * of table A6

Table A7: representation of public service of Canada by designated group and fiscal year

Financial Administration Act, Schedules I and IV indeterminates, terms of three months or more, and seasonal employees

Public service representation All employees Women Aboriginal peoples Persons with disabilities Members of visible minorities
Number Number % Number % Number % Number %
As at March 31, 2018 192,467 105,465 54.8 9,876 5.1 10,181 5.3 30,273 15.7
As at March 31, 2017 185,484 101,136 54.5 9,726 5.2 10,259 5.5 28,058 15.1
As at March 31, 2016 181,674 98,846 54.4 9,358 5.2 10,092 5.6 26,336 14.5
As at March 31, 2015 180,681 98,051 54.3 9,232 5.1 10,204 5.6 24,849 13.8
As at March 31, 2014 181,356 98,078 54.1 9,239 5.1 10,390 5.7 23,919 13.2
As at March 31, 2013 188,342 102,124 54.2 9,491 5.0 10,871 5.8 23,812 12.6
As at March 31, 2012 198,793 108,620 54.6 9,785 4.9 11,418 5.7 23,978 12.1
As at March 31, 2011 202,631 111,051 54.8 9,486 4.7 11,388 5.6 22,998 11.3
As at March 31, 2010 202,386 110,867 54.8 9,307 4.6 11,620 5.7 21,567 10.7
As at March 31, 2009 195,667 107,089 54.7 8,892 4.5 11,468 5.9 19,264 9.8
As at March 31, 2008 186,754 101,589 54.4 8,190 4.4 11,001 5.9 17,207 9.2
As at March 31, 2007 179,540 96,816 53.9 7,610 4.2 10,192 5.7 15,787 8.8
As at March 31, 2006 176,630 95,013 53.8 7,381 4.2 10,169 5.8 15,112 8.6
As at March 31, 2005 165,856 88,702 53.5 6,886 4.2 9,626 5.8 13,498 8.1
As at March 31, 2004 165,976 88,175 53.1 6,723 4.1 9,452 5.7 13,001 7.8
As at March 31, 2003 163,314 86,162 52.8 6,426 3.9 9,155 5.6 12,058 7.4
As at March 31, 2002 157,510 82,663 52.5 5,980 3.8 8,331 5.3 10,772 6.8
As at March 31, 2001 149,339 77,785 52.1 5,316 3.6 7,621 5.1 9,143 6.1
As at March 31, 2000table A7 note * (Revenue Canada excluded) 141,253 72,549 51.4 4,639 3.3 6,687 4.7 7,764 5.5
As at March 31, 1999 (Revenue Canada included) 178,340 91,856 51.5 5,124 2.9 8,137 4.6 10,557 5.9
As at March 31, 1998 179,831 90,801 50.5 4,770 2.7 6,943 3.9 9,260 5.1
Workforce availability
2011 National Household Survey and the 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability n/a n/a 52.5 n/a 3.4 n/a 4.4 n/a 13.0
2006 Census and Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) n/a n/a 52.3 n/a 3.0 n/a 4.0 n/a 12.4
2001 Census and PALS n/a n/a 52.2 n/a 2.5 n/a 3.6 n/a 10.4
1996 Census and 1996 Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) n/a n/a 48.7 n/a 1.7 n/a 4.8 n/a 8.7
1991 Census and HALS n/a n/a 47.3 n/a 2.6 n/a 4.8 n/a 9.0

Table Notes A7

Note 1 of table A7

Revenue Canada became a separate employer, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, on November 1, 1999.

Return to note * of table A7

n/a: not applicable

Notes

The data in this and other tables in this report cover employees identified for the purpose of employment equity in the Employment Equity Regulations and the Employment Equity Act. The estimates of workforce availability are based on information from the 2011 Census of Canada and the 2012 post-Census Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS). Estimates include only Canadian citizens in those occupations in the Canadian workforce that correspond to occupations in the federal public service.

Internal representation is based on those who have voluntarily chosen to self-identify, to date, as an Aboriginal person, a person with disability, or a person who is a member of visible minorities. A person may self-identify in more than one employment equity designated group.

Appendix B: examples of initiatives for employment equity, diversity and inclusion implemented in departments in the 2017 to 2018 fiscal year

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Agri-Diversity Program

The Agri-Diversity Program is a five-year initiative to encourage youth, women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and official languages minority communities to fully participate in the Canadian agriculture sector. The program’s objective is to:

  • develop the business skills and entrepreneurial capacity of diverse groups of Canadians to assume leadership roles in the industry
  • strengthen the agriculture sector with diverse perspectives

Indigenous Pathfinder Service

The Indigenous Pathfinder Service connects Indigenous organizations and peoples to the department through customized support and services, including access to information, tools and other support needed to start or expand activities in agriculture and agri-food.

Socio-economic portraits of official language minority communities

In collaboration with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and Statistics Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada identified the presence of agricultural and agri-food economic activity in official language minority communities in Western Canada, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. The goal was to:

  • help address data gaps related to French-language minority communities
  • enable the department to take a more integrated approach to its policies and programs

Statistics Canada published the results in its Ethnicity, Language and Immigration Thematic Series in July 2017.

Indigenous Support and Awareness Office

In 2017, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada created the Indigenous Support and Awareness Office to ensure sustained departmental efforts to advance reconciliation by increasing departmental awareness, retention and representation of Indigenous peoples. The Office:

  • developed an Indigenous agriculture education program for employees
  • offered cultural awareness training
  • supported the Indigenous Student Recruitment Initiative, the departmental Elder program and the Indigenous Network Circle

The department’s full-time Elder:

  • coaches and mentors Indigenous students and works closely with Indigenous students’ supervisors
  • provides career and education coaching

The Elder has been critical to the success of the Indigenous Student Recruitment Initiative, which has encouraged other departments to consider instituting similar models.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada expanded the Elder’s role to include outreach activities. The Elder travelled across Canada to:

  • hold 14 cultural awareness group sessions, reaching 257 employees
  • hold individual and group armchair sessions for senior management

Employment and Social Development Canada

In December 2017, Employment and Social Development Canada spearheaded activities beyond a focus on employment equity to examining how to transform organizations to make them truly accessible for all. Employment and Social Development Canada:

  • oversees the implementation of the Employment Equity Act across the federal government and in federally regulated organizations in the public and private sectors
  • monitors compliance and submits a report to Parliament on the status of employment equity in the federally regulated private sector
  • assesses the compliance of federal contractors
  • develops methodologies for calculating labour market availabilities, gender wage gaps, and other labour and employment metrics
  • has been developing the Accessible Canada Act and will oversee its implementation on the coming into force of the act

Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada

Inclusive single-occupancy washrooms

Health Canada’s Gender and Sexual Diversity Network and the Public Health Agency of Canada advocated for access to single-occupancy washrooms for transgender and gender-diverse employees. Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada are among the first federal departments to accommodate transgender and gender-diverse employees in this way.

This initiative supported diversity, inclusion and the rights of members of the LGBTQ2+ community.

Health Canada

Persons with Disabilities Network Letter Project

Health Canada’s Persons with Disabilities Network invited employees with disabilities to write anonymous letters that described their experiences in the workplace. Through these letters, employees told compelling, often poignant stories about the difficulties they face. The Network made a number of recommendations to improve the work environment for persons with disabilities that were based on:

  • these letters
  • results of past Public Service Employee Surveys
  • further consultations with employees with disabilities

Health Canada developed a Management Response and Action Plan to address employees’ concerns.

Network Secretariat

Health Canada established the Network Secretariat (Net-Sec) to provide advice and administrative support and services to the department’s nine employee networks. Net-Sec increases the visibility of the department’s employee networks and their respective champions.

Public Health Agency of Canada

Indigenous cultural competency

The Public Health Agency of Canada provided cultural competency training to employees through:

  • the Canada School of Public Service
  • webinars
  • online and in-person sessions

Cultural competency refers to applying knowledge and skills to ensure respectful relationships with diverse populations through inclusivity, respect and valuing of differences.

The department’s Indigenous Employees Network indicated that although the department offers training on Indigenous cultural competency for all employees, it does not have cultural competency training specifically targeted to its Indigenous employees. However, the Manitoba and Saskatchewan Region has developed an Indigenous Cultural Competencies document specifically for that region.

The agency also developed a survey for employees to identify their training and learning needs regarding various competencies.

Western Economic Diversification

Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)

Western Economic Diversification (WD):

  • applied a GBA+ lens to its policies and to how it delivers its programs and services
  • continued to take steps toward making informed decisions on diversity, intersectionality and inclusion
  • launched a new GBA+ departmental portal

Enhancing linguistic diversity

WD highlighted linguistic diversity by:

  • celebrating Canada’s official languages through Linguistic Duality Day and Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie
  • encouraging employees to use and develop their skills in other languages

Increased engagement with Indigenous communities and cultures

In support of WD’s Indigenous economic development programs, employees were encouraged to participate in various cultural awareness events with Indigenous Elders.

Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario

All-staff training to prevent racism, harassment and discrimination

Employees and managers at the Federal Economic Development Agency of Ontario (FedDev Ontario) took training to strengthen their understanding of what constitutes racism, harassment and discrimination.

Diversity and inclusiveness calendar

FedDev Ontario promoted a diversity and inclusiveness calendar to its employees to encourage awareness of Canada’s cultural diversity.

2017 Invictus Games

FedDev Ontario participated in promoting the 2017 Invictus Games (for injured service personnel), held in Toronto from September 23 to 30, 2017.

Canada Border Services Agency

Senior leadership listening tour

Plans were established for the leadership of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to travel across Canada to engage employees on strengthening CBSA’s organizational culture.

Assessment board inventory

CBSA continued to maintain an inventory of employees who have self-identified as belonging to one or more of the four employment equity designated groups. These individuals can be called upon to be part of selection boards in CBSA’s assessment and appointment processes.

Celebrating diversity and promoting accessibility

With Employment and Social Development Canada, CBSA co-led a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the United Nations’ International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 4, 2017, at the Canadian War Museum.

CBSA celebrated Diversity Week from February 26 to March 2, 2018, with special events under the theme “Nothing about us without us” and in the spirit of strengthening the commitment of managers and employees to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Employment equity champions

Each of CBSA’s champions for its employment equity networks committed to increasing their knowledge of:

  • the issues and challenges of the group they champion
  • the information needed to be effective in their role as champion

Public Services and Procurement Canada

Hiring persons with developmental disabilities

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) participated in LiveWorkPlay, a program that promotes and supports hiring persons with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities. Hiring managers were guided in recruiting members from this community, and the recruits, managers and their teams were supported, including job coaching for recruits, to ensure a healthy integration into the workplace.

Support for Trans Employees: A Guide for Employees and Managers

PSPC developed Support for Trans Employees: A Guide for Employees and Managers to support transgender and transitioning employees. A working group consulted widely for input to the guide, which is the first of its kind in Canada’s federal public service.

Second language scholarship

PSPC created a second language scholarship to aid the career advancement of specific employment equity designated groups, including groups that are under-represented in the executive category. Survey results and other analysis indicated that second language training was a barrier in terms of career mobility for specific groups. The scholarship:

  • is offered to five employees every year
  • offers full-time language training to employees who:
    • show potential for advancement to the executive category
    • demonstrate interest and initiative in improving their second language

Appendix C: definitions

Aboriginal peoples
People who are Indians, Inuit or Métis (as defined in the Employment Equity Act).
casual workers
People hired for a specified period of no more than 90 working days by any one department or agency during the calendar year. Casual workers are not included in employment equity representation data.
designated groups
Women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.
hirings

The number of staffing actions that added to the employee population in the past fiscal year that involve:

  • indeterminate and seasonal employees
  • those with terms of three months or more
  • students and casual employees whose employment status has changed to indeterminate, terms of three months or more, or seasonal

Hirings measure the flow of employees into the public service and may include more than one staffing action per person per year.

indeterminate employees
People appointed to the public service for an unspecified duration.
Indigenous peoples

A collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants. The Constitution of Canada recognizes three distinct groups of Indigenous (Aboriginal) peoples:

  1. Indians (referred to as First Nations)
  2. Inuit
  3. Métis

Increasingly, and in keeping with international agreements, the term “Indigenous peoples” is used instead of “Aboriginal peoples,” except when referring to legislative requirements in Canada’s Employment Equity Act and Employment Equity Regulations.

members of visible minorities
People, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour (as defined in the Employment Equity Act).
persons with disabilities

People who have a long-term or recurring physical, mental, sensory, psychiatric or learning impairment and who consider themselves to be disadvantaged in employment by reason of that impairment, or believe that an employer or potential employer is likely to consider them to be disadvantaged in employment by reason of that impairment.

Persons with disabilities include people whose functional limitations owing to their impairment have been accommodated in their current job or workplace (as defined in the Employment Equity Act).

promotions
The number of appointments to positions at higher pay levels, either within the same occupational group or subgroup or in another group or subgroup.
seasonal employees
People hired to work cyclically for a season or portion of each year.
self-declaration
Applicants voluntarily providing information in appointment processes for statistical purposes related to appointments and, in the case of processes that target employment equity groups, to determine eligibility.
self-identification

Employees providing employment equity information for:

  • statistical purposes in analyzing and monitoring the progress of employment equity groups in the federal public service
  • reporting on workforce representation
separations

The number of employees (indeterminate, terms of three months or more, and seasonal) removed from the public service payroll, which may include more than one action per person per year. Separations include:

  • employees who retired or resigned
  • employees whose specified employment period (term) ended
tenure
The period of time for which a person is employed.
women
An employment equity designated group under the Employment Equity Act.
workforce availability
For the core public administration, workforce availability refers to the estimated availability of people in designated groups as a percentage of the workforce population. For the core public administration, workforce availability is based on the population of Canadian citizens who are active in the workforce and who work in those occupations that correspond to the occupations in the core public administration. Availability is estimated from 2011 Census data, and estimates for persons with disabilities are derived from data, also collected by Statistics Canada, in the 2012 Canadian Survey on Disability.

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the President of the Treasury Board, 2019,
ISSN: 1926-2485

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