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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT EMPLOYMENT EQUITY
Q. What is Employment Equity?
A. Employment equity is a process that seeks to create and maintain fairness and equal opportunity for all employees and to remove barriers to the equal participation of designated group members in individual employers' workforces.
Q. Who are the Employment Equity designated groups?
A. While employment equity is concerned with ensuring fairness for all employees, it also has a focus on four "designated groups" - women, visible minorities (non-Caucasians or non-whites), Aboriginal people and people with disabilities. This is because statistical evidence and research shows that these groups face particular challenges in the workforce including less favourable employment opportunities than others.
Q. Why are we implementing Employment Equity?
A. The "Staff of the Non-Public Funds, Canadian Forces" (NPF Staff), is a separate employer under the Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA), for which the Minister of National Defence is responsible for personnel management. The personnel management of NPF Staff has been delegated by the Minister to the Chief of Defence Staff and to the President and CEO of the CFPSA. "Staff of the Non-Public Funds, Canadian Forces" is subject to the federal Employment Equity Act, which requires all federally regulated employers to implement Employment Equity and to report to Human Resources Development Canada on steps taken to meet the requirements of the legislation.
Q. Apart from legal obligations, why do we need an Employment Equity program?
A. One of our core Values is "Respect" which means that any discriminatory practices based on ethnic, social, physical and other differences are not tolerated. Respect is consistent with the basic principles of Employment Equity, which embraces diversity and stands for fair and equitable treatment of all employees in the workforce.
Employment Equity also helps employers to access the broadest labour pool of qualified people, to increase opportunities for individuals to contribute their best in the workplace, and to remove employment practices that may be barriers to the Employment Equity designated groups as well as to others.
Q. Some people say that Employment Equity involves reverse discrimination. Is this true?
A. Employment Equity does not mean unqualified people will be hired or promoted.
The goal of Employment Equity is to utilize all members of the labour pool as effectively as possible and to provide opportunities for those individuals with the potential to advance within the organization. In order to reach this goal, employers must ensure that designated group employees are not being unfairly excluded from opportunities.
Q. Does Employment Equity involve hiring and promotion quotas?
A. No. The federal Employment Equity Act requires numerical goals for workforce representation but specifically disallows quotas. There is a significant difference between goals and quotas. Quotas are rigid and imposed. They are fixed figures that must be reached regardless of the circumstances. Numerical goals are flexible: they are based on what the employer thinks can be realistically achieved and they can be adjusted if necessary.
Q. Does Employment Equity mean lowering job standards?
A. No. Employment Equity examines job standards to ensure that job criteria are realistic and job related. A sound Employment Equity program guarantees that people are not denied jobs for reasons unrelated to their skills or abilities.
Q. How will Employment Equity affect NPF staff?
A. Employment Equity will ensure that employment policies and practices work for everyone. This means that all employees will enjoy fair and equal employment opportunities. It is an approach that will give all employees the widest range of options, based on their abilities and interests. All employees will benefit through improved employment policies and practices. We will work together with our bargaining agents to develop measures that not only address the needs of the designated groups but also benefit everyone.
Q. I understand that Employment Equity includes filling out a survey. What will that involve?
A. There will be an Employment Equity self-identification survey for all full-time and part-time employees and regular casuals/other employees who work at least three months per year. Subsequently, new hires will also complete the survey. This survey asks just a few short questions that allow employees to identify if they belong to one or more of the designated groups.
Q. I am NOT a member of any of the designated groups. I don't see why I have to complete the survey.
A. The participation of every employee is important in helping to:
- Get an accurate profile of who we are and how representative we are of the workforce;
- Identify areas where changes in policies, practices and systems are likely to be most effective in achieving fairness and equity in employment, and
- Pinpoint where we need to eliminate barriers, which limit or exclude designated groups from opportunities which should be open to all employees.
Q. I am a member of a designated group but I don't think my background has any bearing on my employment opportunities. Why should I fill out the questionnaire?
A. First of all, it's great that you feel that you've had fair opportunities. However, you should still complete the survey. We need to portray the NPF workforce as it really is. If you don't respond, we won't have a complete and accurate picture.
Q. What if my designated group status changes in the future? Can I change my answers?
A. Yes. You may change your designated group status information at any time by:
- contacting your local HR office to complete a new self-identification form, or
- printing and completing a self-identification form at the Employment Equity web page, at www.CFPSA.com/EE, and
- returning the completed form to your local HR office, or by mailing it to the Director Diversity and Equity at CFPSA.
Q. Can I identify in more than one group?
A. Employment Equity legislation permits employees to identify in more than one designated group. The self-identification form includes definitions to help you accurately identify which group(s) you belong to under this legislation.
Q. Who gets to see my answers? Are they kept confidential?
A. Survey data will be retained by the office of the Director Diversity and Equity. The data will be treated as highly confidential. The Director Diversity and Equity will control access to the data and that access will be restricted to the Advisor and Employment Equity staff. The data will be used for Employment Equity planning and reporting. Statistical data will be reported only in aggregate (on a group basis). No individual data will be identified. The information is also subject to the Privacy Act and cannot be accessed by your manager. In addition, and only if you agree on the survey form, the data will be used for Employment Equity implementation, for example training and development, Employment Equity research or involvement in Employment Equity initiatives.
Q. If the survey is confidential, why do I have to include my name and employee number?
A. The survey is confidential but not anonymous. We not only need to establish the current representation in our workforce but also to track that representation over time.
Q. I seem to remember completing a survey like this before. Do I have to complete another survey this time?
A. Yes. We're doing a complete update of all self-identification data so everyone is being asked to count himself or herself in.
Q. How do I get more information?
A. For general information, please visit the Employment Equity website at www.CFPSA.com/EE. For further information, contact your local Human Resources staff or the Director Diversity and Equity, at (613)-996-6717.