IRCC Anti-Racism Strategy 2.0 (2021-2024) – Pillars of the Strategy and priority actions
The structure of Strategy 2.0 reflects where we currently need to focus our attention. There is much work to be done to become an anti-racist organization and we need to tackle the work in a thoughtful and systematic way to make sure that we are continually making progress. These areas of focus are aligned with the departmental commitments identified in spring 2021, and the results of the sector updates and engagement with IRCC employees in spring 2022. There are five pillars in the Strategy. Each pillar identifies a stream of work that will be tackled as a priority in the short term. These are brought together with their targeted results, timeframes, key contributing IRCC branches and sectors in the Strategy Action Plan (Annex B). In this section, we are highlighting the priority actions that will be included in the early implementation phase within each thematic pillar. In the next section on governance and accountability, we will provide an overview of how departmental stakeholders work together to drive the implementation outlook.
Pillar 1: Leadership Accountability
What it is: This pillar relates to ensuring formal accountability mechanisms for advancing Anti-Racism in the Department.
Priorities: Ensure that the commitment to Anti-Racism work is permanently embedded in the Department’s structure and that senior management will be accountable for results on an ongoing basis regardless of changes in government or personnel.
Pillar 2: Equitable Workplace
What it is: This pillar relates to key aspects of people management and the administration of corporate functions that will help to create an effective workplace where all feel welcome and respected.
Priorities: Make urgent progress on removing the barriers to career advancement for racialized employees and on improving the inclusiveness of the work culture. For a snapshot of the current context of workplace equity, see “Representation numbers at IRCC by career level” and “Employee’s views on inclusion and Anti-Racism at IRCC” below.
| Group and Career level | June 2020 (actual) | June 2022 (actual) | 2022 (target) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indigenous employees | |||
| Entry level | 2.8% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Middle managers | 2.5% | 3.1% | 3.0% |
| Executives | <5 | 2.6% | 3.4% |
| Racialized employeesFootnote * | |||
| Entry level | 22.5% | 26.5% | 21.4% |
| Middle managers | 20.9% | 22.6% | 27.2% |
| Executives | 11.2% | 12.3% | 28.1% |
| Black employees | |||
| Entry level | 11.8% | 11.7% | 4.6% |
| Middle managers | 5.1% | 5.3% | 5.1% |
| Executives | <5 | 3.4% | 5.2% |
| Non-racialized employeesFootnote ** | |||
| Entry level | 63.3% | 58.9% | N/A |
| Middle managers | 71.7% | 69.3% | N/A |
| Executives | 85.9% | 81.7% | N/A |
| Non-EE employeesFootnote *** | |||
| Entry level | 59.8% | 54.5% | N/A |
| Middle managers | 68.7% | 65.7% | N/A |
| Executives | 80.1% | 76.2% | N/A |
Employees’ views on inclusion and Anti-Racism at IRCC
2020 Anti-Racism employee survey
- 29.6% of IRCC employees completed the survey
- 67.3% of respondents felt like they can be their authentic self at work
- 42.3% of black respondents
- 58.3% of indigenous respondents
- 55.0% of racialized respondents (includes black respondents)
- 79.8% of non-racialized respondents
2020 public service employee survey
- 63.8% of IRCC employees completed the survey
- 83% of respondents agreed that IRCC implements initiatives that promote Anti-Racism in the workplace
- 65% of black respondents
- 76% of racialized respondents (includes black respondents)
Pillar 3: Policy and Program Design
What it is: This pillar relates to addressing systemic racism and bias in IRCC’s policies and program designs.
Priorities: Begin to establish a baseline understanding of the biases and gaps within existing policy and program designs and improve our anti-racist review of new policy and program development.
Pillar 4: Service Delivery
What it is: This pillar relates to addressing systemic racism and bias in IRCC’s implementation of policies and programs with applicants and external partners.
Priorities: Develop a baseline understanding of systemic racism and bias within program delivery operations and operational decision-making of officers at IRCC, including developing the model-building, program integrity and risk management tools to integrate Anti-Racism in service delivery processes to address bias (e.g. advanced analytics solutions, triaging of citizenship and study permit applications, biometric capture).
Pillar 5: Data and Research
What it is: This pillar relates to building a strong evidence base for decision-making to support Anti-Racism work.
Priorities: Increase the availability and accessibility of disaggregated data in alignment with government-wide standards in support of Anti-Racism analysis and strengthen the integration of intersectional analysis (including tools such as GBA Plus, Anti-Racism lens, Reconciliation lens) in IRCC research.
Page details
- Date modified: