Cheers to Anne-Marie Sleeman (UEW 20729, Environment Canada) for forwarding this information about the Employment Equity Act, and how it is implemented at Environment Canada:
Our department is committed to providing a workplace that is free of discrimination and representative of the public we serve, and to achieving equitable representation of designated groups at all levels within its organization.
Environment Canada is committed to achieving an inclusive workforce reflective of the diversity of the Canadian labour market . It supports the Employment Equity Act.
Employment Equity Act
The Employment Equity Act aims “to achieve equality in the workplace so that no person shall be denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability and, in the fulfillment of that goal, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by women, aboriginal persons, members of racially visible groups, and persons with disabilities.
The Employment Equity Act addresses barriers to employment and advancement faced by the four designated groups. It helps ensure fairness and equity in the workplace. This in turn helps ensure that staffing decisions, access to training and promotion, and other opportunities are based on merit.
Originally proclaimed in 1986, the Employment Equity Act was amended in 1996 to include the Federal Public Service. The Employment Equity Act aims “to achieve equality in the workplace so that no person shall be denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability and, in the fulfillment of that goal, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by women, aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities…” (Section 2, Employment Equity Act, 1995).
Canadian Human Rights Act
The Canadian Human Rights Act stipulates that it is not a discriminatory practice to collect information if it is intended to be used in adopting or carrying out a special program, plan or arrangement designed to eliminate discrimination of certain groups of individuals (Canadian Human Rights Act, 2004, Section 16 (3)).
Universal Declaration of Human Rights – available here
Article 7. Universal Declaration of Human Rights
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 23.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Some Definitions
Reasonable accommodation: Reasonable accommodation refers to measures designed to accommodate differences, so that no individual has reduced access to opportunities or benefits because of personal characteristics such as sex, race, colour or disability. Ignoring these special needs can result in lost opportunities for employment, housing or services for certain minorities, and as such may constitute adverse effect discrimination.
Employers, service providers and others who are required not to discriminate must go beyond treating everyone the same without regard to race, sex and the other personal characteristics protected in human rights laws. They must, in addition, accommodate as much as reasonably possible the protected characteristics of those to whom such uniform treatment would have a discriminatory effect. That is, they must avoid standards that have a discriminatory effect where this can be done without sacrificing their own legitimate objectives or incurring undue hardship.
Sexism: The belief that people of one sex or gender are inherently superior to people of the other sex or gender or unfair treatment or discrimination based on a difference of sex or gender. Disadvantage or unequal opportunity arising from the cultural dominance of one gender over the other. Promotion or expectation or assumption of people to behave in accordance with or deviate from a gender role.
Racism: Racism means attitudes, practices and other factors that disadvantage people because of their race, color or ethnicity. Racism can be directed against any race, color or ethnicity.
Some examples of racism are obvious, such as graffiti, intimidation or physical violence. Racial and ethnic slurs and “jokes” are other examples. Other forms of racism are not obvious, such as discrimination in hiring and apartment rentals, or policies that disadvantage members of certain races, whether intentionally or not.
Racism exists at three main levels: individual, institutional and cultural. Institutional or systemic racism takes the form of the practices, customs, rules and standards of organizations, including governments that unnecessarily disadvantage people because of their race, color or ethnicity. They do not always involve differences in treatment. Educational requirements that are not related to actual job duties are an example.
Individual racism takes the form of individual attitudes, beliefs, values and behaviours. Racial prejudice, bigotry, belittling and jealousy are examples of racist attitudes. Examples of racist beliefs are racial stereotypes, the belief that some races are better than others and even the belief that people can be classified according to race in the first place. Violence, name-calling and discrimination in hiring are examples of racist behaviour.
Cultural racism is the cultural values and standards that disadvantage people because of their race, color or ethnicity. Examples are cultural expectations as to the race of a company president and the cultural standard for what a beautiful, trustworthy or competent person looks like.
Disability: A physical or mental incapacity, either congenital or resulting from an injury or illness etc. which is a chronic condition.
Resources
Self-identification Form (for Environment Canada, your department should have one available as well): available here, this is to be returned to your Employment Equity Coordinator.
Treasury Board Employment Equity Policy: available here.
Inclusiveness Strategy at Environment Canada: available here .
Employment Equity and Diversity Tools For Managers, HR Specialists and Employees: available here.
Employment Equity Networks: There are three networks in the department: Network of Persons with Disabilities, Network of Visible Minorities and Network of Aboriginal People. More info here.
Additional Resources: See the InfoLane
Employee Assistance Program: available here.