User:Diversity & Inclusion in Action - event summary

EVENT OVERVIEW

Diversity and Inclusion in Action brought together speakers from a range of background and expertise, to discuss how we can begin to move the forward with meaningful and impactful policy that supports all employees in the federal service.

To supplement the information that was shared by our panels, we created a workbook that poses questions to help you think about how you are going to apply the ideas and concepts that have been raised, within your individual teams and larger organizations. There is no expectation that you share the information you record and we hope that this can be a tool to support learning, retention and inspire engagement. Click on the link below to download a copy of the workbook.

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  Survey Results

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  Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service

Dear Colleagues:..

Since taking on the role of Interim Clerk of the Privy Council, advancing the Call to Action has been one of my top priorities. I am encouraged to see the Deputy community taking action to make meaningful change, as well as the level of engagement among managers and the human resources community.

I am particularly inspired by my conversations with the employee networks and communities and hearing from individual employees who are sharing personal experiences and knowledge to support deeper understanding, and sparking conversations and action across the Public Service.

A number of public servants have shared with me that they welcome the change they see in leadership’s tone and approach. I have also heard that barriers remain and entrenched mindsets are obstacles to necessary progress.

To make real progress, we need to learn from one another…

This is a chance to take stock of what you are doing, what is working, what is not, and how you are measuring progress. The goal is to learn from each other, surface key challenges, and identify best practices to tackle barriers and generate and sustain the momentum necessary to achieve meaningful results.

Above all, I am hoping for an authentic and transparent account of how your organization is progressing on anti-racism, equity and inclusion, and one that reflects the perspectives of employee communities and networks. Success requires us to do things differently, and this extends to the way we share our progress.

Janice Charette

Interim Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet

PANEL DISCUSSIONS (RECORDED)

PANEL 1: DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN ACTION

While the need for Diversity and Inclusion policy has become a talking point in the past year, Canada has been legislated to improve public sector workforce diversity since 1995, via the Employment Equity Act. What actions are needed to accelerate this work, and how do we ensure sustainable change that is realized at all levels of the Department?

Panelists:

Daniel Quan-Watson - Deputy Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs, and Champion for Visible Minorities for the Federal Public Service

Christine Donoghue - Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board Secretariat

Dr. Denise O. Green – Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion, Ryerson University

Moderated by Kenza, El Bied, Champion for Visible Minorities, Indigenous Services Canada

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PANEL 2: CULTURAL CHANGE

This discussion explored what is at the root of cultural change, and what elements are needed to develop a strategy that promotes meaningful systemic transformation.

Panelists:

Richard Sharpe – Director, Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Secretariat at Justice Canada

Kristy Payne – Chief Operations Officer at Hill + Knowlton Strategies

Anne-Marie Pham - Executive Director at Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion

Moderated by Clara Wong, Visible Minority Working Group

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PANEL 3: CREATING A DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE

In the absence of specific goals and a government-wide framework, it is difficult to determine whether current initiatives to strengthen diversity and inclusion are succeeding in reducing or eliminating systemic barriers. How can we leverage existing data and experience to create a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace?

Panelists:

Yazmine Laroche - Deputy Minister, Public Service Accessibility, Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada

Paule-Anny Pierre - Assistant Deputy Minister, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Manju Varma - Commissioner on Systemic Racism for the Government of New Brunswick & Former Senior Advisor, Office of Inclusion, Equity and Anti-racism at Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Moderated by Taiwo Lewis, Visible Minorities Working Group

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PANEL 4: CHANGES IN LEGISLATION, POLICIES & PROGRAMS & THEIR IMPACT

Earlier this year, the Treasury Board announced it is working with Employment and Social Development Canada on the review of the Employment Equity Act “to ensure that the public service applies appropriate benchmarks for diversity.” What kind of targets are supporting this work and what approaches are under consideration?

Panelists:

Gaveen Cadotte – Vice President, Policy and Communications Sector, Public Service Commission of Canada

Selena Beattie - Executive Director of People Management and Community Engagement, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Moderated by Navip-Kaur Singh, Visible Minority Working Group

EVENT SURVEY

SUMMARY

The Diversity in Action 2021 Mentimeter Survey was conducted live on November 18, 2021, and moderated by Working Group member Ahmad Farhat. The survey posed a series of questions related to employee perceptions of equity and inclusion within Indigenous Services Canada. We have provided the full Mentimeter Survey results in PDF and Excel format, and invite you to review the candid and thoughtful feedback we received.

**If there are any questions about the methodologies employed to classify and recode results, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the working group at xxxx@...

General observations by the Visible Minority Working Group analysis team

Question 1. Do you identify as a Visible Minority?

Subgroup Observations

- Attendees were almost evenly split between those who identify as a visible minority and those that do not.

Question 2. How do you distinguish between equality and equity in a professional setting? Do you view them as the same or different?

Subgroup Observations

- Generally very thoughtful and nuanced answers and many demonstrated a strong understanding of how both concepts apply within the workplace.

"Equality essentially means providing everyone with the same amount of resources regardless of whether everyone needs them. ... Equity is when resources are shared based on what each person needs in order to adequately level the playing field." Equity vs Equality: What’s the Difference? (globalcitizen.org)

Question 3. How does Indigenous Services Canada measure up on ensuring an equal/equitable workplace?

Subgroup Observations

- Generally a relatively tepid tone towards the Department’s performance fostering an equitable workspace.

- Many respondents noted that while the Department is diverse in its makeup, it is falling short on issues of  equity

- A number of respondents made a distinction between advancement opportunities for Indigenous employees versus those offered to visible minority employees, and cited a need for greater Indigenous representation at senior levels of management.

Question 4. Please speak to your personal perspective on recruitment, retention and career advancement.

Subgroup Observations

- Fairly balanced response and reflect the results from question 2.

- Respondents did not necessarily perceive hiring as the problem, more so retention

Question 5. What actions do you see the Visible Minority Working Group taking to advance equity within our workplace?

Subgroup Observations

- The mean and median skewed lower than question 3 as we do know that retention and career advancement are the larger challenges, though it was noted that the average still skewed relatively neutral. Just shy of half of respondents were non visible minorities, which could explain that outcome

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Question 6.  What do you think management should do to promote retention of diverse employees?

Subgroup Observations

- This question yielded mixed results as many answers unsure how to answer

- Responses identified the need for the greater clarity and communication on the mandate and mission statement of the Visible Minority Working Group

- The subgroup also considered that there may have been an issue in the way the question was structured and that lead to confusion

- Responses that fell with the Working Group's scope of work focused on hiring and retention and training for supervisors and senior managers

NEXT STEPS

CONCLUSION

This two day event brought together brought together thought leaders in the Diversity and Inclusion space including senior officials in the public and private sector and academia. Topics and themes discussed were timely and relevant given growing momentum to address systems of oppression that impact the places we live and work today. We were grateful for the incredible contributions of passionate speakers during our panel discussions.

" ISC has really dedicated members of the Visible Minority Working Group who really helped to make the event come together & for it to run smoothly. I feel privileged to work in a Department that values our diverse voices and thoughts and creates spaces for us to continue important discussions."

- Clara Wong, Launch Event Lead

This final report will help the Visible Minority Working Group set priorities into the future.

In 2022, Working Group members are particularly focused on engaging with partners internally and across government to develop our mentorship tools. We are also conducting a survey to gain an understanding of the priorities for visible minority employees in Indigenous Services Canada and set priorities into the future. We are launching our Podcast series which will discuss areas of interest within the D&I space through a visible minority lens, and later in the year, we will be summarizing lessons learned from this year in a final report.