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EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT
CANADA
Institution
or
government
presenting the experience:
Web-site:
agency Labour- Human Resources and Social Development
Canada
http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/labour/index.shtml
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Description
The purpose of the Employment Equity Act is: “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 fulfilment
of that goal, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by women, Aboriginal
peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities by giving effect to the principle that
employment equity means more than treating persons in the same way but also requires special measures
and the accommodation of differences.”
The Employment Equity Act is intended to ensure that all Canadians are provided with fair employment
and promotion opportunities, and are treated with respect. The Act is designed so that the outcome of its
implementation is an equitable representation of designated groups- women, Aboriginal peoples, persons
with disabilities and members of visible minorities in workplaces across Canada.
The first Employment Equity Act came into force in 1986. It covered federally regulated employers in the
federally regulated private sector and Crown Corporations with one hundred or more employees,
operating primarily in the banking, transportation and communications industries. In 1996, the EEA was
amended to apply to the federal public service.
The Federal Contractors Program (FCP)
The Federal Contractors Program (FCP) was initiated by a cabinet decision in 1986. Like the Act, the
program is intended to promote employment equity for the four disadvantaged groups. It applies to
provincially regulated employers with a Canadian workforce of 100 employees or more who receive
contracts from the federal government valued at $200,000 or more. The standards applied must be
equivalent to those for employers under the Employment Equity Act. As a condition for bidding on large
federal contracts, contractors are required to certify in writing their commitment to employment equity
and, if successful in their bid, undertake the steps to implement a plan.
Objectives
Under the Act, every employer is required to implement employment equity by:
(a) identifying and eliminating employment barriers against persons in designated groups that result from
the employer’s employment systems, policies and practices that are not authorized by law; and
(b) instituting such positive policies and practices and making such reasonable accommodations as will
ensure that persons in designated groups achieve a degree of representation in each occupational group in
the employer’s workforce that reflects their representation in:
(i) the Canadian workforce, or
(ii) those segments of the Canadian workforce that are identifiable by qualification, eligibility or
geography and from which the employer may reasonably be expected to draw employees.
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Target population
The Employment Equity Act covers approximately 10% of the Canadian workforce.
This includes:
• Private sector employers and Crown corporations with 100 or more employees. This includes
approximately 474 private sector employers and 29 Crown corporations, with a combined workforce
of over 651,000 employees.
• Federal departments and agencies for which the Treasury Board is the employer, no matter the
number of employees.
• Separate Agencies with more than 100 employees that are in the federal public administration.
• Other public sector employers including the Canadian Forces, RCMP and CSIS.
SUSTAINABILITY
Funding
The Employment Equity Act is funded as a part of the Labour program’s budget allotted by the Treasury
Board.
PROGRAM EVALUATION
The Employment Equity Act (1995) requires a committee of the House of Commons to assess every five
years the provisions of the Act, specifically their operation and impact. The Act calls for the designation
of a Minister responsible for the Act and it has continued to be the Minister of Labour. The Minister is
responsible for ensuring that employers in the private sector and Crown corporations report annually, but
is also responsible for advising employers on meeting their obligations, analyzing employers’ reports and
reporting annually to Parliament on progress achieved. Treasury Board (now the Public Service Human
Resources Management Agency Canada (PSHRC)) is responsible for submitting annual reports of
departments and agencies to Parliament while Separate Agencies report directly to Parliament.
Ensuring Compliance: To ensure compliance, the Act stipulates that employers’ reports from all sectors
would be forwarded to Canadian Human Rights Commission for monitoring. The Commission is also
given the responsibility to undertake compliance audits to ensure employers had undertaken their
statutory responsibility to complete an analysis of designated group representation in their workforces and
to identify possible gaps in representation. In situations of non-compliance, the Commission has the
mandate to require corrective steps and may initiate enforcement actions, if any.
The Federal Contractors Program is administered by national headquarters staff of the Labour Program
as well as Workplace Equity Officers (WEOs) in strategic areas throughout Canada. The WEOs are
responsible for conducting compliance reviews of contractors in order to verify compliance with the 11
FCP Criteria for Implementation of employment equity. Contractors who fail to cooperate or to complete
the required work and are found in non-compliance may lose the right to bid on further federal
government contracts valued at $25,000 or more.
Achievements
Since the implementation of the Act, there has been a gradual increase in the representation of the
designated groups in the Canadian work force.
Women
Women are playing an increasing role in the workplace with their profile rising in many professional
fields. In the federally regulated private sector, women held 44.6% of all jobs in 2005. In the federal
public service, women held 53.5% of all jobs in 2005, up from 50.5% in 1997.
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Aboriginal Peoples
The share of jobs held by Aboriginal peoples in the federally regulated private sector increased from 1.3
% in 1997 to 1.8% in 2005. Aboriginal peoples’ share of jobs in the federal public service increased from
2.7% in 1997 to 4.2% in 2005.
Members of Visible Minority Groups
In the federally regulated private sector, the share of jobs held by visible minorities increased from 9.7%
in 1997 to 14.1% in 2005. In the federal public service, visible minorities held 8.1 % of all jobs in 2005,
up from 2.1% in 1997.
Persons with Disabilities
The representation of persons with disabilities in the federally regulated private sector increased to 2.8%
in 2005 as against 2.3% in 1997. In the federal public service, the representation of persons with
disabilities increased from 3.9% in 1997 to 5.8% in 2005.
Percentage of Designated Groups
in
Workforce under the Employment Equity Act
Designated
group/
Industrial
Sector
Women
Private
Sector/Crowns
Federal Public
Service
Separate
Employers
Other Public
Employers
Aboriginal
Peoples
Private
Sector/Crowns
Depts. And
Agencies
Separate
Agencies
Other Public
Employers
Pers with
Disabilities
Private
Sector/Crowns
Depts. And
Agencies
Separate
Agencies
1987
1999
2004
2005
Workforce
Availability
(2001
Census/PALS)
40.9%
44.8%
43.4%
43.3%
47.3%
42.0%
51.4%
53.1%
53.5%
52.2%
55.1%
55.2%
47.3%
18.0%
18.2%
47.3
0.7%
1.5%
1.7%
1.8%
2.6%
0.7%
1.5%
4.1%
4.2%
2.7%
2.6%
2.6%
2.6%
2.9%
3.1%
2.7%
1.6%
2.4%
2.5%
2.7%
5.3%
1.6%
4.7%
5.7%
5.8%
5.3%
4.8%
4.9%
5.3%
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Other Public
Employers
Visible
Minorities
Private
5.0%
Sector/Crowns
Depts. And
2.8%
Agencies
Separate
Agencies
Other Public
Employers
1.8%
1.6%
5.3%
10.5%
13.3%
14.1%
12.6%
5.5%
7.8%
8.1%
10.4%* (12.6%)
10.8%
11.3%
12.6%
2.7%
3.0%
10.3%* (12.6%)
* The Public Service Human Resources Management of Agency Canada calculates availability minus
those who are not Canadian Citizens. This is based on the mandatory preference given any qualified
Canadian Citizen, a requirement upheld by a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada.
DOCUMENTATION OF THE EXPERIENCE
Consultations held with stakeholders from time to time have demonstrated a strong support for the
continuation of the Act. For instance, the Labour Program carried out a three-pronged approach to
obtaining input from interested parties as part of its preparation for the 2006 review of the Employment
Equity Act. A number of key national organizations representing employer groups, unions and designated
groups were invited to meet and discuss the impact of the Act, its implementation and its future as well as
similar issues concerning the Federal Contractors Program. The discussions revealed an overwhelming
support for the continued need for the Act.
More information regarding the program and its impact is available in the form of annual reports,
consultation documents, evaluation reports and other departmental publications can be accessed from the
Labour Program’s website at:
http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/publications_resources/index.shtml