About HRSDC | Our Offices | Programs & Services | A-Z Index March 22, 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 05-16 OTTAWA, ONTARIO - The Honourable Joe Fontana, Minister of Labour and Housing today tabled in the House of Commons, the 17 th Annual Report on the Employment Equity Act. "Employment equity is a fundamental component of the federal government's agenda of social inclusion and economic success," stated Minister Fontana. "The Government of Canada is committed to promoting the rights of all Canadians to equality both in the workplace and community, and ensuring a fair and representative workforce as recently announced in Canada's Action Plan to Combat Racism. The Employment Equity Act continues to be a relevant and effective law that reflects the diverse and inclusive workforce of Canada, as we move towards the 21st century economy," added Minister Fontana. The Government of Canada is furthering its efforts to support employment equity with the recently announced Action Plan to Combat Racism, "A Canada for All: Canada's Action Plan against Racism". Under the Action Plan, the Labour Program will include a workplace element designed to promote fair workplaces and to ensure the removal of discriminatory barriers in Canadian labour markets. The Act aims to remove barriers in the workplace faced by the four designated groups: women, Aboriginal peoples, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities and requires federal government departments and agencies, and federally regulated private sector employers, including Crown Corporations (with 100 or more employees), to implement employment equity. The findings of the 2004 Annual Report indicate positive results in the federal jurisdiction for the year 2003 with stable participation of the four designated groups. Since information was first collected in 1987, the employment situation of designated group members has improved. The representation for women has increased by 7.6 per cent, 154 per cent for members of visible minorities, 150 per cent for Aboriginal peoples, and 45 per cent for persons with disabilities. However, while the 2003 findings suggest representation for members of visible minorities increased but remained constant for Aboriginal peoples, they show a slight drop from 2.4 per cent in 2002 to 2.3 per cent in 2003 of the workforce under the Act for persons with disabilities and from 44.4 per cent to 44 per cent for women. "Employers believe that employment equity is not only the right thing to do but it makes good business sense in a global economy," said Minister Fontana. "With Canada's growing labour shortage we are taking a fresh look at existing talented citizens and that of all new citizens - because their skills and knowledge are needed in our efforts to achieve a workforce of the future," added Minister Fontana. The Report also shows that while the federal public service is employing women, Aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities at a higher rate than the federal private sector, more work is needed in achieving progress for members of visible minorities. The 2004 Annual Report lists 458 reports from employers under federal jurisdiction with a combined workforce of over 620,000 employees. It consists of a consolidation of the employers' reports and an analysis of the data reported for 2003. The Employment Equity Act is administered through the Labour Program, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada which has a mandate to promote a fair, safe, healthy, stable, cooperative and productive work environment, which contributes to the social and economic well-being of all Canadians. - 30 - The 2004 Employment Equity Annual Report will be made available on the Labour Program Web site at http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca For more information: Peter Graham Director of Communications Office of the Minister of Labour and Housing (819) 953-5646 LABOUR PROGRAM Backgrounder 2004 Annual Report on the Employment Equity Act The Employment Equity Act requires federal government departments and agencies, and employers in the federally regulated private sector (with 100 or more employees), including Crown Corporations, to submit a report on their workforce by June 1st of every year. The 2004 Report describes the progress the employer has made regarding the representation, hiring and promotion of women, Aboriginal Peoples, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities (referred to as the four designated groups) for 2003. Key Findings in 2003 Representation for visible minorities increased but remained constant for Aboriginal Peoples in 2003. Representation for women and persons with disabilities dropped slightly. The main findings of this year's report indicate that employers continue to make progress. Representation The following is a comparison of workforce representation by the designated groups in 2002 and 2003: Members of visible minorities achieved higher representation or 12.7 per cent in 2003 compared to 12.2 per cent in 2002. Aboriginal Peoples remained unchanged at 1.7 per cent in 2003, holding the highest level achieved since 1987 when representation was less than 0.7 per cent. Women dropped slightly from 44.4 per cent in 2002 to 44.0 per cent in 2003. Persons with disabilities dropped from 2.4 per cent in 2002 to 2.3 per cent in 2003. Employment Opportunities Progress in employment opportunities (hiring and promotions) varied in 2003: Employers hired 77,200 members of the designated groups in 2003, compared to 83,700 in 2002. The decrease in hiring was caused by a combination of factors including layoffs among several large employers. There were 40,700 promotions in 2003, the lowest since 1993. The lower rate of promotions may be attributed to workforce shrinkage and company restructuring, particularly in the communications and transportation sectors. The share of employment opportunities was lower for women in 2003 and represented 36.3 per cent of new hirings compared to 39.1per cent in 2002. Women received 52.8 per cent of all promotions in 2003 -slightly lower than the 53.5 per cent reported in 2002. The hiring of Aboriginal peoples remained unchanged at 1.9 per cent in 2003. The share of promotions for this group also remained unchanged at 1.7 per cent. For persons with disabilities, the hiring rate rose from 1.0 per cent in 2002 to 1.1 per cent in 2003. This group's share of promotions dropped from 2.0 per cent in 2002 to 1.9 per cent in 2003. For members of visible minorities, the hiring rate rose in 2003 to 12.9 per cent compared to12.8 per cent in 2002. The share of promotions received by this group increased from 15.2 per cent in 2002 to 16.4 per cent in 2003. March 2005 LABOUR PROGRAM Backgrounder 2004 Annual Report on the Employment Equity Act Overview of the Act The Royal Commission on Equality in Employment was established by the federal government and was publicly announced by Minister Lloyd Axworthy on June 27, 1983. Employment Equity is the term developed by Judge Rosalie Silberman Abella, Commissioner of the Royal Commission on Equality in Employment, to describe a distinct Canadian process for achieving equality in employment. The Government of Canada enacted the first Employment Equity Act in 1986. Following a Parliamentary Review in 1995, a new Act came into force in October 1996. Unlike the U.S. model, the Canadian process is not based on quotas and requires the removal of barriers to the employment and advancement of designated group members without imposing numerical targets on employers. Canadian employers are required to conduct a workforce analysis and are expected to close gaps in representation based on labour market availability in their recruitment area, as determined by Census data. The purpose of the Act is to: achieve equality in the workplace by removing barriers to employment; correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment for the four designated groups: women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities; and give effect to the principle that employment equity means more than treating people in the same way; it also requires special measures and the accommodation of differences. The Act applies to federally regulated private sector employers (including Crown corporations) with 100 or more employees, to the Federal Public Service and to Separate Employers. The Federal Contractors Program (FCP) covers provincially regulated employers with 100 or more employees who receive federal contracts of $200,000 or more. Total workforce covered by the Act and the Federal Contractors Program: over 2 million people, or 13 per cent of Canada's labour force Employers covered by the Act are divided into four groups: The Legislated Employment Equity Program currently includes 458 federally regulated private sector companies and Crown Corporations employing approximately 620,000 people in 2003. The Federal Contractors Program for Employment Equity (FCP) currently includes 950 private employers with a combined workforce of 1.4 million people in 2003. Separate Employers include 16 special operating agencies of the federal government, employing almost 80,000 people in 2003. The Federal Public Service includes 71 federal government departments, agencies and commissions which employed approximately 163,000 people in 2003. The Act requires each employer to: conduct a workforce survey; undertake a workforce analysis; conduct an employment systems review of its human resource policies and practices; consult with employee representatives on its employment equity plan; accommodate the four designated groups through positive measures; prepare an employment equity plan that includes short term and long term numerical goals to close gaps in representation; report annually to the Minister of Labour by June 1st ; and submit to an audit by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Compliance The Canadian Human Rights Commission is mandated under the legislation to carry out on-site audits of employers to determine if they have met their obligations under the Act. Under the Federal Contractors Program, the Minister of Labour has the responsibility to conduct employment equity audits of federal contractors. Mandatory Review The Act provides for a review of the legislation every five years. Section 44 requires a comprehensive review of the provisions and operation of the Act including the effect of those provisions. The Act will be reviewed in 2006. March 2005
