Working site on citizenship and multiculturalism issues.
2024/06/05 Leave a comment
My latest analysis, focussing on diversity among executives as well as an update on hirings, promotions and separations:
Source (behind firewall): Executive Diversity within the Public Service: An Accelerating Trend
2024/04/30 Leave a comment
A bit of a puff piece. And equating the military with the public service is misleading, as the public service is miles ahead of the military in improving representation at all levels for all groups.
Corporate boardrooms. Military barracks. Federal government offices.
They’re not locales with a reputation for fostering diversity.
Anita Anand has been trying to change that.
Ensuring people of all backgrounds feel accepted and heard no matter the venue is a mission that has followed her at every stage in her life and career, she said in a recent interview.
“This is a very personal issue for me,” said Anand, who is the first person of colour to hold the federal government’s purse strings as Treasury Board president.
“I still walk into rooms and look at tables that are not diverse.”
Case in point: in February, Anand walked into a briefing regarding mental-health counselling for Black public-service workers.
There were no Black employees in the room, she said.
“I said to the individuals briefing me: ’Why aren’t there any Black individuals facing me?’ This is not acceptable.”
Part of her mandate is to dismantle systemic barriers in the federal public service that allow workplace harassment, bullying, racism and other forms of discrimination and violence to fester.
It needs to happen at all levels, she said.
“We actually want to ensure we see diversity in briefing rooms for the minister, at the deputy minister level, at the assistant deputy minister level.”
Anand is no stranger to what racial discrimination can feel like.
Before she became the member of Parliament for Oakville, Ont., in 2019, she worked as a lawyer and law professor.
At one workplace, she said, people would often ask if she was in the accounting department.
“That struck me because there were more South Asians in the accounting department than there were in the school of lawyers,” she said.
“Often I would get confused with other Indian women that were working in the same work environment that I was.”
Rather than focusing on such events, she said she has put far more energy toward understanding how to improve the situation.
That included working at the United Nations, writing a thesis on racial discrimination in Canada, and researching the number of racialized individuals on boards of directors when she was a professor.
“At every stage of my life, I have tried to incorporate my views about diversity and inclusivity in everything I am doing,” Anand said.
“It’s not that I have to try to do it. It is a natural part of the way I think.”
Anand said it’s difficult to pick out a point in time when she became aware of her own racial identity.
“I’ll just say that was very stark for me growing up.”
Her Indian parents met in Ireland in the 1950s as physicians, got married in England, then lived in India and Nigeria before immigrating to Canada.
“They raised their three daughters in a predominantly white province with very few South Asians when they moved,” she said.
“We had a wonderful upbringing in Kentville, Nova Scotia, but the fact that I was racialized never left my consciousness. There weren’t very many people who looked like me and my sisters at my school.”
Part of her goal now is to make sure racialized children can see themselves in all manner of jobs, including in high-ranking government and military roles.
As defence minister, Anand said she told her team that cultural change was a file that “should not leave the centre of my desk.”
In the months before she took the file in fall 2021, a string of senior military leaders were accused of sexual misconduct.
And just over half a year into her tenure, Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour released the results of an external review, saying the culture within the Canadian Armed Forces was “deeply deficient.”
Anand accepted Arbour’s recommendations for change, admitting in a statement upon its anniversary in May 2023 that “change does not happen overnight, and it will not continue without effort.”
She was assigned to oversee the public service last July.
About 80,000 people are in the Canadian Forces, Anand said, but the number is closer to 275,000 for the entire public service.
The problems of that larger group seem to have flown under the radar, Anand said.
“Maybe it’s the (sexual misconduct) cases, maybe that it’s more stark because of the hierarchy that is so evident in uniforms and badges in the Canadian Armed Forces, compared to the public service, where we’re not wearing uniforms,” she said.
“But the issues are palpable.”
A panel of experts the Treasury Board tapped to help with workplace culture has recommended major changes, including instituting mandatory racism, discrimination and harassment training.
The panel also said employees must have mental-health counselling supports, and managers need to be trained in trauma-informed leadership.
As she reviews the recommendations, Anand said she will develop a path forward, with an action plan ready to go before the summer.
It won’t leave the centre of her desk, she said.
“This is not something that I have to worry about whether I will remember,” Anand said.
“It is as a function of who I am.”
Source: Anita Anand first aimed to transform Canada’s military culture. The public service is next
2024/02/23 Leave a comment
Of note. All interesting initiatives, and future evaluation will be helpful in assessing their effectiveness.
At the macro level, Black public servants have stronger representation than many other racialized groups, hiring, promotion and separation data for the last six years shows the same pattern (the PSES, however, shows higher discrimination for Black public servants):
Treasury Board President Anita Anand announced the first initiatives of the government’s “Action Plan” for Black public servants on Wednesday, including almost $14 million in funding to three federal organizations.
The federal government committed $49.6 million to create career development programs and a mental health fund for Black public servants through its 2022 and 2023 budgets.
At a downtown news conference, Anand announced that nearly $6 million would be provided to Health Canada to introduce “Black-centric enhancements” to the Employee Assistance Program supporting more than 90 federal organizations.
A Treasury Board news release said the funding would help recruit 19 Black counsellors to provide “trauma-informed” mental health support to public servants and their families.
Another $6.9 million would go to the Canada School of Public Service to support career advancement of Black employees through an executive leadership program, with four cohorts of up to 25 Black executives to access the program over two years, beginning this summer.
The Public Service Commission would also get $1.1 million over three years to provide assessment, counselling and coaching services to Black employees.
At the media conference, Anand said the government still had work to do.
“For several years, we’ve heard from Black public servants about the need for targeted supports,” Anand said. “We haven’t done enough and we haven’t done it fast enough.
“I know that there have been challenges in our path to reconcile and that, for many of us, we see that trust in our institutions from the Black community has been broken.”
The announcement comes as the federal government continues to fight a class-action lawsuit filed by Black public service workers in 2020, alleging decades of systemic racism and discrimination.
When asked whether the government had plans to settle the lawsuit, Anand said she was aware that there was “a process in place” and that the certification hearing for the class action was expected in the coming months. She said the decision to certify the lawsuit rested in the hands of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.
Anand acknowledged that Amnesty International Canada had recently been granted intervenor status in the case and said the government would not challenge that court decision.
“What I want to make sure we do is to bring forward supports for Black public servants so, as we look prospectively, systemic racism that is at the foundation of the Thompson class action lawsuit does not exist,” Anand said.
In a news release Wednesday afternoon, the Black Class Action Secretariat said it urged the government to settle the lawsuit. The group also raised concerns that the funding allocated to the Employee Assistance Program was insufficient, calling for the establishment of a Black Equity Branch, for the task force’s leadership to be reassessed and for the group to “meaningfully consult” with Black employee networks and labour unions.
Anand said the implementation of the Action Plan would be led by an internal task force primarily made up of Black employees.
Of the almost $50 million in funding, $24.9 million is expected to go to support mental health programs and $19.4 million is planned to go into career and leadership development projects, with $1.1 having already been spent in the 2022-23 fiscal year. The government also plans to spend $4.2 million to operate task force engagements, research and pay members for their work.
The feds are “layering on” new initiatives on top of existing efforts to support equity-seeking groups, like the Mentorship Plus Program and the Mosaic Leadership Development Program.
“Our efforts will not stop here,” Anand said, noting that the rest of the funding was with the task force to introduce new programming in subsequent months once the group determined what was working and what more needed to be done. “These are early investments which will continue to be guided by the lived experience of Black public servants.”
In 2022, a group of Black federal public servants accused the government of racism while working to develop a mental health action plan for Black workers. When asked how she could ensure a similar situation didn’t happen again, Anand said the current task force was working “very well together” and was on “a very positive track and footing” with the action plan.
The task force is set to run “check-ins” with employee networks, surveys and discussions with Black public servants to “further engage on the implementation of current and future initiatives” of the plan.
“There are continuous needs,” Anand said, adding that the 2022 Public Service Employee Survey found that 11 per cent of Black public servants had reported experiencing discrimination on the job. “We need to ensure that we’re listening to what they suggest are the reforms that should be implemented.”
Source: Treasury Board president announces initiatives to support Black public servants
2023/10/25 Leave a comment
The federal government has announced the assembly of a new panel that will support the design and creation of a new “restorative engagement program” to address discrimination, violence and harassment in the federal public service.President of the Treasury Board Anita Anand announced the creation of the panel of experts at a press conference Monday. “We are working to create a safe and inclusive workplace where everyone can be their true self,” Anand said in a statement. “This panel of experts will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to help shape the new restorative engagement program. Their insights and contributions will be instrumental in shaping recommendations that support truth, healing, and respect.” The panel comprises four recognized experts in clinical psychology, mediation, dispute resolution and restorative justice.They include Jude Mary Cénat, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa’s School of Psychology and chair of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Black Health, and Director of the Vulnerability, Trauma, Resilience & Culture; Linda Crockett, founder of the Canadian Institute of Workplace Bullying Resources and the Canadian Institute of Workplace Harassment and Violence; Gayle Desmeules, founder and CEO of True Dialogue Inc., which provides customized training, facilitation, mediation and consulting services; and Robert Neron, a senior arbitrator and workplace investigator and former adjudicator for the Independent Assessment Process of the Indian Residential School Secretariat. The announcement comes less than a week after a report by the auditor general of Canada, Karen Hogan, criticized federal departments and agencies for not doing enough to measure inequalities and improve the experiences of racialized employees in the workplace.
Analyzing six government departments and agencies between 2018 and 2022, Hogan’s office found that, while many initiatives have been launched to address inequities in the workplace, none have resulted in the “full removal of barriers and in the achievement of equity.” It highlighted that organizations have failed to effectively report on progress, identify barriers faced by staff and, at the manager level, take accountability for behavioural and cultural change.Among the organizations analyzed in the report, a higher percentage of visible minority respondents than non-visible minority respondents indicated that they were a victim of workplace discrimination. However, the surveys showed that racialized respondents were more likely to feel they couldn’t speak about racism in the workplace without fear of reprisal. Joining the conference virtually, Crockett said the panel “cannot not” deal with the issues raised by the report, adding that employees’ fear of retaliation and reprisal is a critically important issue to address. At this stage, however, panelist Neron said it’s “premature” to determine the recommendations that will be made as engagement has not yet taken place.
The restorative engagement program is part of a broader government-wide strategy to identify, address and prevent harassment, discrimination and violence in the workplace, according to a news release shared by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS).“The goal of a restorative engagement program is to identify, through open dialogue, ways to address harm and promote healing for employees who have reported experiencing harassment, discrimination and violence in the workplace,” the release stated. “By placing individuals at the centre of the process and focusing on understanding the connections, root causes, circumstances, and impacts related to harm, the restorative engagement program will help drive cultural and systemic change within the public service.” TBS said similar programs are being used “increasingly” across Canada, including by the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence.
Anand said the announcement of the program is not just an exercise in public relations. As a racialized person herself, she said it’s crucial the government continue to address discrimination in the public service.
While she is not a member of the panel, Anand said she believes the work happening across the government to develop programs supporting the better treatment of minorities and women who have been subject to sexual harassment can serve as valuable examples for the team.Participating online, Desmeules said Monday that an interdepartmental advisory working group had been established to support the program’s engagement process, made up of public servants from departments and locations across Canada who have experience in diversity, inclusion, harassment, discrimination, conflict management, labor relations, disability management and restorative justice, with the Canadian Armed Forces “sitting at that table.” “We’re just capturing collective wisdom here,” Desmeules said.
In its 2023 budget, the federal government committed $6.9 million over two years to TBS to advance a restorative engagement program to “empower employees who have suffered harassment and discrimination, and to drive cultural change in the public service.” It said the program would allow employees to have a safe, confidential space to share experiences of harassment, discrimination and violence.
“According to the 2020 Public Service Employee Survey, certain federal public servants are more likely to experience harassment, racism, and discrimination in the workplace,” the budget stated. Those public servants include those identifying as Black, racialized, women, Indigenous, persons with disabilities or 2SLGBTQI+.
The budget outlined that $1.7 million would be sourced from existing departmental resources, with funding to also support a review of “the processes for addressing current and historical complaints of harassment, violence and discrimination.”
TBS said the panel’s work will come with a price tag of about $550,000.
The panel is expected to write a public report on its findings in early 2024, with recommendations on the design of the program to be submitted to the government in the spring.
Source: Feds announce new panel to help address discrimination in the public service
2023/04/22 Leave a comment
TBS desegregated visible minority and gender data for the last six years portrays increasing diversity, with net hirings (hirings less separations) and promotions significantly greater for visible minorities than not visible minorities. Highlights the danger of over-emphasizing personal stories rather than analyzing the data more closely:
Massive disruptions to government services were expected across the country as thousands of public servants went on strike this week in a dispute over wages and working conditions. The walkout affects 155,000 workers, but about 47,000, who are classified as essential workers, will remain on the job. That leaves some 100,000 for the picket lines.
The strike comes at a time when Canadians are struggling with the high cost of living, and many small businesses still have yet to fully recover from the effects of the pandemic. The public service union however, says its members have been affected by inflation, and is demanding a 4.5 per cent annual raise. At the time the strike was called, the federal government had offered three per cent, which the union rejected. The striking workers must walk a fine line to ensure public support because Canadians may be in no mood to tolerate a long walkout.
Significant as it is, the strike should not overshadow what, for many Black and other minority public servants, is an existential crisis: the lack of advancement that has confined them to low-paying entry-level jobs, and undermined their dignity and self-worth. Imagine working in the same job for 20 or 30 years and never getting a promotion. The shame of it is that this is what’s happening to Black and other minority employees of our federal government.
In the Citizen last week, Sandra Griffith-Bonaparte revealed how she never got a promotion in 22 years as a public servant at the Department of National Defence. It’s not because she lacks ambition. She worked hard to acquire two undergraduate degrees from Carleton University, as well as a master of arts and public ethics at St. Paul’s University and the University of Ottawa. She applied for numerous promotions but was rejected by her employer, watching as others climbed the job ladder and left her behind.
It was as if her employer was telling her she is not wanted; she doesn’t belong there. “Time and again, I’m either blocked, overlooked, ostracized, and this has me questioning: Why?” she said. “My story is not unique, this is happening all over in the Canadian government, in the public service in the city, in provincial workplaces.”
Indeed. Her case is a reflection of the discrimination many Black and minority people face in the public service: qualified people trapped in the same job for decades without any hope of progress or advancement, simply because of the colour of their skin.
It shows in a 2021-22 Treasury Board employment equity report, which lays out how Indigenous people, Blacks and other members of so-called visible minorities continue to languish in the lowest salary ranks in the public service, while fewer and fewer of them are found in the higher levels.
It is this kind of discrimination that prompted a group of public servants to launch a lawsuit against the federal government seeking redress and compensation. The lawsuit highlights stories of others like Griffith-Bonaparte — people who have been toiling at the lower echelons of the public service for decades.
There is Carol Sip, a former Canada Border Services Agency employee whose supervisor constantly made derogatory remarks to her without management doing anything about it. She worked 26 years without promotion. Then there is Jennifer Phillips, who worked for the Canada Revenue Agency for 30 years and was promoted only once. Time and again, she watched as people she trained get promoted.
None of the claims in the class action lawsuit has been proven in court, but the sad thing is that these people were not looking to fill quotas or get preferential treatment. All they wanted was the same opportunity given to others to compete and advance on merit.
Responding to the equity report, Treasury Board president Mona Fortier promised the government would do better to build a more “inclusive and diverse” public service. When confronted with problems, politicians have a habit of offering comforting words without any real action. Federal workers are on strike for more money, but for racial minorities, there’s much more than cash at stake.
Mohammed Adam is an Ottawa journalist and commentator. Reach him at nylamiles48@gmail.com
Source: Adam: Racial minorities have more concerns than cash as PSAC strikes
2023/03/18 Leave a comment
Embarrassing, to say the least:
The federal government says the Canadian Human Rights Commission discriminated against its own Black and racialized employees.
The Canadian government’s human resources arm, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBCS), came to that conclusion after nine employees filed a policy grievance through their unions in October 2020. Their grievance alleged that “Black and racialized employees at the CHRC (Canadian Human Rights Commission) face systemic anti-Black racism, sexism and systemic discrimination.”
“I declare that the CHRC has breached the ‘No Discrimination’ clause of the law practitioners collective agreement,” said Carole Bidal, an associate assistant deputy minister at TBCS, in her official ruling on the grievance.
Three major federal public sector unions — the Association of Justice Counsel, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Canadian Association of Professional Employees — also filed grievances and received the same decision. The grievances focused mainly on claims of anti-Black racism at the CHRC.
The commission describes itself as Canada’s human rights watchdog. It receives and investigates complaints coming from federal departments and agencies, Crown corporations and many private sector organizations such as banks, airlines and telecommunication companies. It decides which cases proceed to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.
CBC News obtained the March ruling, reviewed documents and spoke to a group of current and former commission employees.
They describe what they call a hostile and racially charged workplace where Black and racialized employees are excluded from career and training opportunities and are shut out of formal and informal networks. They claim the careers of Black and racialized employees remain stagnant while white colleagues advance, and say the ranks of senior management remain predominantly white.
The current and former employees who spoke to CBC say their health has suffered as well.
“I would describe the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the environment, the workplace as toxic, poisonous,” said Bernadeth Betchi, who was a policy adviser at the commission before being seconded to another federal department.
“It has affected my mental and physical well-being and health. And I’m not the only one.”
Betchi worked as a political staffer in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) before moving to the commission.
She said she suffered months of sleeplessness and anxiety that led her to take sick leave and enter therapy. CBC News has agreed not to identify the other current and former employees because they fear workplace retaliation, career repercussions and increased hostility.
They said commission staff demeaned and humiliated Black and racialized employees. They said these employees sometimes voiced concerns about the high dismissal rate for human rights complaints from racial or religious minorities. They said the commission usually assigned investigators to such complaints who lacked relevant expertise and experience in investigating racism.
“The commission would, understandably, never assign a group … of all-male employees to investigate the complaints of sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination it receives from the public,” said one person who spoke to CBC.
“And yet, for several years, they saw it fit to put a group of exclusively white employees and managers in charge of investigating all of the race-based complaints received from the Canadian public.”
Kicked out of the loop
The current and former employees said that when racialized employees attempted to offer advice, their objectivity was questioned and their advice was ignored.
They recalled instances of being abruptly kicked out of — or disinvited from — meetings where race-based complaints were discussed.
CBC requested an interview with the CHRC’s executive director Ian Fine and interim chief commissioner Charlotte-Anne Malischewski. The commission declined those requests.
“We accept the findings and recommendations of the (Treasury Board) decision and remain open to working with the parties to reach a meaningful and respectful resolution,” Malischewski said in a media statement.
“As this is an ongoing matter and out of respect for the bargaining agents and their members, we cannot comment on the details of this decision at this time. We take this matter very seriously and remain deeply committed to anti-racism action and bringing about meaningful systemic change.”
Justice Minister David Lametti said he “had a frank conversation” with the acting commissioner earlier this week to discuss the next steps.
Lametti said in a media statement that the Treasury Board verdict is “both concerning and disappointing,” given the CHRC’s mandate.
“We are working to appoint new leadership to the commission as the chief commissioner’s position is vacant,” Lametti said in his statement to CBC. “Dealing with the outcome of these findings will be an important part of their responsibilities.”
A group that represents Black civil servants, the Federal Black Employee Caucus, said in a media statement it hopes what follows will be “necessary and institutional change.”
One of the unions involved said the ruling undermines the commission’s credibility.
“My fear is that Canadians will lose their trust and confidence in the commission,” said David McNairn, president of the Association of Justice Counsel. “If the commission itself is guilty of discriminatory practices, really, what chances do Canadians have to rely on the commision to protect them from discriminatory practices?”
The former and current employees who spoke to CBC News called for an independent workplace review of the CHRC focusing on anti-Black racism.
That review, they said, should be led by a reputable investigator with expertise in anti-Black racism, should examine CHRC hiring, promotion and retention practices related to Black employees, and should make its final report public.
They also called on the federal government to eliminate the CHRC’s gatekeeper role by allowing Canadians to file complaints directly to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal — something that’s already the practice with human rights commissions in certain provinces, including Ontario and British Columbia.
Employees say CHRC should be shunned
They said that unless these steps are taken, racialized Canadians and members of religious minorities should forget about seeking justice through the commission.
“I don’t recommend anyone that is Black, racialized, or again from any religious minority group to file a complaint at the Canadian Human Rights Commission,” said Betchi. “That is how strongly I think that place is toxic.”
The finding comes as a group of Black civil servants takes the federal government to court. They’re looking for a judge’s approval to mount a class action seeking damages to compensate Black federal employees for mental and economic hardships caused by systemic racism in the workplace and a lack of employment opportunities.
Betchi is part of the proposed class action.
The plaintiffs also are asking for a plan to diversify the federal labour force and eliminate barriers that employment equity laws have been unable to remove.
The federal government, which has asked the court to dismiss the claim, argues Black employees can seek redress through avenues such as their union — or the CHRC.
Source: Ottawa says Human Rights Commission discriminated against its Black and racialized employees
2021/07/13 Leave a comment
Some interesting changes announced by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
I think the change that will have the earliest and largest impact will be Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents having the same preference in external advertised hiring processes.
We will see over the next few years the extent to which this has an impact through the annual EE reports and which groups, given disaggregated data, are impacted most:
Too many Canadians continue to face bias, barriers, and discrimination based on their race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or other factors.
The Government of Canada has amended the Public Service Employment Actto address systemic barriers for equity-seeking groups in public service staffing.
These amendments represent foundational work that will help departments take measures in their staffing actions to reduce barriers and encourage more inclusive recruitment practices.
Over the past several months, the Treasury Board Secretariat worked with employee networks, bargaining agents and senior officials for Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to better understand the experiences of members of equity-seeking groups in public service staffing.
Amendments to the Public Service Employment Act reaffirm the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce and strengthen provisions to address potential bias and barriers in staffing processes.
With these changes:
These Public Service Employment Act amendments form one part of a set of initiatives and activities to increase diversity and inclusion in the public service so that it is reflective of the Canadian population it serves and a place where all public servants feel a true sense of belonging.
The work of eradicating bias, barriers, and discrimination, which have taken root over generations, demands an ongoing, relentless effort. The Government of Canada is committed to this effort and will use all available levers to improve the experiences of public servants in their workplace and ensure that they are able to realize their full potential.
2021/05/20 Leave a comment
Interesting (on my to do list, look at the survey’s disaggregated data):
During the pandemic, employees of local, provincial, and federal governments from coast to coast to coast have provided essential services while working from home.
And it would appear that federal employees are happier now about their workplace than they were before the pandemic, according to the 2020 Public Service Employee Survey released by the Treasury Board Secretariat last week.
While we don’t know the full story of the “big pivot” over a single weekend in March 2020 — when public servants started working from home — we do know many have been working over weekends and statutory holidays and forgoing annual leave.
This isn’t sustainable over the long term. If not attended to, such behaviour could result in a crash or organizational failure.
Stress has increased since 2019. A third of employees said they felt emotionally drained after their workday, up from 29 per cent in 2019. Just over a quarter said their workload was heavier, up slightly from 24 per cent in 2019.
However, new questions in the 2020 survey about work-life balance during the pandemic revealed some silver linings:
- 39 per cent of employees had requested flexible work hours since the start of the pandemic; and
- 83 per cent said their immediate supervisor allowed them.
Employees said the quality of their work improved, too. For example:
- only 23 per cent of employees said their work quality suffered because their department or agency lacked stability, which was down from 30 per cent in 2019; and
- just 24 per cent of employees said their work suffered because of high staff turnover, down from 32 per cent in 2019.
Employees’ perceptions of change management also improved in 2020, with 59 per cent saying change was managed well in their department or agency, compared to 50 per cent in 2019.
They also reported better feedback from their supervisors in 2020, compared to 2019:
- 69 per cent said they received meaningful recognition for work well done, up from 65 per cent in 2019; and
- 77 per cent said they got useful feedback from their immediate supervisor about their job performance, up from 74 per cent in 2019.
Overall job satisfaction improved in 2020, too:
- 83 per cent of employees said they liked their job, up from 81 per cent in 2019;
- 78 per cent reported getting a sense of satisfaction from their work, up from 76 per cent in 2019;
- 75 per cent said they were satisfied with their department or agency, up from 71 per cent in 2019;
- 75 per cent said they would recommend their department or agency as a great place to work, up from 70 per cent in 2019; and
- 71 per cent of employees said they felt valued at work, up from 68 per cent in 2019.
Respondents also felt their workplace was “psychologically” healthier. For example:
- 68 per cent said their workplace was psychologically healthy, up from 61 per cent in 2019; and
- 81 per cent said their department or agency was doing a good job of raising awareness of mental health in the workplace, up from 73 per cent in 2019.
In response to a new question in 2020, 69 per cent of employees said they’d feel comfortable sharing concerns about their mental health with their immediate supervisor.
The survey included new questions about working during the pandemic:
- 70 per cent said senior managers were taking adequate steps to support their mental health during the pandemic;
- 84 per cent felt their department or agency was effectively communicating the mental-health services and resources available to them; and
- 81 per cent said they were satisfied with the measures their department or agency was taking to protect their physical health and safety during the pandemic.
Employees were also asked about the information they received from their department or agency about the pandemic:
- 78 per cent said it was clear and easy to understand;
- 81 per cent said it was consistent with the information they got from their immediate supervisor; and
- 92 per cent said the information was available in both official languages.
And finally, instances of harassment also fell. In 2020, 11 per cent of employees said they’d been harassed on the job in the previous 12 months, down from 14 per cent in 2019. In addition, 71 per cent said their department or agency worked hard to create a workplace that prevents harassment, up from 69 per cent in 2019.
So while the pandemic isn’t over, public servants remain engaged. It would appear that working from home and away from the office has improved their view of the workplace and of their senior managers.
Stephen Van Dine is the senior vice-president of public governance at the Institute on Governance.
Source: Public servants say they work better from home, despite stress: survey
2021/01/27 Leave a comment
Of note. The most significant aspects IMO are:
For my analysis of disaggregated data see my What new disaggregated data tells us about federal public service … and What the Public Service Employee Survey breakdowns of visible minority and other groups tell us about diversity and inclusion:
The Trudeau Liberals are eyeing changes to the law governing public service hiring to help make federal departments and agencies more diverse.
They also plan to do further research on the makeup of the federal public service and will try to hire more senior leaders with varied backgrounds.
Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos and his parliamentary secretary, Greg Fergus, are spelling out the priorities today to foster greater diversity, inclusion and accessibility in the public service.
The government says while there has been some progress for Black Canadians, Indigenous Peoples and others who face racial discrimination in the workplace, too many public servants continue to face obstacles.
The Treasury Board Secretariat has begun discussions about the framework for recruitment in the public service and is specifically looking at “possible amendments” to the Public Service Employment Act.
The act is intended to ensure federal hiring is fair, transparent and representative.
The move would complement a review of the Employment Equity Act planned by Labour Minister Filomena Tassi.
The government recently released data that provides more detail about the composition of the public service.
Duclos and Fergus say the annual public service employee survey will help the government identify more precisely where gaps remain and what is needed to improve representation.
The government plans to increase diversity through promotion and recruitment, including introduction of the Mentorship Plus Program to allow departments to offer mentoring and sponsorship opportunities to high-potential employees who might currently face barriers.
The government says although progress will take time, the public service can be a model of inclusion for employers across the country and around the world.
“In time, we will build a public service that is the true reflection of our pluralism and diversity,” Duclos said in a statement.
Just last week, Privy Council Clerk Ian Shugart issued a call to action on anti-racism, equity and inclusion in the public service, setting out federal expectations for current leaders.
The government has also launched the Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, supported by a budget of $12 million, to create an ongoing discussion about change.
“There is much to do before all public servants can feel they truly belong in a public service that values inclusiveness and differences,” Fergus said.
“Outlining these key areas of focus is a key step in taking concrete action.”
Source: Trudeau government considers legislative changes to make public service more diverse
And the TBS announcement of the government’s strategy of January 26:
The public service has long made diversity and inclusion a core value and continuously reflects on the treatment of Black Canadians, Indigenous Peoples, and other individuals who face racial discrimination and other barriers in the workplace, and who are often underrepresented at the most senior levels of the public service. While there has been progress, too many public servants continue to face obstacles. It is time to close the gaps and eliminate the barriers that remain, ensuring the public service is truly representative of the people it serves.
The President of the Treasury Board, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, along with Greg Fergus, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board, has announced the government’s priorities to foster greater diversity, inclusion and accessibility in the public service. Among these efforts, there are several key initiatives:
Generating and publishing data for a more accurate picture of representation gaps
Already, the government has released disaggregated datasets, providing first‑ever views into the composition of public service employees who self‑identify in Employment Equity sub-groups, such as Black or Métis for example.
The annual Public Service Employee Survey, now underway, will generate data and insights to better understand the workforce at even more detailed levels. The results will help us identify more precisely, in particular demographic or occupational groups for instance, where gaps remain and what actions are required to improve representation.
Increasing the diversity of the senior leaders of the public service
Departments, supported by the Treasury Board Secretariat, will work to increase diversity among senior leaders of the public service and establish a culture of inclusiveness that will combat racism and address systemic barriers. This includes increasing representation through promotion and recruitment and the introduction of the Mentorship Plus Program to allow departments to offer mentoring and sponsorship opportunities to high-potential employees who may currently face barriers.
Ensuring appropriate benchmarks
The Treasury Board Secretariat will continue to work closely with partners, which includes supporting Employment and Social Development Canada on the review of the Employment Equity Act, to ensure that the public service applies appropriate benchmarks for diversity.
Addressing systemic barriers
The Treasury Board Secretariat has initiated discussions with key stakeholders about the framework for recruitment in the public service and is specifically looking at possible amendments to the Public Service Employment Act and to support the review the Employment Equity Act, planned by the Minister of Labour.
In addition to these initiatives, on January 22, 2021, the Clerk of the Privy Council and Head of the Public Service, issued a Call to Action on anti-racism, equity and inclusion in the federal public service. The Call to Action sets out common expectations for leaders to take practical actions that will form the basis for meaningful change.
Engagement, and education will underpin all this work. To that end, the President of the Treasury Board and his Parliamentary Secretary held a roundtable last week with employee communities and stakeholder groups that continue to face barriers to representation and inclusion. And the Government of Canada recently launched the Centre for Diversity and Inclusion. The Centre, supported by a budget of $12M outlined in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement, will co-develop initiatives with these communities, leveraging the lived experiences of public servants to foster an ongoing dialogue for positive change. At the same time, the Canada School of Public Service is refreshing its diversity and inclusion curriculum and has launched an Anti-Racism Event Series.
Progress will take time. But concrete steps in these areas will bring the public service closer to its goal: to be more reflective of Canada and a model of inclusion for employers across the country and around the world.
2021/01/20 Leave a comment
A quick look at the IRCC citizenship program results posted on the TBS site indicates the following:
Source: https://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ems-sgd/edb-bdd/index-eng.html#orgs/dept/123/infograph/results
Click image for book purchase
Multicultural Meanderings 