Transcript
Transcript: Supporting Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Through Staffing
(12:00:01 p.m. CSPS logo is displayed on screen.)
(00:00:04 The screen fades and Sabrina Pepe is shown in a group discussion video.)
SABRINA PEPE (Canada School of Public Service): Hello everyone. Welcome to the “Promoting employment equity, diversity and inclusion through staffing” session. Thank you for joining us. My name is Sabrina Pepe, and I am a Manager of Community Development and Learning Priorities for the Government of Canada in the Public Sector Operations and Inclusion Branch here at the Canada School of Public Service.
Before continuing, I would like to acknowledge that I am here today in Ottawa, Ontario, on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabeg people. Some of you are joining us today from various parts of the country and working in a different traditional Indigenous territory. I encourage you to take a moment to recognize and reflect on this and seek to understand the long-standing history of this land.
During today's session, we will have the opportunity to create some interactive scenarios using the Wooclap platform. You can now go to www.wooclap.com, and enter the “EEDI” event code to participate. You will also have the opportunity to ask the speakers questions. To send your question, simply click on the raised-hand icon at the top right of your screen. Feel free to ask your question in the language of your choice.
(00:01:32 p.m. Simon Lachaine and Catherine Fortin-Dorego appear in another video chat window.)
I would now like to introduce our speakers for this session, Simon Lachaine and Catherine Fortin-Dorego, staffing support advisors at the Public Service Commission of Canada. Without further ado, I hand the floor over to Simon and Catherine.
SIMON LACHAINE (Staffing Support Advisor, Public Service Commission of Canada): Hello everyone. Thank you very much, Sabrina, for your wonderful introduction. It's really a pleasure for Catherine and me to be here today to talk to you about staffing options to support employment equity, and diversity and inclusion pursuant to the Public Service Employment Act, which I will often refer to as PSEA throughout my presentation.
Over the past few years, the Staffing Support Division, where Catherine and I work, has received a lot of questions about this topic. And we're really hoping that we'll be able to answer many of these questions, your questions, during today's session. We are also really delighted and happy to see that there is so much interest in this subject and that you took the time to join us today. Your attendance here in such large numbers really shows how important and relevant this presentation is. Over the next hour, we will explore this topic together. We will provide you with legal and policy foundations, as well as practical information that will help you with your work. This obviously includes support for employment equity, diversity and inclusion objectives. It will also include the support you provide to hiring managers to whom you give opinions and advice, and also to organizations in general. We really hope that you will find this session informative and engaging. Once again, we sincerely thank you for joining us, and now let's get started with our presentation.
During our time together, we're really going to address three goals. First, we will begin by discussing the difference between the requirements under the Employment Equity Act as well as the broader scope of diversity and inclusion programs. We will then explore the employment equity requirements under the Employment Equity Act, focusing on the link with the staffing and recruitment processes that most of you deal with in your daily work. Finally, we will give you an overview of staffing options under the PSEA, highlighting how they can support employment equity objectives and improve the diversity and inclusion of the workforce. Along the way, we'll also discuss ways to adapt our hiring practices to be more inclusive overall. Through this session, we really hope you will gain a deeper understanding of these important concepts and how they work in order to create a more diverse and representative workforce.
Now let's get down to specifics. Generally speaking, the Employment Equity Act is designed to implement equality in the workplace so no one is denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons not related to their abilities. In achieving this fairness and equality objective, we must correct employment disadvantages experienced or suffered by what are commonly called the four designated employment equity groups, i.e., women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities and members of visible minorities. In doing all of that, it is very important to keep in mind the principle that employment equity means more than simply treating people the same way. Sometimes it also requires special measures and adaptations because each person is different.
Right. So, as we said, it's important to emphasize that the Employment Equity Act has a very specific purpose and scope. Although the Employment Equity Act specifies... is very specific in the way it deals with employment equity for the four groups that we mentioned, the Employment Equity Act does not directly cover the broader concepts of diversity and inclusion.
That leads us to the question we often talk about. What is the definition of diversity and inclusion? This definition comes from the Treasury Board Secretariat's Policy on People Management. That is to say that diversity involves having a workforce that reflects an array of identities, abilities, backgrounds, cultures, skills, perspectives and experiences. Basically, in our own words, we could say that this definition highlights the importance of representing a diverse population and the population that is evolving within Canada. Also, diversity includes but is not limited to some of the 13 prohibited grounds of discrimination set out in the Canadian Human Rights Act. We are talking about, among other things, ethnic origin, race, culture, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, education, religion, marital or parental status. This is an example of some of the 13 prohibited grounds of discrimination. These groups (that are disadvantaged on the basis of one or more prohibited grounds of discrimination) are also known as equity-seeking groups within the meaning of the Public Service Employment Act.
It is important to note that although the Employment Act... although the... sorry, I'll start over! Although the Employment Equity Act addresses specific legal requirements regarding equity for the four designated groups, diversity and inclusion go beyond legal compliance. Diversity and inclusion involve, among other things, creating an inclusive work culture that values and respects differences by ensuring that everyone feels welcome. Recruitment and staffing are one of the means available to organizations to ensure this inclusive work culture.
Today, throughout our session... It's really important to understand both the specific requirements of the Employment Equity Act and understand as an introduction to the Act that there are broader diversity, inclusion objectives and how they relate to recruitment. Together, all of this will help us work towards a more equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace.
Now that we have laid the some of the groundwork to understanding the difference between employment equity and diversity and inclusion, we will start providing you with a little more information regarding the scope and objectives of the Employment Equity Act.
When the Employment Equity Act and Regulations came into force, they created a new legislative framework for employment equity that governs private sector employers and public sector employees under federal jurisdiction. The overall objective of the Employment Equity Act is really to eliminate systemic barriers that lead to discrimination in the workplace. The Employment Equity Act ensures that no person shall be denied employment opportunities for reasons unrelated to their ability. Okay? Among other things, the Act focuses on historical barriers, systemic employment barriers encountered by the four designated groups, which, I repeat, are women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities and members of visible minorities. The Act really allows specific measures to target these four groups, and we will get to them soon when we discuss staffing options.
In the specific context of our daily work and staffing within organizations that come under the Public Service Employment Act, it is important to understand that the specific measures are there to support the objectives of the Employment Equity Act. Okay? Now I'm going to turn the floor over to Catherine, who will provide more details on the ways in which the PSEA can be used in your work as a staffing professional to support employment equity objectives.
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO (Staffing Support Advisor, Public Service Commission of Canada): Thank you, Simon. So, where should we start with this topic? As we saw in the previous slides, employment equity is linked to the concept of underrepresentation of the four designated groups. In the context of employment equity, it should be noted that subgroups or equity-seeking groups should not be confused with these four designated groups.
We've talked about underrepresentation, but we also ask, “How is it defined?” Underrepresentation is identified by comparing the representation of each designated group in each professional group in the employer's workforce. The result is then compared to the representation of the Canadian workforce, which is also called labour availability. If you would like more information on labour availability or other employment equity calculations, you can consult the Treasury Board Secretariat's reports on employment equity in the public service of Canada by fiscal year.
The Employment Equity Act requires an analysis of an organization's workforce data with respect to workforce availability data to detect current or anticipated gaps in representation. These current and anticipated gaps, or underrepresentation, must be closed by setting clear employment equity hiring objectives. It is obligatory to have an employment equity plan when an analysis of the organization's workforce has detected one or more gaps in representation. As mentioned in the examples on the right side of the slide, gaps can occur at different levels.
In practical terms, for the hiring work you do within your organization, this information is typically found in an employment equity plan, or it can also be part of a broader human resources plan. Hiring managers need this information to meet their employment equity requirements. It is also important to understand that when labour availability benchmarks have been met or exceeded, and there are no current or anticipated underrepresentation issues, Deputy Heads are deemed to have achieved their employment equity objectives. Because of all that, they can no longer use staffing measures set out in the Public Service Employment Act for employment equity purposes.
Now that we've covered the theory, including where to find information on employment equity gaps, we can turn to the practical application of these concepts in your daily work. We'll start by looking at the options available under the Public Service Employment Act, which can help organizations close their employment equity gaps.
Section 34 of the Public Service Employment Act sets out the requirements relating to the area of selection, which you are very familiar with, regarding who is eligible to be a candidate in an appointment process. Specifically, four criteria are used to determine this selection area. This involves establishing geographic, organizational or occupational criteria, or today's subject, which is employment equity.
Therefore, the first staffing option is to restrict the area of selection to one or more employment equity groups, such as limiting the area of selection to persons with disabilities employed in the Public Service across Canada. Another option is to establish a different area ofselection, for example, a broader area for members of employment equity groups. In such a case, one might think this means everyone employed by your organization and people with disabilities employed in the Public Service across Canada.
This is due to the fact that Annex A of the Public Service Commission's (PSC) Appointment Policy lists the exclusions and exceptions to the national area of selection requirement, which states that the requirement to establish a national area of selection does not apply to external advertised appointment processes, limited to members of designated employment equity groups for which there is underrepresentation. Therefore, there must be underrepresentation in order to restrict the area of selection.
For further guidance on defining areas of selection for internal appointment processes, organizations should refer to… well, you should refer to your own area ofselection policy. It should also be noted that when expanding or restricting the area of selection, it is important to ensure that the area is supported by the organization's current or anticipated gaps in representation, and to ensure that this area of selection will include a sufficient number of employment equity candidates.
Using merit criteria is another option. Specifically, here, we'll discuss organizational needs under section 32 of the PSEA. Using an organizational need is the most common way to incorporate employment equity into appointment processes. This will provide hiring managers with the flexibility to refer to an organizational need as a merit criterion at any stage of the appointment process. This means it can be used at the outset or until the end, for example, after the eligibility of the candidates has been determined, until the end or if the hiring manager would hesitate between choosing one of the qualified candidates for an appointment.
Addressing an employment equity gap using an organizational need can also be part of articulating the hiring manager's selection decision, which is the mandatory requirement to provide a written reason for choosing a specific candidate for an appointment. It is also important to note that when we establish an area of selection limiting eligibility based on membership in a designated employment equity group, this measure is different from identifying an organizational need tied to increasing representation. Therefore, there is no need to have a matching organizational need when using the area of selection mechanism. However, in certain cases it can be useful to have an organizational need if the area of selection is extended for one or more groups but the appointment process is also open to candidates who do not belong to the employment equity group.
Using an advertised or unadvertised appointment process for employment equity related purposes may also be an option. Each organization has its own guidance on use of advertised versus non-advertised appointment processes, which may allow use of a non-advertised appointment to close an employment equity gap. Finally, we would also like to point out that the talent pool of persons with a priority entitlement can be used to hire a candidate who has self-declared as a member of one of the equity groups. This option may also have the added benefit of reducing your staffing time.
We'll look at some additional important information when using options available under the PSEA to help your organizations close employment equity gaps. With respect to persons with a priority entitlement, when an appointment is made under an employment equity program, you should only consider persons with a priority entitlement who have self-identified as members of that employment equity group and who qualify for the program, of course.
For example, only persons with a priority entitlement who have self-identified as members of the group of people with disabilities must be considered if an employment equity program has been established for people with disabilities. There are qualified persons with a priority entitlement who have self-identified as being in the disability employment equity group, and the hiring manager used an area of selection open to persons with disabilities, or the hiring manager relied on the organizational need for employment equity to appoint a person with a disability to the position. However, if there is no employment equity program within your organization, all persons with a priority entitlement should be considered.
What is the famous Employment Equity Program? In accordance with the objective of the Employment Equity Act, an equity program generally refers to positive policies, practices or measures implemented in a department or agency, such as elements of an employment equity or human resources plan. It is designed to address identified underrepresentation of a designated group. This is also known as the employment equity gap, which we mentioned earlier. Each Deputy Head is responsible for developing their own Employment Equity Program.
In the same context, in an advertised external appointment process, the preference provisions set out in subsection 39(1) of the PSEA apply. A veteran in the area of selection who meets the essential qualifications should be appointed ahead of other candidates. This means the veteran cannot be eliminated based on an organizational need for employment equity. However, unlike the case where a sub-delegated person makes a decision based on priority entitlement, when a decision involves two equally qualified candidates, such as two qualified veterans, subsection 39(2) of the PSEA allows the decision maker to consider organizational need to be assets as well as other requirements, such as operational requirements or additional merit criteria.
What is self-declaration? This is the term used by the PSC for gathering employment equity information provided voluntarily by candidates in appointment processes. This information is gathered pursuant to the Public Service Employment Act, the Employment Equity Act and the Canadian Human Rights Act. It is also important to note that the confidentiality of this information is protected by the Privacy Act.
Self-declaration information is used for statistical purposes, such as reports, analyses or special studies, and in the case of processes targeting employment equity groups, to determine eligibility. The self-declaration information of applicants appointed to or within the public service may also be used for compiling workforce representation figures for reports to Parliament.
To clarify, because these terms are sometimes confused or used interchangeably, self-identification is the term used for gathering employment information provided voluntarily by employees, for example by completing a self-identification form provided by your organization pursuant to the Employment Equity Act. These statistics are used to analyze and monitor the progress of employment equity groups in the public service and to provide Parliament with reports on representation figures.
In appointment processes, it should be noted that the Affirmation of Indigenous Identity Form must be used in the following cases: where the area of selection is limited to Indigenous people. An organizational need is used to increase Indigenous representation. An Indigenous candidate inventory or student employment program approved by the Treasury Board Secretariat is used to increase Indigenous representation. Or in all these cases, if the person proposed for appointment belongs to the Indigenous group, a completed form must be part of the appointment documentation.
It is also important to note that Annex B of the PSC Appointment Policy lists the information requirements for appointments, i.e., the information to be kept in our staffing files. Whenever employment equity is relied on in an appointment, for example, through use of the area of selection of an organizational need in a non-advertised process, the appointee must self-declare in writing that they belong to the employment equity group. This information must be kept in the staffing files.
I will now hand the floor over to Simon who will discuss diversity and inclusion programs in the context of appointment processes.
SIMON LACHAINE: Excellent. Before discussing this in a little more detail and turning to the discussion on diversity and inclusion in the appointment processes, we just want to give you a little reminder. So as not to confuse diversity and inclusion with equity employment issues that we just discussed, keep in mind that diversity and inclusion really concern programs of organizations that support a workforce composed of individuals who have an array of identities, abilities, backgrounds, cultures, skills, perspectives and experiences that are representative of Canada's current and evolving population.
Now that we have a better understanding of employment, what should we know about diversity and inclusion? First of all, as staffing advisors within your organizations, you decide to carry out recruitment actions that aim to increase the representation of a target group of people in other groups or within subgroups of the four designated groups. We will now discuss the objectives of diversity and inclusion. These actions should be the result of a well-documented evidence-based analysis that takes into account quantitative and qualitative data.
We will provide you with examples of evidence that could help you support your staffing actions. We are talking, for example, about statistical proof of underrepresentation. We are also talking about accounts of underrepresentation with demonstrated proof provided through studies of employment systems conducted by organizations. There are other sources of information as well that could be useful to help you support your staffing actions. Here we are talking about various reports, studies, or even a commitment by the Government of Canada.
As you see on the right of the slide, there are several ways to develop recruitment strategies that will support diversity and inclusion objectives. Now, we're going to move on to staffing options that are available to help organizations achieve their diversity and inclusion goals. The first option, which is a little like employment equity, is really the option that we see most commonly used in organizations. It is the use of a merit criterion tied to organizational needs.
In employment equity, current or future organizational needs can be used to address underrepresentation in one of the four designated groups set out in the Employment Equity Act. The four groups are women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities and members of visible minorities. Now, the use of organizational need can also be used to support diversity and inclusion. That goes beyond the four designated groups. This option is available to you and your sub-delegated managers. However, as we mentioned previously, it is only available to you if you have a rationale and supporting evidence to promote equality for the group you are targeting.
For example, we could say that this could be done to support a diversity program targeting one of the employment equity subgroups or another equity-seeking group or a subgroup. Okay? So we could talk, among other things, about the Black community, which would also be a subgroup of visible minorities. Organizational need can be used in your appointment processes, insofar as it is supported by a program authorized by your Deputy Head or, as mentioned, also, a government diversity recruitment program, such as the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service.
It is important to clarify that although an organizational need for diversity and inclusion objectives can be applied, it can sometimes create confusion with the application of the area of selection. Okay? We should also clarify, for example, the fact that an area of selection cannot be used to target a group in question. For example, if we wanted to prioritize the hiring of neurodivergent candidates, we could not have an area of selection for this subgroup, a subgroup of people with disabilities, because it is not allowed under section 34 of the Act. However, an area of selection could be established for people with disabilities. Then, the hiring of neurodivergent candidates could be added under an organizational need to support a diversity program.
It is important to understand that this area of selection could lead to incompatibility because some candidates would be... would be part of the group with disabilities who might not be considered, depending on how we determine the importance of the organizational need for neurodivergent people. Okay? There are various ways to mitigate risk. This includes informing candidates of the intent of the appointment process in the job opportunity advertisement. We might also broaden the intent of the process. That would probably be the most recommended option, i.e., use the appointment process to hire people, yes, neurodivergent people, but also intend to hire any other disabled people.
This will enable us to achieve our diversity and inclusion objectives by hiring people from a subgroup of neurodivergent people, neurodivergent individuals, but also to achieve employment equity objectives by hiring people with disabilities. Okay? That's a clarification that we wanted to draw your attention to.
We repeat once again that it's important that diversity and inclusion hiring differ from the use of employment equity measures. Organizational needs to support diversity and inclusion initiatives do not need to be linked to a current or future representation gap, as is the case with employment equity. All of that means that diversity and inclusion objectives could be set higher than workforce availability as long as you have supporting evidence, as we have seen at the beginning of the slide.
Very often, the Staffing Support Division receives questions on how to assess merit in cases where the diversity and inclusion hiring option is used. When using an organizational need for diversity and inclusion, and it is justified, it is important to evaluate it as you would any other merit criterion. Organizations can consider various options to ensure that the individual is a member of the target group. One of the options we often see is to include a screening question with an explanation linked to the organizational need. We can also ask candidates to include a statement in their cover letter or CV. We would ask candidates to do this when the job opportunities are advertised. During the process, we could ask candidates to confirm this information by email, or some organizations could decide to create their own forms or questionnaires. However, it is important to note that for all of these options the provisions of the Privacy Act and Treasury Board policies on managing Protected-B information apply to gathering that information. Okay?
Keep in mind that because this staffing option is not linked to an employment equity program, all persons with a priority entitlement will have to be considered. Also, an external advertised process must comply with the preference provisions set out in subsection 39(1) of the PSEA. Okay?
The other option is that merit related to the work to be done could also lead to greater diversity and inclusion, as mentioned in our slide. That really means that certain qualifications can help hire people who could enable you to achieve the organization's mandate, including for example, reconciliation, reconciliation with Indigenous people. It's really... these qualifications are based on work-related skills rather than the fact of being an Indigenous person. Okay? In the examples shown in the slide, it is therefore important to note that there could be non-Indigenous candidates who could speak a language or have knowledge of Indigenous culture who could meet these merit criteria.
Finally, the last option is that organizations can use non-advertised appointment processes. We can include various diversity and inclusion considerations in the guidance on use of non-advertised appointment processes established by the Deputy Heads of each of your organizations.
I give the floor to Catherine who will now present a first scenario.
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: Thank you once again, Simon. To participate, please go to wooclap.com and enter the “EEDI” event code to answer the first question. Let's read the scenario together. Although there is no representation gap for visible minorities within the organization, there is a diversity and inclusion plan linked to a strategy approved by the Deputy Head that promotes hiring a greater number of Black people. The sub-delegated person initiates a process and wants to apply the strategy to hire a Black person. This group is not underrepresented within the organization, but there is a diversity and inclusion plan linked to the strategy approved by the Deputy Head stipulating that more Black persons must be hired.
The evaluations are completed, and the sub-delegated person chooses the person they want to appoint from among the three qualified candidates. The sub-delegated person's selection decision is based on the following organizational need: To promote diversity and inclusion in the workforce, Black candidates may be considered first. The sub-delegated person tells the staffing specialist about their thought process and the criterion used to make the selection decision. As an HR specialist, what advice should the specialist give the sub-delegated person? Now, let's now look at the possible answers. It should be noted that there could be more than one correct answer.
Please choose one or more of the following answers. Answer A: For the purposes of employment equity objectives, if there is no current or anticipated underrepresentation in the visible minority group, using this criterion would not comply with the Employment Equity Act.
Answer B: Central agencies have studied the issue of employment equity subgroups, and its use in staffing processes has been found to be discriminatory and is therefore prohibited.
Answer C: The sub-delegated person may target a subgroup to meet diversity and inclusion objectives or support special programs to remedy a documented barrier that creates a disadvantage.
Answer D: It is not permitted to use organizational need to target an equity-seeking group other than the four designated groups in the Employment Equity Act.
Answer E: All of the above.
Simon, let's have a look at the answers in Wooclap.
SIMON LACHAINE: Yes, Catherine, the participants have already started to answer…
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: Yes.
SIMON LACHAINE: … As you were presenting the scenario.
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: There seems to be a trend toward answer C.
SIMON LACHAINE: I would even say a strong trend.
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: Yes! (laughter)
SIMON LACHAINE: For answer C. There are now about 30 participants who have provided their answer in Wooclap.
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: It's slowly increasing. Ah, we have divided opinions, we see that that… it's slowly changing.
SIMON LACHAINE: I suggest that maybe we should wait until we have about 100 answers. We were told that there may be a short delay between the time people submit the answer and the time it is displayed on our screen.
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: We see that there is one person, two or three, ah… who answered B.
SIMON LACHAINE: Yes. Once again, 75% answered C, 25% answered A, and about 10% answered all of the above. A little more than 100 answers have been received.
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: So I think we're going…
SIMON LACHAINE: Slowly, yes.
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: … to be able to review the possible answers. Thank you for your participation. For answer A, as mentioned before, there are differences between employment equity goals and diversity and inclusion goals. According to the Employment Equity Act, employment equity aims to achieve equality in the workplace in order to achieve conditions and correct disadvantages for the four designated groups, being women, Indigenous people, people with disabilities and members of visible minorities.
In other words, if there is no current or anticipated employment equity gap, the employment equity objectives have been met. Therefore, A is an acceptable answer. Now for answer B, it is not true that it is discriminatory or prohibited to target employment equity subgroups. However, only the four employment equity groups, and not subgroups, can be used in the context of employment equity.
For answer C, as discussed a little earlier, a representative... or an employment equity subgroup may be targeted to achieve a broader diversity and inclusion objective when there is statistical evidence of a disadvantage. It's very important to keep that in mind. Therefore, answer C is also a correct answer.
For answer D, it is false that organizations cannot use an organizational need to target members of equity-seeking groups if it is done to achieve a broader diversity and inclusion goal when there is statistical evidence of a disadvantage. For today's scenario, answers A and C are the correct answers. Simon, go ahead with the next scenario.
SIMON LACHAINE: Yes, so I'll read the scenario. Given that an organization's mandate involves holding consultations with Indigenous communities and First Nations, a sub-delegated person would like to know what staffing options they have to hire more Indigenous employees. Given that the employment equity plan indicates that there is no representation gap for this group at the organizational level, what options does this sub-delegated person have? We'll look at the possible answers. Again, it is important to note that there may be more than one correct answer. Okay? Which of the following statements is or are the correct answer or answers? Okay?
The first option is A – Examine employment equity data in more detail to determine if a gap is anticipated for Indigenous peoples.
B – Review the employment equity plan in greater detail to determine if there is a current or anticipated gap for the region, branch, division or the public service as a whole.
C – Review the employment equity plan in greater detail to determine if there is a current or anticipated gap for any professional group.
D – Include qualifications required to perform the duties of the position effectively, such as knowledge of an Indigenous culture or language.
E – To support the broader goal of diversity and inclusion across the federal public service, organizational needs may be considered to support the organization's mandate; in this case, the requirement to conduct consultations with Indigenous communities.
F – Develop an outreach plan to attract and focus on Indigenous candidates.
And G – All of the above. Okay? All the answers that we mentioned.
We're gradually going to go see what the answers are. They are starting to come in very slowly. To save time, we only have 11 minutes left, we will try to finish quickly with this scenario because we would like to be able to answer some of your questions. I'm still going to give you a little more time to answer and we'll keep monitoring the current trend in answers.
Obviously, there is very strong trend toward answer G. For the rest, I would say it's fairly equal, between 10 and 20, 25% for all the other possible answers. We have received about 60 answers now… so far, sorry. There are coming in a little faster now.
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: Well yes.
SIMON LACHAINE: 80% of participants have now answered. We see... I don't want to give any clues, but we can see that people paid close attention to the first 50 minutes of our presentation!
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: (laughing)
SIMON LACHAINE: Now, a little more than 100 participants have answered. Like I said, I think in the interest of time, since we...
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: We're going…
SIMON LACHAINE: We're going to finish this now for scenario two. So actually, OK, these are all correct answers. Okay? The answer is indeed G, which would be the correct answer. I won't go into detail about each answer because we touched on the essential material for each option. However, all of these options are potential options. This shows the extent to which there is a wide variety of permissible options for employment equity objectives or diversity and inclusion objectives. I would like to thank you very much for your participation in the scenario. Now we'll move on and I'll hand the floor over to Catherine.
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: Thank you Simon. What are some additional considerations for encouraging diversity and inclusion? We talked about different options, several flexibilities. One of these options is outreach sessions like today's session that could be useful for your organization. There are also Canada School of Public Service courses that could be considered. For example, the PSC's Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument (ADIA) requires that Deputy Heads establish training pre-requisites for sub-delegation, including training on unconscious bias.
We understand that the type of training is at the Deputy Heads' discretion. However, the School of Public Service does offer the “Inclusive Hiring Practices for a Diverse Workforce (COR120)” course, which we strongly encourage you to consider. The course focuses on unconscious bias in hiring processes and inclusive staffing practices. All levels of management can set an example by building a workforce that is representative of all Canadians. One way to do this is to create diverse committees for evaluating candidates in appointment processes.
You can also tailor your job advertisements or other communications, including outreach, to attract diverse candidates. Your posters can indicate that your organization wants to have a diverse and inclusive workforce to promote an inclusive work environment. And the very recent amendments to the PSEA also support barrier-free appointment processes. In accordance with subsection 36(2) of the PSEA, before using an assessment method, sub-delegated persons shall conduct an evaluation to identify biases and barriers that disadvantage members of equity-seeking groups and make reasonable efforts to remove or mitigate their impact on those persons.
There are some guides and tools in the next slide, to which you can refer. They include products and guidance tools to support your hiring, employment equity, and diversity and inclusion practices. We have also included a list of other PSC tools and recruitment programs that also support employment equity and diversity and inclusion objectives. You have the floor, Simon.
SIMON LACHAINE: Excellent. Thank you very much Catherine. That's perfect. We would now like to take some time to answer your questions. Questions that you submitted throughout the presentation by clicking on icon in the top right corner of your screen in the Wooclap platform. We also noted that all the… We will not be able to answer all the questions, but we will receive the list of questions at the PSC. It will also help us guide our various policy directions. We also invite you to consult your corporate staffing team and the PSC, your staffing support advisor, like Catherine and me, if necessary. Catherine, I think we have a first question.
CATHERINE FORTIN-DOREGO: Yes, we seem to have received our first question. Should we include organizational need in notices when it is used as an internal appointment criterion? That's actually a really good question. We would like to emphasize that the requirement to communicate and include a name in notices comes from section 48 of the PSEA. It only applies to the internal appointment process.
When we use a merit criterion linked to an organizational need for employment equity in an appointment, the inclusion of this criterion is at the organization's discretion. However, if for example, you have limited the area of selection in an internal advertised process that was open only to members of employment equity groups, the area of recourse must appear in the notices. That is basically consistent with the information provided to candidates. It is posted on the voluntarydeclarationscanada.ca website, which we have included in our additional resources.
SIMON LACHAINE: Excellent, thank you. I will take the time to answer one last question. The question is, “How can we use PSC student programs to support the hiring of members of employment equity groups?”
This can certainly be done. First of all, the best way for you—for your organizations—to do that is to limit your student searches to students who have self-identified as members of one of the employment equity groups. If we want to support the hiring of visible minorities, for example, we can submit a request to have students who belong to this group referred to us. Hiring students is the best way to increase diversity within your organization. Basically, there are lots of programs in place, such as employment opportunities for students with disabilities, employment opportunities for Indigenous students. All of these will really help you promote diversity and inclusion.
This brings our presentation to an end. As I said, if you have any additional questions, do not hesitate to contact your departmental staffing team or your PSC staffing support advisor. We thank you very much for your participation in this session. We hope that you have a better understanding of the topics that Catherine and I discussed today. I will now hand the floor over to Sabrina for the closing remarks.
SABRINA PEPE: … Joined us, and we hope this event was useful to you. Please note that the session was recorded and will be temporarily available on the School of Public Service's YouTube site in the coming days. We also invite you to complete the short evaluation questionnaire that you will receive by email in the next few minutes. Once again, thank you for your participation and enjoy rest of your day. Thank you.
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