Chapter 3 Flashcards
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: The Legal Environment
Discrimination based on what is illegal in every jurisdiction?
age, race, gender (sex)
+
ethic origin, colour, sexual orientation, marital status, Aboriginal residence, mental/physical ability (unless BFOQ)
or even
convictions for an offense which is now pardoned
Employment equity
The employment of individuals in a fair and nonbiased manner
(it is the proactive programs to ensure that the organization’s workforce is representative of the population)
What are the governing pieces of legislation dealing with employment equity.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
&
Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA)
What EDI function is in the USA but not Canada
Quotas for EDI (hiring, etc.)
If an employee is to be let go from a position due to inability to perform an essential task, what must they do
they must offer a different position not requiring that specific essential task
What corporations does the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) apply to?
All federal corporations and Crown Corporations
Crown corporations examples are:
banks
insurance companies
communications companies
airlines
railway companies
What is bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)
A justifiable reason for discrimination based on business reasons of safety or effectiveness
When is discrimination allowed in hiring?
When it is not possible to accommodate the employee without causing undue hardship
What should you do if you have an employee who comes to work and appears to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol?
Employees with dependency on drugs or alcohol must be reasonably accommodated to the point of undue hardship (addiction issues are treated similarly as physical disabilities)
What is pay equity?
it means it is discriminatory for employers to establish or maintain pay differences between male and female employees in the same establishment who are performing work of equal value
How much is a woman’s earning compared to a man?
$0.75 for a woman compared to every mans $1.00
What is pay equality
employers are required to pay women the same as men doing the same job
Women, Indigenous Peoples, members of visible minorities, and people with disabilities make up over how much of Canada’s labour force
60%
Who are the members of the designated groups
Women
Indigenous
Members of visible minority
People with disabilities
What does the individual term of “equity” mean?
fairness and impartiality
What disadvantages do the designated groups experience in hiring/workforce?
high unemployment
occupational segregation
pay inequities
limited opportunities for career progress
The unemployment rate for Indigenous individuals is __________than the national unemployment rate.
higher
individuals with disabilities earn ________than Canadians without disabilities
less
What is the average cost for workplace accommodations for those with disabilities
mainly less than $500
uncommonly less than $1500
Organizations with more than 50 employees must ensure what?
ensure that they have a documented individual accommodation plan for employees with disabilities
&
return-to-work processes for employees returning from an absence due to a disability.
Benefits of work equity
- enhances an organization’s ability to attract and keep the best-qualified employees (broader base of skills)
- enhances employee morale (offers flexible work schedules ad work sharing)
- enhances organizational image in community
Employers and Crown corporations that have 100 employees or more must do what?
They must implement employment equity and report on their results
What are the 6 steps of implementation of employment equity in an organization
- Senior Management Commitment
- Data Collection and Analysis
- Employment Systems Review
- Establishment of a Workplan
- Implementation
- Evaluation, Monitoring, and Revision
Describe step 1 in Employment equity implementation:
Senior Management Commitment
A top-down strategy.
The policy statement should be supplemented with explaining what employment equity is, the rationale for the program, and its implications for current and future employees.
Describe step 2 in Employment equity implementation:
Data Collection and Analysis
An internal workforce profile usage. Primarily based on stock data and flow data
What is Stock Data?
Data showing the status of designated groups in occupational categories and compensation levels
What is Flow Data?
Data that provide a profile of the employment decisions affecting designated groups
What is underutilization?
Term applied to designated groups that are not utilized or represented in the employer’s workforce proportional to their numbers in the labour market
What is concentration?
Term applied to designated groups whose numbers in a particular occupation or level are high relative to their numbers in the labour market
Describe step 3 in Employment equity implementation:
Employment Systems Review
the means by which employers carry out personnel activities such as recruitment, hiring, training and development, promotion, job classification, discipline, and termination.
What is Systemic discrimination?
The exclusion of members of certain groups through the application of employment policies or practices based on criteria that are not job related
What are special measures?
initiatives designed to accelerate the entry, development, and promotion of members of designated groups from among the interested and qualified workforce
What is Reasonable Accommodation?
attempt by employers to adjust the working conditions or schedules of employees with disabilities or religious preferences. Anything above this is undue hardship
Describe step 4 in Employment equity implementation:
Establishment of a Workplan
Workforce analysis and the review of employment systems will provide the employer with a useful base from which to develop a workplan with realistic goals and timetables.
(Includes numerical goals with time frames, descriptions of specific activities to achieve the numerical goals)
Describe step 5 in Employment equity implementation:
Implementation
The success of plan implementation depends on senior management’s commitment to the process, how the roles and responsibilities are defined, the resources available, the effectiveness of the communications strategy, the acceptance of plan initiatives and objectives, and the availability of training. Can be affected by interal and external changes during the timeline.
(Includes assigning people to roles and responsibilities, communication, training)
Describe step 6 in Employment equity implementation:
Evaluation, Monitoring, and Revision
Overall evaluation process.
If the employer finds, on review of the program, that there are negative results, alterations to the existing plan will have to be made with new goals
(Includes annual progress reports provided to all employees, interim reports on special projects)
The three kinds of sexual harassment:
- When someone says or does things to you of a sexual nature and you do not want or welcome it.
- A person who has authority or power to deny you something, such as a promotion or a raise, makes sexual suggestions or requests that you do not want or welcome
- A person with authority or the power to deny you something important punishes you or threatens to do something to you for refusing a sexual request
What should the employer do when there is a complaint of sexual harassment
Employer has a legal, ethical, and employee relations obligation to investigate the charges thoroughly
What is Diversity management?
The optimization of an organization’s multicultural workforce to reach business objectives.
Unlike employment equity, this is optional
What is the goal of diversity management?
To have the workforce at all levels resemble the population
Some main benefits of a diverse workforce:
- economic effectiveness
- benefits company reputation
- compliance with law
- market growth (new markets)
- increased productivity
Benefits of diversity management:
- Increased marketplace understanding
- Better utilization
- Increased quality of team problem solving
- Breadth of understanding in leadership positions
- Enhanced creativity
______is essential to the success of diversity and inclusion implementation
Training
A final element in achieving success (in diversity plans)
monitoring progress and providing qualitative and quantitative evidence of change
