Diversity and Employment Equity in the Defence Team: Results from the Defence Civilian Employment Systems Review

Diversity management continues to evolve for the uniformed and civilian members of Canadian Defence Team. One of the core aspects of diversity management continues to be the organization’s obligations legislated under the Employment Equity (EE) Act. The Employment Systems Review (ESR) is a key EE activity the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence must conduct on a regular basis. The ESR is an in-depth analysis of human resources systems (e.g., hiring, promotions, training, termination and management) that determines whether employment barriers exist that impact the EE Act’s designated EE groups (women, Indigenous people, visible minorities and persons with disabilities). This presentation discusses the initial findings from the most recent ESR for the DND civilian workforce. Data was collected through focus groups conducted with civilian designated group members employed in occupations which were determined to be underrepresented relative to the Canadian labour market. A series of interviews were also conducted with key stakeholders, including human resource officers, managers, supervisors, union representatives and EE champions. The results of this ESR will be used to develop the next 5-year EE Plan for the DND civilian workforce, including strategies to eliminate employment barriers and improve the representation and inclusion of designated group members.