Moving the needle on diversity and equity

Janice Anderson: Passionate about employment equity

Janice Anderson started her government career in employee learning and development and employment equity more than 20 years ago. "Working on employment equity initiatives has always been my main interest; it's part of my education, training and lived experience," she says.

During her long career in the public service, Anderson has had a variety of experiences from which she has derived meaning. "I've had an opportunity to see the direct correlation between something I'm working on and the impact it has on the lives of Canadians."

Still, Anderson sees room for improvement. "I recall being a manager for a team at one point in my career, and there wasn't a lot of support for me to be the best manager that I could be," she explains. "It was frustrating. As a Black woman, I had to live through discrimination and still produce good work. I stuck it out, but it was very difficult. We have to make the public service a place where the next generation wants to be."

So when an opportunity came up in 2021 to join PSPC, to support the development of a policy on social procurement, Anderson was keen to get started. The policy aims to provide a process for PSPC to be able to fund business opportunities for suppliers and communities that are underrepresented and may not have equal access to government contracts. For Anderson, this meant diving into work that was important to her, and with a lot of potential to make a positive impact for equity-seeking communities. "This journey took me almost full circle back to my passion, working more centrally on equity, diversity and inclusion, whereas before I was doing it, to some extent, off the corner of my desk."

Now, Anderson is Senior Policy Advisor with PSPC's Task Force on Anti-Racism, Workplace Culture and Equity. This work is aligned with her values, as well as her passion for and commitment to breaking down systemic barriers, bridging employment equity gaps, and eliminating racism and discrimination from the workplace and the federal public service at large.

Anderson is confident about her move to PSPC, where she feels she can make a difference for the department and its people: "I'm a strong leader with a unique perspective who has an opportunity to remove barriers."

Black History Month

Since 1995, Canadians have celebrated Black History Month every February to pay tribute to the contributions that Black Canadians and Canadians of African descent have made to the development and success of our country.

To learn more about this year’s theme, “Black Legacy and Leadership: Celebrating Canadian History and Uplifting Future Generations”, planned activities and more, visit February is Black History Month.