Department of National Defence

Goal setting

Question 1

Has your organization set goals (for fiscal year 2023-2024 or future fiscal years) for recruiting and promoting Indigenous peoples and Black and other racialized people?

• My organization has set recruitment goals for:
  • Indigenous peoples
  • Racialized people
• My organization has set promotion goals for:
  • Indigenous employees
  • Black employees
  • Racialized employees
• Work is underway to set goals.

Please provide details and/or examples, including what your organization is using to set its goals (e.g., operational priorities, labour market availability [LMA], population data, workforce availability [WFA]), and how these goals are communicated to employees, if applicable. What has been the most helpful in advancing towards the goals you have set? What challenges, if any, have you encountered?

Goal Setting

In 2023-2024, in consultation with employee representatives (such as Defence Advisory Groups (DAGs), Defence Team-Black Employee Network (DT-BEN) and unions), the department established a methodology for short-term hiring objectives and promotion objectives for the public service workforce that will contribute to ensuring the workforce is representative at all levels of the organization. This will equip the Defence Team with clear and concise objectives to contribute to representation through hiring and promotion. Under the proposed 2024-27 Department of National Defense (DND) Employment Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EEDI) Plan for Public Service Workforce, targets will be updated annually to enable workforce planning.

Work also included the continued implementation of the Civilian Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (CDIAP) and refreshed direction as set forth in the 2023-24 interim CDIAP.

The proposed 2024-2027 DND EEDI Plan for Public Service Workforce includes:

• hiring goals for Employment Equity designated groups including Indigenous and Racialized groups. 
• promotion goals at the entry, Executive (EX) feeder, and within the EX level for EE designated groups including Indigenous and Racialized groups, including Black employees.

Data used

The department uses self-identification and workforce availability data (WFA) data to calculate representation rates and gaps. To set realistic hiring goals that are based on changing data, DNDs hiring, departure, and population trends are accounted for along with projected changes to Canadian labour market diversity. Promotion goals will be based on proportionality where EE groups are promoted, at minimum, in proportion to their population share. This is expected to measure equitable practices in the promotion of our workforce.

Communication

A communication strategy is in development with proposed initiatives to communicate goals to employees and to managers as part of the forthcoming launch of the 2024-2027 EEDI Plan for the Public Service Workforce.

Beneficial for advancing towards goals:

• Consultation and feedback from employee representatives (DAGs, DT-BEN, Unions) has been very helpful towards setting goals.
• The inclusion of previous recommendations from various audits and reports, and recommendations from the 2023 DND public service employment system review informed the approach towards setting and establishing goals.
• Dedicated resources for EEDI in sectors across the organization: designated EEDI Coordinators and in some cases, EEDI units aid in the increase and stabilization of EEDI efforts.

Challenges in advancing towards goals:

• Historical approach to set departmental-wide goals has been challenging to implement. The size of the organization necessitates sector-level goal setting (extra level of analysis). This is the approach undertaken for the hiring goals in the proposed 2024-2027 DND EEDI Plan for Public Service Workforce.
• Potential changes to the Employment Equity Act and modernization of the self-Identification (ID) process.
• A dynamic and shifting environment, including governance.
• Gaps in EE data, including lack of intersectional data products, and lack of WFA data on Black employees have made it challenging to set recruitment goals for this group.
• Limitations related to self-ID data, including: low self-ID completion rates and the persistent and ongoing systemic barriers and issues that contribute to it (i.e. discrimination and harassment); limitations in the data captured in the current self-ID form, and delayed launch of the new Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) self-ID form.
• Existing gaps in measuring progress and results of past efforts.

Question 2

Has your organization set goals to foster greater inclusion (for fiscal year 2023-2024 or future fiscal years)?

• Work is underway to set goals.

Please provide details and/or examples, including which metrics or data your organization is using, if applicable (e.g., your Public Service Employee Survey results, pulse surveys, exit interviews, human resources administrative data).

Work is underway to set inclusion goals for the Public Service Workforce. The department undertook extensive work to renew its approach to EEDI, including conducting a comprehensive review of the implementation of findings and recommendations from recent external and internal EEDI-related audits, reports and studies. The analysis was used to inform the proposed 2024-27 DND EEDI Plan, which includes a commitment to setting goals to foster greater inclusion.

To support the establishment of the inclusion goals DND purchased disaggregated Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) survey results from Statistics Canada to measure employee’s sense of inclusion and belonging. Analysis at the Departmental level has begun, and further analysis within the Department will be explored to identify areas of opportunity to increase employees’ sense of inclusion and belonging.

Methodology

The methodology behind the establishment of inclusion goals is in development. Desired changes and results will be part of DND’s forthcoming Performance Measurement Framework for the proposed 2024-2027 DND EEDI Plan for Public Service Workforce.

Once the methodology is confirmed, intersectionality analysis capacity for employee experience of inclusion and belonging will be explored. Data availability for this is still to be determined.

We look forward to receiving forthcoming (Fall 2024) guidance and best practices on common indicators to measure equity and inclusion outcomes from TBS as mentioned in the Auditor General of Canada’s Report on workplace inclusion for racialized employees and the recent Management Action Plan (MAP) from TBS. This guidance, along with the work outlined above will allow us to set inclusion goals.

In the meantime, we will be monitoring our workforce’s sense of inclusion as a measure of success within our Performance Measurement Framework for our EEDI Plan. Measures will include data from the Public Service Employee Surveys, which include questions grouped under the following themes:

• Diversity and Inclusion
• Workforce Development
• Employee Engagement
• Workplace Well-being
• Discrimination
• Harassment

Measuring progress

Question 3

Has your organization developed an approach for measuring progress towards your established goals? 

How is the approach being implemented within your organization (e.g., how is it communicated to employees? What are the roles of executive team members including the Chief Data Officer and Head of Audit and Evaluation and regional management if applicable? How are you reporting on results and outcomes both internally and externally?)?

Approach

Effort is proposed in the 2024-2027 DND EEDI Plan for Public Service Workforce to develop an approach for measuring progress towards established goals and for reporting on progress. A proposed Performance Measurement Framework instrument (PMF) details how actions within the lines of effort contribute to meeting the strategic objectives, including goal setting for hiring and promotion, and setting goals to foster greater inclusion. Proposed measurements will capture the outputs defined in the Plan’s logic model and track progress on one or more indicators for each output. The Framework is set to provide: data source(s), frequency of data collection, targets, data office(s) of primary interest (OPIs) responsible for analyzing and reporting the data, and the anticipated reporting mechanism for each indicator. Both qualitative and quantitative indicators are proposed to be tracked. Design of the proposed Performance Measurement Framework received input and review from Assistant Deputy Minister (Review Services).

In addition to quantitative data, there is also a growing acknowledgement that qualitative data must be gathered and considered in order to meaningfully reflect the nuances behind the numbers and the lived experiences of our equity-deserving colleagues. Qualitative data was gathered through the 2023 Public Service Employment Systems Review (ESR). The review examined Human Resources (HR) lines of business such as recruitment, promotion, training and development, accommodation, and work environment, and resulted in the creation of 26 recommendations developed on the basis of policy review, discussion groups, staffing file review and data analysis. The review identified systemic barriers for public service employees in the department. Employee representatives such as the Defence Team Black Employees Network, unions and all five Defence Advisory Groups (representing Indigenous, Racialized, Women, Persons with Disabilities and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities) were instrumental in providing expertise for this exercise. Findings informed the development of the 2024-27 DND Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Plan for the Public Service Workforce. Part of the work ahead of us is understanding how to continuously capture and measure change in the quantitative data. The proposed 2024-27 EEDI Plan also calls for the development of a fulsome employee engagement strategy that will allow for systematic engagement consultations with employee representatives with an eye toward direct employee engagement in the future.

Reporting on results and outcomes internally and externally

In order to align governance and internal reporting on policies and systems on EEDI matters, the department reinstated the Representation and Inclusion sub-committee of the Defence Team People Management Committee (DT-PMC). The committee acts as the primary consultative body between L1s and functional authorities for employment equity (EE), diversity and inclusion (D&I), accessibility, and culture evolution policies and programs. Under the Accountability and Governance Pillar of the proposed 2024-27 EEDI Plan progress with be reported twice a year to the Deputy Minister (DM)-chair DT-PMC - this will include reports on the plan’s overall implementation and the progress towards reaching goals. These reports will be shared internally within the Defence Team and will be provided specifically to employee representatives. A communication strategy is in development with proposed initiatives to communicate goals and progress to employees and to managers. Consideration is being given to publishing reports externally.

Consequential accountability

Question 4

How is your organization using performance management and/or talent management processes to establish accountability for results?

• Qualitative objectives are in performance management agreements.
• Work is underway to develop approaches to establish accountability for results in either of these processes.

Please provide details about how performance management and/or talent management processes are being used to establish accountability for results.

Work is underway to develop approaches to establish accountability for results in performance management and talent management processes.

Executive (EX) Performance Agreements: Implementation of the Clerk’s Call and forward direction is one of the four areas of focus in DND’s EX Performance Agreements for 2024-2025, while diversity and inclusion are a foundational part of the other three areas of focus.

The proposed 2024-2027 DND EEDI Plan for Public Service Workforce includes establishing accountability through EX & Manager performance agreements for Hiring, Inclusion, and Promotion goals. Maturing the department’s EEDI data, HR services and supports, and awareness & understanding are key priorities in the new plan, all with a view to establishing consequential accountability.

Upon implementation of the new TBS Self-ID data in 2024, we expect to be able to measure progress more frequently with real-time data.

Specific, tangible actions outlined in the forward direction of the Call to Action

Question 5

Have you, as head of your organization, and/or your executive teams sponsored at least two Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to prepare them for leadership roles?

• I have sponsored at least two Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to prepare them for leadership roles.
• My executive team has sponsored at least two Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees to prepare them for leadership roles.

Please provide details about the nature of sponsorship that you and/or your executive team have provided, along with other programs, such as mentorship or leadership development, if applicable. 

Sponsorship: All DMs and Assistant Deputy Ministers (ADMs) have sponsored at least two Indigenous, Black or other racialized employees. In support of this commitment, we have launched the EX Sponsorship Program, a workplace initiative, focused on Black, Indigenous and racialized communities, that pairs executives as well as aspiring executives from the DND Executive Development Program (EXDP) with senior leaders. To date, the senior leadership team, DMs and ADMs, have been matched through the sponsorship program. In addition, a hub of three (3) Executive positions have been created in the spirit of removing barriers and providing career development and advancement both within and outside of the federal public service.

An Executive Power Hour was also held with the executive community to promote sponsorship and its purpose and benefits. Sponsored executives are also supported by quarterly events, Sponsees's Bright Spaces, that aim to create a sense of community amongst the participants, a network within a network, while creating a space where participants feel comfortable to learn and share from each other, and together. Speakers will be invited to discuss topics linked to the four objectives of the program: 1) Harvesting opportunities for career advancement, 2) Increasing the sponsee's profile across the organisation and government, 3) Expanding the sponsee's network and connections, and 4) Providing support and guidance.

Executive Development Program: Since launching in 2021, the DND Executive Development Program (EXDP) has graduated and appointed 13 participants from diverse backgrounds to EX-01 positions, focusing on increasing the representation of racialized persons, Indigenous persons as well as persons with disabilities. The 3rd Cohort of the Program, comprised of racialized people, Black people, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities as well as member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, is set to begin in May 2024.

Question 6

Have you, as head of your organization, personally endorsed at least one recruitment campaign for Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees?

• I have personally endorsed at least one recruitment campaign for:
  • Indigenous employees
• Work is underway so that I will personally endorse at least one recruitment campaign for Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees.

Please provide details.

A staffing process specifically designed to promote opportunities for advancement for Indigenous workers has been endorsed by the DM and is presently being conducted. The department launched an internal to DND AS04/AS05 selection process targeted to Indigenous workers to support retention and promotion. This includes the development and use of pre-application info sessions to support candidates in this process. These sessions will be supported by two DND Indigenous Career Navigators.

Work is also planned to run a recruitment campaign for Black, Indigenous and other racialized employees for the DM to track from application to onboarding to retention.

The proposed 2024-2027 DND EEDI Plan for Public Service Workforce tasks the establishment of a multi-year strategic employment equity recruitment plan for recruiting at all levels across equity-seeking communities. 

Question 7

Has your organization prioritized official language training for Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees who are ready for advancement?

• Work is underway to develop an approach to prioritizing official language training for Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees who are ready for advancement.

How is your organization prioritizing official language training?

Work is ongoing to establish a system to prioritize official language training for Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees who are ready for advancement. This includes:

• Review of existing method of prioritization of applicants to the Official Language program, and identification of necessary changes to promote Black, Indigenous and other racialized employees' language development needs.
• Measuring and monitoring prioritization of official language training for Black, Indigenous and other racialized employees who are ready for advancement. 

As official language training is a pillar of the DND Executive Development Program, participants of the program have been prioritized for official language training.

Does your organization offer access to Indigenous language training or have plans to offer access? Please provide details. 

No, not at this time.

Question 8

Has your organization provided support and/or invested resources for organizational employee networks and communities?

• Engagement with employees and employee networks in my organization’s decision-making is meaningful and regular.
• Governance structures are in place to support employee networks and communities (e.g., champions, champions/chairs participate at management tables).
• Material supports are provided for employee networks and communities (e.g., dedicated funding, FTE support, allowing time to engage in activities).
• Work is underway for my organization to further engage with or to provide support for and/or invest resources in departmental employee networks and communities.

Please provide additional detail about how your organization engages with and supports employee networks and communities.

To act as Defence Team member representation and to constitute a joint DND/CAF consultative body, the Deputy Minister and the Chief of the Defence Staff mandated in 1994 the establishment of the following Defence Advisory Groups (DAG) to represent the four recognized employment equity designated groups: the Defence Women’s Advisory Group (DWAO), the Defence Aboriginal Advisory Group (DAAG), the Defence Visible Minority Advisory Group (DVMAG), and the Defence Advisory Group for Persons with Disabilities (DAGPwD). The Defence Team established a fifth DAG on 9 December 2020 entitled the Defence Team Pride Advisory Organization (DTPAO) to represent the Defence Team 2SLGBTQIA+ members.

Membership in DAGs is voluntary and includes DND public service employees and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) military members. DAGs are normally composed of designated group members but can also include individuals with an interest in the respective groups’ issues, subject to individual DAG charters. DAGs shall select/elect their own representative(s) from their membership. Where possible, DAGs will elect both a civilian and a military DAG National Co-Chair to be their representatives at the national level. As volunteers, DAG members are allocated limited time outside their main duties to support both the DND and CAF employment equity program. Local members are allocated 2.5 hours/week and National Co-Chairs are allocated 7.5 hours/week. The role of the DAGs is to provide advice and insight to DND/CAF leadership on issues relevant to their designated group members and to the effective implementation of employment equity across the Defence Team. The DAG mandate is as follows:

• DAGs shall provide advice on the development of policies, procedures, and mechanisms related to recruitment, retention, and training.
• DAGs shall provide advice on EE initiatives, action plans, and outreach Initiatives.
• DAGs shall identify systemic employment barriers and recommend solutions.

Question 9

Has anti-racism, equity and inclusion work been embedded in your organization’s integrated business plan and/or mental health plan?

• Work is underway on our integrated business plan and/or mental health plan to embed anti-racism, equity and inclusion work.

Question 10

Does your organization have a calendar to avoid holding major meetings and events during significant religious, spiritual, and cultural periods?

• My organization currently has a calendar for this purpose.

If the calendar already exists, please provide additional details on how this calendar is communicated or promoted within your organization.

The Defence Team uses the Heritage Canada calendar. The Defence Team actively celebrates equity-related commemorative events in order to foster inclusion and raises awareness of the diverse cultures, experiences and perspectives among Defence Team members. Events that take place within the National Capital Region are considered national events that set the tone for the rest of the organization. Units, bases, wings and regional divisions also plan local events to also recognize and celebrate these commemorative days – reinforcing national messages. The key events are as follows:

• Black History Month (February)
• International Women's Day (March 8)
• International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21)
• International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (May 17)
• Indigenous Awareness Week (3rd week of May)
• International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3)

Chief Professional Conduct and Culture has released the “Intersectional Event and Meeting Guide” that includes guidance and instructions to planning events during significant religious, spiritual, and cultural periods.

Additional information about your organization’s ongoing initiatives 

Question 11

What are two or three specific barriers that you have faced in advancing work on the Call to Action?

Please provide two or three examples.

Data barriers:

• Lack of available WFA data on Black and 2SLGBTQIA+ employees,
• Low Self-ID rates,
• Lack of intersectional EE data products, and lack of PSES data broken down by intersectional EE responses
• Delayed launch of modernized TBS Self-ID.

Governance barriers:

• Changes to structures and lapses in internal governance have contributed to gaps in measurement, monitoring and reporting on efforts and targets. The department has designated a Senior Designated Official for EEDI and strengthened governance is a line of effort under the proposed 2024-2027 DND EEDI Plan for Public Service Workforce.

Internal communication barriers:

• The 2023 DND Public Service Employment Systems Review identified communication gaps (specifically lack of awareness and gaps in knowledge about EEDI plans, initiatives, goals, and processes) that act as barriers in advancing employment equity. Improving communication and engagement is a line of effort under the proposed 2024-2027 DND EEDI Plan for Public Service Workforce. Proposed initiatives include the establishment of an EEDI engagement framework, a proposed EEDI communications strategy, and a proposed DM/Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) Directive on Employment Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for the Public Service Workforce. 

Question 12

Recognizing that employees often have multiple identities, what actions is your organization undertaking to support Indigenous employees and Black and other racialized employees who are also members of other communities, such as persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and religious minorities who face compounding barriers of discrimination?

Please provide details.

From its inception, the DND Executive Development Program has been inclusive of racialized people, Black people, Indigenous people, persons with disabilities as well as members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

The Defence Team Accessibility Office has consulted intersectionally on both the 2023 Accessibility Plan Progress Report and the 2022 Corrective Accessibility Plan in order to consider the impact of barriers on employee and members multiple identities, with a view to removing those barriers and preventing new ones from occurring.

The proposed 2024-2027 DND EEDI Plan for Public Service Workforce includes an intersectional data component as part of improving data quality to make sound, data-driven decisions and plans for employees who face compounding barriers of discrimination.

Question 13

In your first year of implementing the forward direction of the Call to Action, what impact has this work had on the culture of your organization?

Please provide the two or three most important impacts. 

The forward direction of the Call to Action has positively impacted the culture of DND by

• providing language and direction and guiding the development of the proposed 2024-2027 DND EEDI Plan for Public Service Workforce. The forward direction of the Call to Action was instrumental in shaping the design of the Plan and is reflected in its proposed goals and activities -particularly those specifically targeting Black, Indigenous, Racialized and 2SLGBTQIA+ peoples.
• Spearheading and accelerating innovation in undertaking initiatives such as the internal to DND AS04/AS05 selection process targeted to Indigenous workers to support retention and promotion, and in proposed initiatives such as targeted sponsorship and language training.
• furthering the conversation on Employment Equity Diversity and Inclusion, Anti-Racism, and Diversity and Inclusion. Many of the initiatives in the forward direction have and continue to be integrated into departmental plans and operational activities.