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Employment Equity Statistics

The following table shows the number of employers subject to the Employment Equity Act and the number of employees in each sector, including those who have been or are being audited. It also highlights the Commission’s focus on auditing larger employers, where the potential impact for progress in the employment of designated groups is greatest.

Figure 1 shows that 43% of the 632 employers currently under the Act have been audited or are in the audit process. This year, reserve employees of the Canadian Forces and regular and civilian members of the RCMP have been included. This is a slight change from the past when only certain components of their workforces were included. The percentage of the workforce audited or under audit has increased from 75% to 80%. This is partly due to the inclusion of Canadian Forces and RCMP employees, and also to new audits conducted during the year.

Figure 2 shows the percentage of employers and employees who have been audited since the Commission began to conduct audits ten years ago. The decline in the number of employers between 2004 and 2005 is due to the exclusion of employers who are no longer under the Act, but who had been subject of an audit, and who have been removed from the list of employers currently under the Act.

Audit Results

A total of 238 employers have been found in compliance with the requirements of the Act since 1998. The Commission found 18 employers to be in compliance in 2008: nine were under preliminary assessment audit, and nine were under progress assessment audit. These are employers who have undergone a second audit to ensure continuing compliance with the Act. In addition, 19 employers were found to be not in compliance with the Act. These employers have agreed to undertakings and will be assessed during the course of the year. No directions were issued in the past year.

Portrait of the four designated groups in the Canadian Workforce

As part of its mandate to ensure compliance with the Employment Equity Act, the Commission tracks progress in the private and the public sectors in representation levels of the four designated groups covered by the Act: women, visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities.

In the public service, women, Aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities continue to be fully represented. However, members of visible minorities continue to be under-represented when compared to their availability in the workforce from the 2001 Census.

In the private sector, members of visible minorities continue to be fully represented, and the number of visible minorities hired was above availability. Their representation is highest in the banking sector where they continue to make gains. They now hold 24.9% of jobs, including 9.7% in senior management, 17.9% in middle management and 29.2% in professional occupations. In the private sector, persons with disabilities and Aboriginal peoples continue to benefit the least from employment equity initiatives.

Figure 3 – Designated Groups in the Public Service

• The overall representation of women (54.4%) was in line with women’s availability for the public service (52.2%) according to Census data. Women’s share of positions in the executive group rose again this year. Women now occupy 41.7% of executive jobs, up from 40.4% the previous year, and 25.1% ten years ago.

• Women occupied 45.3% of Scientific and Professional jobs, compared to 32.2% ten years ago. However, they continued to hold the vast majority of jobs (80.9%) in administrative support, just as they did ten years ago (84%).

• At 9.2%, visible minority members continued to be under-represented in the public service this year. It was a slight improvement compared to the representation last year (8.8 %).

• The proportion of Aboriginal peoples in the public service at 4.4% in March 2008 was up slightly from last year (4.2%), and above their availability at 2.5%.

• The representation of persons with disabilities at 5.9% was up from 5.7% the previous year, and it remained above the public service availability of 3.6%. The increase in representation is more likely due to disabilities related to the aging of the workforce and increased self-identification rather than hires of persons with disabilities.

• Although women and Aboriginal peoples received hires that were slightly above their workforce availability that was not the case for persons with disabilities and visible minorities. This situation has persisted for several years and it appears that these two groups have not benefited from hiring opportunities.

• Women obtained 58.0% of all hires, including 45.0% of executive hires. Ten years ago, women received just 28.6% of executive hires.

• Aboriginal peoples received 3.4% of all hires down from 2001 when they attained 4.6%.

• Persons with disabilities received just 2.5% of hires, down from the previous year (2.8%) and lower than their availability in the workforce (3.6%).

• Visible minorities received just 9.2% of total hires this past year. This was somewhat higher than the share of hires they received the previous year (8.7%), but still lower than their workforce availability (10.4%). This means that visible minorities will remain under-represented in the public service in the coming years.

• The only exception was the Scientific and Professional category where visible minorities received 12.7% of all hires.

• It should be noted that the Canada Public Service Agency and the Public Service Commission have raised questions about the accuracy of employment equity hiring data and the possible under-reporting of designated groups, especially members of visible minorities. The Commission has chosen to report these data as they have in the past.

• Women and visible minorities received promotions that were above their representation.

• Aboriginal peoples received shares of promotions that were very close to their representation.

• For persons with disabilities, the proportion of promotions obtained was slightly below their anticipated share based on their representation.

• Women held 42.7% of all jobs in 2007, a drop from 44.6% in 1997. Availability was 47.3%, according to 2001 Census data.

• In the banking sector, women occupied two out of three jobs, mainly because of the large number of clerical positions in this sector. In communications, women held 40.5% of all jobs, a slight decrease from 41.7% observed in 1997. They hold 25.4% of all jobs in the transportation sector, up from 23.3% in 1997.

• Some gains continued to be made by women in senior management. Women held 21.9% of senior management positions in 2007, up from 21.3% in the previous year and much higher than the percentage (14.8%) observed in 1997. However, their share was still lower than their availability (25.1%) according to Census data.

• Between 1997 and 2007, the proportion of women in senior management positions rose from 18.6% to 29.1% in the banking sector, from 14.9% to 22.3% in the communications sector, and from 9.9% to 15.9% in the transportation sector.

• Women have also made important gains in middle management and professional occupations where they occupied 42.2% and 46.1% respectively of these jobs. In banking, half these positions were held by women. In transportation, however, the numbers were much lower: women held just 24.1% of middle management and 37.1% of professional jobs.

• Still, women received just 37.8% of hires this past year, almost 10 percentage points less than their availability in the labour market. In fact, hires for women were lower than their availability in 11 of the 14 employment equity occupational groups. Moreover, half of all hires were in junior clerical positions.

• Once they are hired, women obtain an equitable share of promotions. In 2007, women received over half (51.8%) of all promotions in the private sector, which was higher than their representation (42.7%) in these jobs. Their share of promotions was especially positive in management, professional, and supervisory positions in banking.

• The share of jobs held by members of visible minorities has increased from 9.7% in 1997 to 15.9% in 2007. This is slightly higher than the availability of 12.6% according to 2001 Census data. While their share of senior management positions has increased steadily from 2.8% in 1997 to 5.4% in 2007, members of visible minorities remained under-represented in these occupations compared to their availability at 8.2%.

• Members of visible minorities received 16.8 % of all hires in 2007, about the same as the previous year (16.7%). Since 1997, their overall share of hires has been consistently higher than their availability, although their progress has varied from sector to sector. This year, members of visible minorities received 22.4 % of all hires in banking, 18.9% in communication, but just 11.5% of those in transportation.

• As a result of consistently high shares of hires, visible minority representation was highest in the banking sector. They hold 24.9% of jobs in banking (up from 15.0% in 1997) and 9.7% of all senior management jobs, up from 8.7% the previous year and over twice as many (4.3%) as in 1997.

• Increases were also noted for visible minority members in the communications sector between 1997 and 2007, where their representation increased from 8.9% to 14.5%, and in the transportation sector, from 5.3% to 9.4%.

• Visible minorities continue to obtain their fair share of promotions in the private sector. In 2007, they received 22.6% of all promotions, several percentage points higher than their representation (15.9%). Visible minorities received equitable shares of hires in the banking and communication sectors, as well as in most occupational groups.

• There has been very little improvement in the representation of Aboriginal peoples – First Nations people, Status and Non-Status Indians, Inuit and Métis – in the private sector in 2007. Their share of jobs rose to 1.9% in 2007 up from 1.8% the previous year, and 1.3% in 1997. It is still well below the 2.6% availability estimates from the 2001 Census. In fact, representation of Aboriginal peoples was lower than availability in almost all of the occupational groups. Their representation in the banking sector at 1.3% was the lowest of all sectors and unchanged from the last year, and even 1997. Improvement was observed in the "other" industries where the share of jobs held by Aboriginal peoples rose from 2.3% in 2006 to 3.1% in 2007.

• The share of hires obtained by Aboriginal peoples in 2007 at 2.0% was also unchanged from 2006. Hires in all sectors, with the exception of transportation, were less than Census availability. As a result, progress in the representation of Aboriginal peoples in the private sector over the next few years will be difficult to achieve.

• In 2007, Aboriginal peoples received 1.8% of all promotions in the private sector, very similar to their representation at 1.9%. Promotions were greater than representation in banking, communication and transportation.

• At 2.7%, the representation of persons with disabilities in 2007 was unchanged from the previous year. Their representation was lower than availability in most occupational groups except for managers and supervisors.

• Some improvements were noted. In the banking sector, where their hiring has been higher than in other sectors for the past few years, persons with disabilities held 3.6% of jobs, up from 2.4% in 1997.

• In the transportation sector, their share of jobs has been steadily dropping for the past few years from 2.3% in 2006 to 2.1% in 2007. In communication, the representation of persons with disabilities was unchanged last year and the previous year at 2.5%.

• Persons with disabilities continue to get less than their share of hires in all sectors. In 2007, they received just 1.4% of hires, up a notch from 1.3% the previous year and 1.0% in 1997.

• Persons with disabilities also did not receive an equitable number of promotions when compared to their representation in the workforce. Persons with disabilities made up 2.7% of all employees in the private sector, but obtained just 2.3% of all promotions. They received less than their fair share of hires in banking, communication and transportation, across most of the occupational groups.

An Explanation of the Data

The Commission generates its findings by comparing information from a number of sources. The representation of the designated groups at the inception of the Act in 1997 is compared with the most recent data available from employers. For the private sector, this is December 31, 2007, and in the public service, March 31, 2008. Comparisons this year are even more relevant because they show the progress that has been made in both the private and public service over the past decade. Note that the public service only includes data on indeterminate, terms of three months or more, and seasonal employees.

Progress is measured against the 2001 Census data on the employment availability of women, visible minorities and Aboriginal peoples. The availability estimates for persons with disabilities are from the 2001 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS). This is the last year that 2001 data will be used to provide availability estimates for employment equity. Next year, employers will use data from the 2006 Census and PALS to compare their workforce.

In the case of the public service, the Canada Public Service Agency (CPSA) availability estimates take into consideration the availability of persons whose occupations match jobs found in the public service. These estimates include only Canadian citizens, since the Public Service Employment Act gives a preference to Canadian citizens when hiring for the public service. This reduces the overall availability estimates of members of visible minorities from 12.6% to 10.4%.

As of March 31, 2008, 72 federal departments and agencies employed over 186,000 persons compared to just under 180,000 the previous year. The public service filled close to 20,000 job openings this year – over 4,000 more than in the previous year.

In the case of the private sector, statistics are based upon the Commission’s analysis of 541 employer reports provided to the Minister of Labour as of December 2007. Since that time, additions and adjustments to the employer reports may have been submitted. Therefore, small discrepancies may exist between the numbers appearing in this document and those in the Employment Equity Act Annual Report 2008 that will be tabled by the Minister of Labour.

In 2007, 541 employers filed data on over 730,000 employees. More than 140,000 individuals were hired in the private sector in 2007 – approximately 13,000 more than the previous year. Designated group members (women, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities and Aboriginal People) received almost 50% of these hires – the same as the previous year. Private sector organizations covered by the Employment Equity Act include banking, communication, transportation and some other federally regulated organizations.

Employment Equity Proven Practices

The Commission’s employment equity audit process is designed to gather valuable information on successful strategies and proven practices for increasing representation of the designated groups. This contributes to the Commission’s ability to provide employers with targeted advice, prevention tools and enhanced information for the continuous improvement of the human rights culture in their workplaces. Here are examples of proven practices identified in 2008.

HSBC Bank

HSBC has integrated its anti-harassment/discrimination policy into its Statement of Business Principles and Code of Ethics. All North American employees are required to read, sign and return a form indicating their understanding of, and compliance with, these principles and ethics on an annual basis. Supervisors/managers accept responsibility through this signed statement to maintain a discrimination-free and harassment-free workplace and to respond to negative situations whether or not a formal complaint is filed.

Air Canada Jazz

Air Canada Jazz provides training on employment equity, inclusive hiring practices, human rights and the duty to accommodate to all managers and supervisors involved in interviewing.

As part of its leave policy, Export Development Canada provides return-to-work accommodation measures, and accommodation of religious observances and practices, which allows employees to use vacation credits, to use the floater day, to modify their hours of work, to make up the hours missed, to re-assign some duties with other employees, or to have other flexible work arrangements.

To ensure fairness in promotions for its employees, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is proposing an innovative approach to manage talent. As part of its succession planning, it will build in a tracking mechanism to ensure designated groups are fairly represented among those identified as having high potential. Also, vice-presidents and directors are accountable for achieving the Agency’s diversity goals.

VIA Rail Canada is establishing outreach programs that include contact with universities, referral agencies, and professional and community organizations representing visible minorities to solicit applications. In addition, the employer will participate in job fairs and similar events to promote employment opportunities for visible minorities. Employees are also encouraged to refer visible minorities as a special measure to increase their representation.

As a special measure, CHC Helicopter International has been partnering with Women in Aviation – an organization dedicated to encouraging more women to become involved in the aviation industry – since 2006. As a partner, CHC has attended career fairs, posted its jobs with the organization, arranged special speaking engagements, held training events, and hosted tours of CHC sites.

Canadian Space Agency

To provide information to its employees, the Canadian Space Agency has devoted a section of its intranet site to employment equity. This section contains information on each of the designated groups, employment equity in general, as well as learning opportunities. The employment equity plan and the charter and meeting minutes of the Employment Equity Consultation Committee are also accessible to users. Employment equity has also been integrated as a permanent agenda item for Executive Committee meetings at the Agency.

As a special measure, Société Générale (Canada) introduced an internal Employee Referral Program whereby a bonus of $1,250 is given to an employee who refers a candidate who is a member of a designated group. The bonus is given to the employee if the candidate proposed is then selected and remains in the service of the Société Générale for at least 3 months.

Cameco Corporation

Cameco has taken extensive measures to hire and train Aboriginal people, such that the overall representation of Aboriginal peoples in the company is at least 25%. For Cameco, this is a requirement of doing business in Saskatchewan, but it goes to show that where there is a will, there is a way. Cameco has successfully taken a more holistic approach to Aboriginal employment. It has worked with the community, with First Nations, and with academic institutions to increase the number of Aboriginal employees and to qualify Aboriginal persons as candidates for positions.