Employment equity

Identifying gaps in employment for racialized people

In July 2020, the Commission began an employment equity audit to examine the representation of racialized people in management and executive roles across the federal public service. The first of its kind, the audit will identify key employment gaps as well as barriers to the recruitment, promotion and retention of racialized employees in management and executive positions. The audit will also identify best practices.

This follows years of preparation to develop a new horizontal audit process that focuses on identifying systemic barriers in specific industries, and that promotes more diverse representation, especially in management positions.

As part of the Commission's ongoing commitment to ensure we are walking the talk on anti-racist organizational change, we have invited a third-party auditor to examine the representation of racialized people, Indigenous people, and people with disabilities within the Commission, using a GBA+ (Gender-based Analysis) lens. The audit will help identify barriers to employment at senior levels for designated employment equity groups.

Assessing possible barriers for people with disabilities in the communications sector

In 2020, work began on a sector-wide horizontal audit on the employment of people with disabilities in the communications sector. Canada's communications sector employs approximately 150,000 people, making it one of the largest federally regulated sectors. In 2017, the representation rate for employees with disabilities in the sector was 3.3% — far below the labour market availability rate of 9.1%.

Through this horizontal audit, the Commission will identify barriers faced by people with disabilities in the communications sector; gather and share best practices, such as special measures that help increase representation and retain employees with disabilities; and ensure employers in this sector have adequate plans to correct under-representation and promote inclusion.