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Call to Action Against Racism for Equity and Inclusion

Elections Canada is committed to creating an equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace where all feel welcome. To accomplish this, we have implemented new governance around equity, inclusion and anti-racism and harassment. This includes the designation of senior officials for Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EEDI) and Accessibility and the Prevention and Resolution of Workplace Harassment and Violence. In collaboration with the Elections Canada Head of Human Resources, a seven-year EEDI strategy has been developed.

EEDI Strategy

The EEDI strategy is twofold:

  1. reduce the representation gaps for equity-seeking groups; and
  2. improve the sense of belonging to the agency among employees.

To achieve these goals, Elections Canada will focus on three areas:

  • Recruiting from diverse communities
  • Developing members from employment-equity seeking groups
  • Retaining employees from equity-seeking groups by creating an inclusive culture
 

The approach will be based on sound data analysis and on measuring success with established objectives, measuring performance on an ongoing basis, and correcting course over time.

To date, in support of the EEDI strategy, Elections Canada has:

  • invited employees to share their stories of diversity and inclusion, their experiences with staffing processes and working at Elections Canada, along with their suggestions for improvement. The results were summarized and shared across the agency, and employee and management forums have begun to further explore the key themes identified.
  • reviewed in detail Elections Canada's data on employment equity self-identification and gap analysis, including a detailed analysis of employment equity groups (e.g. by tenure, working level, age, gender or occupational group).
  • developed a draft recruitment strategy with a staggered approach to recruiting employees from equity-seeking groups at the entry level, middle manager and working level, and executive levels.
  • developed the EEDI Manager Toolkit, which supports managers and supervisors in promoting a diverse workforce and inclusive workplace.
  • launched the EEDI Recommended Learning Activities Placemat to support Elections Canada's performance management cycle and the development of employee learning plans for 2021–2022.
  • launched a speaker series to spotlight diverse employees and their experiences in the workplace.

Elections Canada has experienced some challenges with respect to data availability. Going forward, Elections Canada will continue to work with central agency partners to enhance data quality and the agency's ability to track progress. Through this structured and focused approach, the agency is working to continue to make progress toward an equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace where all feel welcome.