Employment Systems Review

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October 2000

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
   • 1.1 Introduction 
   • 1.2 Summary of Findings 
     
     
2. Introduction
   • 2.1 Background 
   • 2.2 Objectives 
   • 2.3 Methodology and Scope 
     
     
3. 3.0 Observations and Recommendations 
   • 3.1 Workforce Analysis 
   • 3.2 Departmental Policies 
   • 3.3 Self-Identification of Employees 
   • 3.4. Organizational Culture 
   • 3.5 Management Awareness of Employment Equity 
   • 3.6 Management Accountability Pertaining to Employment Equity 
   • 3.7 Recruitment Initiatives -- Under-represented Designated Groups 
   • 3.8 Staffing of Casuals as Entry point to longer term Employment 
   • 3.9 Selection Related to the Recruitment Process 
   • 3.10 Promotions, Acting Assignments and Internal Deployments
   • 3.11 Training
   • 3.12 Performance Evaluations 
   • 3.13 Accommodation for persons with disabilities and mixed-gender work groups 
   • 3.14. Special Initiatives and Support Mechanisms 
   • 3.15 Human Resources - Filing and Records Maintenance Practices 
     
     
4. Management Action Plan 

APPENDIX A - DFO WORKFORCE ANALYSIS

APPENDIX B - DFO Corporate Culture Survey Summary 

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 Introduction

To achieve equality in the workplace, the new Employment Equity Act (EEA) and Regulations came into force on October 24, 1996.

To evaluate the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) performance and compliance with the EEA and in anticipation of future audits to be conducted by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), the Departmental Review Committee (DRC) approved a review and assessment of departmental employment systems, policies and practices (EEA, section 9(1) (b)).

The objectives of this review were to examine all policies, systems and practices related to the recruitment, selection, hiring, promotion, appointment, secondment, transfer and retention of employees. Analysis was undertaken to identify any barriers, which could have an adverse impact on the employment of members of the designated groups. The review identified causal factors for these barriers, and where applicable, recommendations are offered to provide a reasonable basis for DFO to take corrective action to remove any barriers to the equitable treatment of members of designated groups.

The review was conducted under the leadership of the Audit and Evaluation Directorate. Staff from the Human Resources Directorate actively participated as review team members. Information on employment systems and practices was gathered through interviews and surveys of DFO management and staff as well as interviews with outside organizations, notably the Public Service Commission (PSC), the CHRC, the Department of National Defense, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Bank of Montreal, the United States Coast Guard, and the United States Navy.

1.2 Summary of Findings

Workforce Analysis

DFO has made good progress in increasing the representation of women and Aboriginal peoples but more effort is needed to increase the representation of persons with disabilities and visible minorities. Recruitment efforts also mirror this scenario, with progress being made in the recruitment of women and Aboriginal peoples, while lagging behind in the recruitment of persons with disabilities and visible minorities.

In providing fair opportunities for internal career progression, DFO has shown reasonable progress in the promotion, internal deployment and acting appointment of designated groups, with a few exceptions in specific categories. However, there is still a strong perception amongst many DFO staff that the process related to acting appointments and promotions is not fair and equitable. To address this, recommendations are made to more widely advertise acting appointment and deployment opportunities as well as rotate long-term acting assignments among qualified staff.

DFO has some problems pertaining to the retention of all designated groups. While this may not be as critical for women and Aboriginal peoples due to higher recruitment rates, the attrition rates of persons with disabilities and visible minorities is impeding DFO's ability to increase their representation given their lower recruitment shares.

The analysis of the DFO workforce pertaining to EE and the progress being made by the designated groups is based on the members of the designated groups self-identifying that they belong to the groups. The self-identification process as it operates in DFO does not meet the requirements of the Employment Equity Act as interpreted by the CHRC. Recommendations are presented to implement a self-identification process in DFO that meets the requirements of the CHRC.

Organizational Culture Overview

In broad terms, DFO is a male, Caucasian organization and this outlook dominates the behavior in the Department. While a significant number of women and designated groups have made inroads into senior management levels, the prevalent culture remains white male oriented.

Some managers saw the real benefit of having a more culturally diverse workforce. However most managers interviewed did not fully embrace EE and diversity as a factor that can have a truly positive, beneficial impact on an organization. There is a profound uneasiness with regard to the relationship between employment equity and the merit principle.

It appears however from the results of the Corporate Cultural Survey that once inside the organization designated group members generally experience a reasonable degree of openness to diversity. A vast majority of employees did not perceive DFO as a racist or sexist organization, with visible minorities being the most positive. In addition, over two-thirds felt that their supervisor showed respect for their ethnic and cultural background at work.

Seventy percent of those responding to the Corporate Culture Survey stated they were satisfied with their immediate work environment and 80% said they enjoyed working with people from other ethnic and cultural backgrounds. However, the vast majority of respondents to the survey, mistrusted management and believe that most managers do not genuinely care about their employees. In addition, over 40% believe that developmental and promotional opportunities are to a large extent based on whom you know rather than on merit. Aboriginal employees and visible minorities were even less convinced than their colleagues that opportunities for advancement are processed in a fair manner.

Relatively little diversity training has been undertaken in the Department with the exception of the Pacific Region. Recommendations are made to prioritize diversity and harassment training and to focus training on managers and employees working in work environments where there are acknowledged issues pertaining to the acceptance of diversity in the workplace. Also recommendations are presented to annually survey all DFO staff to monitor the progress being made to create a healthy, and respectful workplace for all.

Specific recommendations are made pertaining to the work environment for women onboard CCG vessels as well as women Fishery Officers. The key recommendations deal with the clustering or grouping of women onboard CCG vessels, the creation of a mentoring program, and the creation of national networks of women Ship's Officers and Ship's Crew and women Fishery Officers to address women's issues in these non-traditional work environments. Another key recommendation in this area is the creation of volunteer "Intervenor" positions onboard CCG vessels to provide support and early conflict resolution in this isolated work environment.

Management Awareness and Accountability for Employment Equity

The review identified an overall lack of awareness of management responsibility regarding EE. The role of Human Resources in support of EE and particularly the role of the Regional EE Coordinators should be strengthened. In addition, recommendations are made to increase management accountability for EE by including performance in support of EE objectives in the performance appraisals of departmental managers and EX Performance Agreements. To facilitate this greater management accountability for EE it is recommended that more frequent and detailed EE information be provided to managers.

Recruitment

Recruitment rates were found to be lower than the departmental average in several occupational categories, most notably for women in the Technical and Operational categories, Aboriginal peoples in the Scientific and Technical categories, visible minorities in all categories except Administration and persons with disabilities in all categories except the PE, CS and PM occupational groups. Little evidence was found during the review to demonstrate a coordinated effort to focus on the recruitment of designated group members. The national Science Rejuvenation Program and the focus on the Fishery Officer recruitment of designated group members in the Maritimes and Newfoundland Regions are examples that could be found of designated group targeted recruitment. Targeted recruitment strategies for the designated groups with greater support from HQ functional organizations in the coordination of this effort as well as the sharing of best practices should be developed. In addition, the special provisions of Section 5.1 of the Public Service Employment Act should be used to emphasize the recruitment of members of the designated groups.

Selection Process

The selection process associated with the hiring of new recruits was also examined during the course of this review. It was found that the mandatory experience requirements of law enforcement, natural sciences or the fishing industry for Fishery Officer recruits created barriers for designated group members. It was recommended that these specific experience requirements be eliminated and if necessary replaced by more generic experience requirements. Recommendations were also made to provide designated group members with support in attaining the Marine Emergency Duty (MED) Certificate that is a mandatory requirement for all Ship's Crew. Without such assistance, this MED requirement is viewed as a barrier to designated group members who are seeking employment as crew aboard CCG vessels.

The Review found that the membership of selection boards does not adequately reflect the designated group makeup of applicant pools. Selection boards should reflect designated groups and selection board members should be briefed on diversity issues prior to selection boards where designated group members are candidates. It was also recommended that DFO selection boards should focus interview questions more on what candidates have done in the past to demonstrate the required job requirements, not on what they would hypothetically do in certain situations.

Accommodation

The Review focused on accommodation issues related to designated groups. Recommendations were made to create facility inventories that identify and prioritize those departmental facilities that should be included in a plan to make facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. Also recommended is the establishment of Regional Accommodation Funds, which would be used for unexpected requirements to make facilities accessible to persons with disabilities or to provide them with special work-related job aids. Accommodation issues related to mixed-gender work groups were also addressed, with recommendations made to ensure that mixed-gender overnight accommodations are available where required and that adequate toilet facilities are available for mixed-gender work groups onboard small CCG vessels and Fishery Patrol boats.

Special Initiatives

The Review identified several current DFO special initiatives that support EE in the Department. These included the Early Conflict Resolution Program, the new DFO Harassment Policy and Guidelines, the Aboriginal Guardian Program, and the Departmental Employment Equity Consultation Committees (EECC). Recommendations are made to improve the effectiveness of the EECCs by ensuring these committees have an annual budget and report directly to the RDG in each region and the Associate Deputy Minister in the NCR. In addition, it is recommended that senior executives and high potential employees be encouraged to serve as members of EECCs to increase their level of strategic planning and organizational expertise.

Administrative Initiatives

Finally the Review recommends several administrative initiatives designed to provide better information to monitor EE in the department. These include, implementing the PeopleSoft Training module, developing staffing file checklists and improving selection board reports to ensure EE data is captured.

Conclusion

The draft ESR report was originally tabled to the DFO Departmental Review Committee in the fall of 1999. This draft did not contain the Management Action Plan to respond to the recommendations contained in the report. This final ESR report does contain the Management Action Plan in Section 4. This Action Plan references several recommendations that have already been addressed or are in the process of being addressed by departmental management.

2.0. Introduction

2.1 Background

To achieve equality in the workplace, the new Employment Equity Act and Regulations came into force on October 24, 1996. Some of the principal obligations of the department under the Act are: to collect workforce information; conduct a workforce analysis to identify under-representation of the designated groups; and conduct employment system reviews to identify barriers to employment for members of the four designated groups (i.e., women, Aboriginal peoples, visible minorities and persons with disabilities). Employers are also required to develop implementation plans to eliminate or mitigate barriers and establish and maintain appropriate records of all activities as they relate to EE.

To evaluate DFO's performance and compliance with the EEA and in anticipation of future audits to be conducted by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), the Departmental Review Committee approved a review and assessment of departmental employment systems, policies and practices.

This report is presented as a record of the major findings and recommendations that have evolved during the course of the review. A file of detailed technical data and survey results that support this Employment Systems Review (ESR) has been created and is available on request.

2.2 Objectives

This review included the examination of all policies, systems and practices related to the recruitment, selection, hiring, promotion, appointment, secondment, transfer and retention of employees. Analysis was undertaken to identify any barriers, which could have an adverse impact on the employment of members of the designated groups. The review identified causal factors for these barriers, and where applicable, recommendations are offered to provide a reasonable basis for DFO to take corrective action to remove any barriers to the equitable treatment of members of designated groups.

2.3 Methodology and Scope

The review was conducted under the leadership of the Audit and Evaluation Directorate. Staff from the Human Resources (HR) Directorate actively participated as review team members.

Information on employment systems, practices and related perceptions was gathered through the following processes:

• A Corporate Culture Survey of 500 DFO staff and over 200 managers and supervisors. This random survey probed areas relating to the DFO work environment, with a focus on EE and diversity issues. (The response rate to this survey was very low amongst CCG Ship's Officers and Ship's Crew due to difficulties related to contacting shipboard personnel). See Appendix B for a summary of the Corporate Culture Survey.
• Work environment surveys undertaken to solicit the input of women in the Canadian Coast Guard (CGG) Fleet as well as women Fishery Officers.
• A review of randomly selected staffing files in all DFO Regions to determine whether any barriers existed to the equitable treatment of designated groups.
• Interviews conducted in all Regions with approximately 150 managers as well as with HR staff and members of the Regional Employment Equity Consultation Committees.
• A review of the findings and recommendations of an ESR undertaken for the Maritimes Region's CCG Operational Services Branch.
• A review of the findings and recommendations of the Report on Renewal, Recruitment and Employment Equity in the Federal Public Service Science and Technology Community.

In addition to the above, interviews were conducted with several outside organizations, notably, the PSC, the CHRC, the Canadian Department of National Defense (DND), Revenue Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, United States Coast Guard, the United States Navy, and the Bank of Montreal.

3.0 Observations and Recommendations

3.1 Workforce Analysis

3.1.1 Introduction

The new Employment Equity Act requires employers to carry out specific steps in implementing their employment equity programs. One of the requirements is to carry out an analysis of the workforce to determine if there are any gaps in the representation of women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities. This analysis is based on the representation data gathered by DFO through a self-identification survey, and includes the following components:

• availability analysis to determine if there are any gaps in representation;
• analysis of distribution of designated groups to determine if they are concentrated in lower levels; and
• analysis of recruitment, attrition, promotion, internal deployment and acting appointments to determine if designated groups are receiving equitable shares.

The results of this Workforce Analysis were used to provide a focus for the review of employment systems and practices to determine if there are any barriers to the entry, progress and retention of designated groups in DFO.

The following are brief explanations of key terminology used in this Workforce Analysis:

Representation: the internal (department or regions) composition of designated groups.

Availability: the composition of qualified designated groups in the Canadian labor market. The source for this information is the data collected by Statistics Canada through Canada Census in 1991. This data is organized into various job groups (category or occupational group level) with corresponding availability rates on a National, Provincial and Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) basis for women, Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities.

HALS (Health and Activity Limitation Survey): a survey administered by Statistics Canada to identify the composition of persons with disabilities in the Canadian labor market. While labor market data for the other three designated groups are gathered through the census, the same data for persons with disabilities is gathered via the HALS.

Gap: the difference between representation (actual) and availability (expected).

Under-representation: when the representation is below availability.

3.1.2 Methodology for Availability Analysis

Availability rates used are based on the 1991 census and the 1991 HALS data. The National availability is a roll-up of each DFO Region's labor market availability rates developed at the Provincial and Occupational Group levels. The following are the exceptions:

• Executive category: National rates developed by Treasury Board are used.
• Persons with disabilities: Due to the small sample size of HALS, availability data are often suppressed at levels below the National. Therefore, only National rates are used in accordance with the guidance provided by the CHRC. For four occupations (GT, SO, SC and GL), the availability rate has been adjusted by removing a percentage constituting persons with disabilities with mobility/agility problems and those who are blind, to reflect the ship-based work environment for these occupations. This approach results in an adjusted national availability rate with a 29% reduction for these four occupations.
• Visible minorities: Visible minorities are highly concentrated in the Metropolitan Areas of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, compared to the rest of the provinces. Because of this, their availability in provincial labor markets is higher if these cities are included in the provincial counts. Operational and Administrative Support occupational groups are predominantly hired locally in DFO. Therefore, instead of using the broad provincial availability rates for the Operational and Administrative Support categories, Census Metropolitan Area rates are used for those portions of the Regional workforce located in these cities, and provincial rates minus the Metropolitan areas are used for the workforce located outside these cities.

3.1.3 Workforce Representation and Availability

DFO is a large department with 9,063 employees located in five Regions and a Headquarters in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The Technical category accounts for about 36% of the workforce, followed by the Operational category at 23%, Administrative & Foreign Service category at 17%, and Administrative Support category at 12%. The remaining 12% of the workforce includes the Scientific & Professional category at 10.5% and Executives at 1.5%.

At the National level, all designated groups are under-represented. The following table provides comparisons of representation and availability for the Department.

Table 1 Comparisons of Representation and Availability in DFO

Designated Group	Representation		Availability		Gap	% of Target
	#	%	#	%	#	Achieved
Women	2,361	26.1%	2,708	29.9%	-347	87.2%
Aboriginal People	137	1.5%	219	2.4%	-82	62.7%
Persons with Disabilities	172	1.9%	385	4.3%	-213	44.6%
Visible Minorities	220	2.4%	481	5.3%	-261	45.7%

Overall, women appear to be the most under-represented group in terms of sheer numbers. However, when representation is viewed as a percentage of target (availability) achieved, persons with disabilities are the most under-represented group, with utilization ratio at 45%, followed by visible minorities at 46%, Aboriginal peoples at 63%, and women at 87%.

In summary, DFO has made good progress in increasing the representation of women and Aboriginal peoples, but more effort is needed to increase the representation of persons with disabilities and visible minorities. Recruitment efforts also mirror this scenario, with progress being made in the recruitment of women and Aboriginal peoples, but not in the recruitment of persons with disabilities and visible minorities.

In providing fair opportunities for internal career progression, DFO has shown reasonable progress in the promotion, internal deployment and acting appointment of designated groups, with a few exceptions in specific categories.

However, in DFO the attrition rate for all designated groups in somewhat higher than the Departmental average. While this may not be as critical for women and Aboriginal peoples due to higher recruitment rates, the attrition rates of persons with disabilities and visible minorities is impeding DFO's ability to increase their representation given their lower recruitment shares.

A more comprehensive National DFO Workforce Analysis can be found in Appendix A of this report.

Recommendations

• The Corporate HR Planning, Employment Equity and Official Languages Unit should adjust the persons with disabilities availability rates for the GT, SO, SC and GL occupational groups to remove the percentage constituting those with mobility/agility problems and those who are blind.
• The HR Planning, Employment Equity and Official Languages Unit should adjust the availability rates for visible minorities in the Pacific, Central and Arctic and Laurentian Regions to exclude the metropolitan areas of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal respectively from the visible minority availability rates used for the Operational and Administrative Support categories for DFO offices outside these metropolitan areas.

3.2 Departmental Policies

Generally the Department adopts the human resources related policies issued by Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS). Few policies are tailored to reflect the working environment at DFO. A review of all human resource related policies in place in DFO did not reveal any potential barriers to EE group members. An issue, however, is the lack of proactive, positive policies over and above TBS policies, to promote EE in the department.

Positive EE policies reflective of DFO's unique operational working environment would add much to the creation of a supportive EE culture in the Department. In addition, the Department would benefit from revising and re-issuing TBS policies from a DFO perspective that have direct EE ramifications. Throughout this ESR, recommendations have been made to revise existing, and create new DFO policies aimed at eliminating employment systems barriers to designated group members and at promoting positive employment practices for EE groups.

3.3 Self-Identification of Employees

The Employment Equity Act stipulates that all Federally regulated organizations must have a process in place to enable employees to self-identify as to whether or not they belong to one of the designated groups. This process involves completing an initial survey of all employees, coupled with an ongoing process to keep the self-identification list up to date as new employees enter the organization. The importance of the self-identification can not be overstated since the determination of the progress an organization is making in recruiting and retaining members of the designated groups is based on those who self-identify.

DFO has undertaken self-identification surveys in the past. There also exists a process in the Department to keep the list current by including a self-identification form in letters of offer to new employees. This updating process is, however, administered inconsistently from Region to Region resulting in a low rate of new employee self-identification.

The self-identification process as it operates in DFO does not meet the requirements of the Employment Equity Act as interpreted by the CHRC. The CHRC insists on a process that solicits the responses of the entire workforce and is kept up-to-date on an ongoing basis. This means that the system must record the responses of employees who declare themselves to be members of a designated group and the responses of those employees who indicate they are not members of a designated group.

To be considered in compliance with CRHC requirements for the workforce survey, at least 80% of the total workforce at any given time must have replied to the survey questionnaire. The long-term objective would be to have responses recorded for a full 100% of the employees in the workforce.

Organizations such as Revenue Canada have successfully completed a full and compliant self-identification survey covering all employees. This survey also included students and casual employees who often become term or indeterminate employees and can then be automatically included in a department's official EE statistics. The survey itself requires significant planning and open communications involving employees, all levels of management and the unions representing employees. DFO can learn from the experiences of other organizations that have successfully completed a self-identification survey. Details of the methodology used by Revenue Canada have been provided to the Human Resources Directorate.

Recommendations

• The Director General of HR should:
• Develop and deliver a workforce survey for self-identification that will improve the general EE awareness of all DFO employees and meet the requirement of the CHRC for an 80% participation rate in the workforce survey.
• Ensure that an ongoing process is implemented to enable all candidates for DFO positions to self-identify. To be in compliance with CHRC requirements, this process should ensure that candidates can self-identify as belonging to one of the designated groups or as being a member of the non-designated group.
• Ensure that the DFO self-identification process includes self-identification information for casuals and students in the event they become term or indeterminate employees in the future.

3.4. Organizational Culture

This section addresses findings related to the organizational culture prevalent in DFO, and how it may influence the work environment and DFO's ability to meet its EE program objectives in the recruitment, promotion and retention of designated group members.

Several sources of information were used to review DFO's organizational culture. These were: the Corporate Culture Survey, the Survey of Women in the CCG Fleet, the Survey of Women Fishery Officers and interviews with DFO managers and employees.

DFO's organizational culture differs significantly by Region, Sector and work environment. For example, the culture onboard CCG vessels is quite different from that of Science institutes or Regional offices. Section 3.4.1 deals with the overall aspects of the DFO organizational culture within the context of EE, while the following Section 3.4.2 deals with specific work environment and cultural issues as they impact women in the CCG Fleet and women Fishery Officers.

3.4.1 Organizational Culture

While DFO has acquired a certain level of cultural diversity within its workforce, it cannot be said that DFO values or welcomes diversity at the strategic level to the extent one would expect.

In broad terms, DFO is a male, Caucasian organization and this outlook dominates the behavior in the Department. While a significant number of women have made inroads into senior management levels, the prevalent culture remains white male oriented.

Only one in four managers and supervisors responding to the Corporate Culture Survey indicated they had received training in effectively managing a diverse workforce. Over two-thirds of all managers responded that they do not encounter many problems in managing a diverse workforce. Ninety percent of the few managers that did receive diversity training, found it to be useful.

Some managers saw the real benefit of having a more culturally diverse workforce. However, most managers interviewed did not fully embrace EE and diversity as a factor that can have a truly positive, beneficial impact on an organization.

At the more negative end of the spectrum, a segment of managers see equity and diversity as something the organization is being forced into by legislation rather than as something that ought to be done as a smart business strategy. There is a profound uneasiness with regard to the relationship between EE and the merit principle.

Lack of management appreciation and recognition of diversity as a positive, strengthening contributor to an organization is, in part, an explanation for the lack of proactive effort in DFO to recruit more designated group employees. It appears, however, from the results of the Corporate Cultural Survey that once inside the organization, designated group members generally experience a reasonable degree of openness to diversity. A vast majority of employees did not perceive DFO as a racist or sexist organization, with visible minorities being the most positive. In addition, over two-thirds felt that their supervisor showed respect for their ethnic and cultural background at work.

Seventy percent of those responding to the Corporate Culture Survey stated they were satisfied with their immediate work environment and eighty percent said they enjoyed working with people from other ethnic and cultural backgrounds. However, the vast majority of respondents to the survey, mistrusted management and believe most managers do not genuinely care about their employees. In addition, over forty percent believe that developmental and promotional opportunities are to a large extent based on whom you know rather than on merit. The "old boys network" is a common description of the DFO organization. Aboriginal employees and visible minorities were even less convinced than their colleagues that opportunities for advancement are processed in a fair manner.

As with any large organization, there are areas in DFO where there is less understanding and support for the principles of diversity. This is particularly evident in some of the more isolated work environments of the CCG Fleet and Conservation and Protection organizations.

In the past, DFO has tried to institute broad training of managers and employees to make the organization more accepting of diversity and to reduce harassment. A Departmental Diversity course was developed in 1997 as part of the HR strategy with the intention it would be given on a widespread basis to most employees and managers in the Department. To date, only the Pacific Region has delivered the Departmental Diversity course to a reasonably large cross section of its staff (approximately 200). The Maritimes Region has started a half-day Harassment course for officers and crew on CCG vessels and is preparing to deliver the Departmental Diversity course. The Maritimes Region, CCG Operational Services Branch has also created a Harassment and Diversity Tool Kit for all CCG vessels in the Region. All new Ship's Crew and Officers will be required to go through the material in the kit with the Captain signing off that this has occurred.

The remaining Regions have not made any significant progress towards delivering the Departmental Diversity course apart from including it in their Management Development Continuum Level I course. The course is also provided as part of the national Management Development Continuum Level II and III courses. The NCR Human Resources organization has offered several diversity and harassment related courses, but there has been no interest and all these courses were cancelled.

The lack of a consistent, effective strategy for encouraging diversity and an harassment free workplace remains a problem for DFO. It is not evident, based on the interviews and surveys conducted during this ESR, how best to reinforce the diversity principle with the Department's managers, supervisors and employees. The Corporate Culture Survey shows that for many of DFO's staff there are no significant issues or problems related to the acceptance of diversity in the workplace. Many in DFO welcome and accept the positive contribution that diversity can make to an organization and its culture. It is obvious that it is not as critical to provide an intervention such as diversity training to these types of people as it is to those who are not as open and accepting of diversity.

Generally the group in DFO that have the most influence on the organization's culture and work environment are managers and supervisors. The most cost-effective strategy for enhancing the acceptance of diversity in the Department would be to focus on this group. The highest priority within this group would be those managers and supervisors who come from organizations where there has been traditionally a history of issues pertaining to diversity and harassment. The staff in these organizations would also have a high priority in terms of harassment and diversity training. Another focus for this type of training would be on the staff of organizations that are scheduled to hire their first member of a designated group. For example, if no woman or aboriginal Fishery Officer has ever worked in a particular office, then the entire staff would benefit from diversity and harassment training prior to the designated group member's joining the organization.

A key element in any strategy to promote positive change in an organizational culture is the ability to determine whether progress is being made. If reasonable progress is not being made in specific parts of the organization, then additional interventions can be carried out. The Public Service Employee Survey, undertaken in May 1999, is an example of an attempt to measure the health of the organization and its work environment. Unfortunately the guidelines for administering the survey provided by Statistics Canada stipulated that the Survey should not identify organizational units of less than 100 employees. As a result the Survey in DFO, was carried out at a very high organizational level (Primarily at the Region/Sector level) and therefore can not be used to provide meaningful insight into the state of organizational health (including acceptance of diversity) at the working unit or even director levels. Upward Feedback as a measurement of managers and their impact on an organization's work environment has been piloted in DFO with some success. This initiative, however, can be relatively complex and somewhat expensive and therefore has not been widely applied.

Some organizations conduct regular surveys of their employees to measure organizational health. For example, the Audit and Evaluation Directorate undertakes an annual survey of all staff to solicit their opinions on a variety of themes that contribute to a healthy work environment. Surveys of this type do not have to be long and detailed. A simple fifteen to twenty question survey can provide sufficient information to determine whether an organizational unit has the basic elements of a healthy, respectful workplace that values and supports diversity. These surveys can be used to measure the organizational health of work units as small as ten employees because they do not collect any data pertaining to the respondents themselves. Surveys such as this could provide invaluable information on where to focus interventions such as training, by highlighting those organizations where there is, for example, a problem with regard to the acceptance of diversity and the fair and equitable treatment of designated group members.

The cost of these simple organizational surveys is not significant when compared with other measurement tools such as Upward Feedback. For example, the cost to conduct an annual survey of all DFO employees at the working unit level has been estimated to be between $30,000 to $40,000. This would include a short summary report for each DFO work unit with ten or more employees.

This type of abbreviated organizational health survey could also be initially applied on a more frequent basis in organizational environments where there has been a history of problems pertaining to employee morale and in particular, acceptance of diversity.

It is beyond the scope of this review to develop and recommend a detailed departmental strategy for improving diversity acceptance in DFO. This should however be a high priority focus for departmental senior management.

Recommendations

• The Deputy Minister should ensure that the principles of valuing diversity, openness and equity are formally articulated into the DFO statement of Values.
• Regional Directors General (RDGs) and Assistant Deputy Ministers (ADMs) should ensure that diversity and harassment training is provided on a priority basis to:
  • managers, supervisors and employees in organizations where there have been acknowledged problems pertaining to the acceptance of diversity and the equitable treatment of designated groups;
  • all staff of an organizational unit prior to the initial introduction of designated group members (e.g., prior to the first woman Fishery Officer joining a Conservation and Protection office); and
  • organizations where managers request training for their work teams.
• RDGs and ADMs should ensure that an abbreviated form of the diversity and harassment training is provided to all DFO managers and supervisors not covered by the above recommendation over the next three years.
• RDG's and ADM's should ensure that all staff are exposed to Diversity awareness sessions that demonstrate the positive influences that diversity has on society and on an organization's culture. The Regional Employment Equity Consultation Committees should support management in organizing these sessions.
• The Associate Deputy Minister should ensure that a workshop of senior DFO managers is conducted in order to develop specific strategies to promote diversity in DFO as a positive, strengthening contributor to organizational well being.
• The effectiveness of the Harassment and Diversity Tool Kits carried onboard vessels in the Maritimes Region should be evaluated by the Director General of Marine Technical and Operational services for potential use by other Regions.
• The Director General of HR should initiate an ongoing program to annually survey all departmental staff to measure progress in creating healthy, respectful working environments that value and support diversity. This survey should be no more than twenty questions in length and should preserve anonymity by not collecting information pertaining to the respondents themselves.

3.4.2 Work Environment -- Shipboard and Fishery Officer Work Environments

Work environments are influenced by several factors, e.g., leadership, nature of the work itself, type of people attracted to an organization, workload and the degree of workplace isolation. In DFO, there are four basic types of work place environment: office, laboratory, field and shipboard. The previous section addressed the overall cultural issues that were identified in the Corporate Culture Survey and interviews conducted during the ESR. For the most part, the recommendations set forth in the above section cover the generic work environment and organizational culture issues evident in DFO. They do not, however, focus on some of the specific work environment challenges that face women in some of the non-traditional DFO work environments.

This section examines two of these unique DFO work environments, the CCG shipboard and the Conservation and Protection Fishery Officer work environments. Both of these work places are considered somewhat non-traditional, especially for women, and both feature a degree of isolation, particularly the shipboard environment.

As stated, the emphasis in the analysis of the shipboard and Fishery Officer work environments is on the work environments as they affect women. Gender issues in non-traditional, isolated work environments create more unique challenges than do those pertaining to the other designated groups.

3.4.2.1 Shipboard Work Environment -Women's Issues

One of the most isolated work environments in DFO is onboard larger CCG vessels. In most cases, these vessels are away from home port for 28 days and longer. This degree of isolation creates an environment where interpersonal tensions can surface. Historically, more instances of interpersonal conflict are reported onboard ships than most other DFO work environments. Interpersonal conflicts and harassment are not necessarily directed at members of designated groups. However, employees in these groups are often the recipients of more harassing type behavior than those in the non-designated group.

The findings and recommendations presented in this section are based on interviews conducted during this ESR as well as on a survey of current and former women CCG Ship's Officers and Ship's Crew. In addition, the findings and recommendations of a separate ESR, undertaken by the Maritimes Region, CCG Operational Services Branch, during the fall of 1998 were reviewed. Many of the findings and recommendations of this Maritimes Region study, confirmed those of the DFO-wide ESR.

Although the findings and recommendations of this ESR as they pertain to the shipboard work environment focus on the impact on women, several of the recommendations are designed to improve the work environment for all those working onboard CCG vessels.

The culture onboard CCG vessels is male dominated. The Survey of Women in the Fleet revealed that female Ship's Officers and Ship's Crew in the non-traditional Deckhand and Engineer positions rated the overall work environment as hostile to women. Women crew members in the more traditional female positions of stewards and cooks rated the environment as considerably more friendly to women.

Generally, women feel more isolated onboard a CCG vessel especially when there are often very few, if any, other women onboard. The Canadian Navy, United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, all have policies that strive to ensure that approximately 15% of a mixed-gender ship are women. This grouping of women onboard creates an environment less isolating for women. These policies on the proportion of women are sufficiently flexible so as not to have an adverse impact on career progression opportunities for women. The same benefits that are achieved by the above organizations could be achieved if similar practices were adopted for CCG vessels.

Instances of interpersonal conflict and harassment tend to be more difficult to resolve in the isolated environment of a ship than ashore. The Department does have an Early Conflict Resolution Advisor and an Employee Assistance Counselor in each Region; however, shipboard DFO staff do not have ready access to these sources of support while they are away from homeport. Initial advice and support is however frequently available to shipboard personnel through the provision of an 877 telephone number. British Columbia Ferries and the US Coast Guard have programs in place whereby shipboard staff are given special training as shipboard "Ombudsmen" or "Intervenors". Their role is to provide support, guidance and conflict resolution to those onboard ship who are experiencing personal or interpersonal conflict. In the case of British Columbia Ferries, these shipboard "Intervenors" are selected from a list of volunteers and perform their support duties on a part-time basis, in addition to their regular assignments. The US Coast Guard is examining the requirement for full-time Intervenors onboard some of its larger vessels. The US Coast Guard also provides additional support to its staff through a Mentoring Program whereby anyone can request and be assigned a volunteer mentor to also provide support and guidance in all matters pertaining to work place issues and career development.

Accommodation for women in the Fleet was another focus of the Survey of Women in the Fleet. Issues were raised concerning the physical accommodation onboard CCG vessels. These issues are covered in Section 3.13.

The willingness of women to actively participate in identifying issues and recommendations to improve the work environment demonstrates the benefits of giving DFO staff the chance to have input into departmental issues. This ESR Report has focused on only the key findings and recommendations of the Survey of Women in the Fleet. Several of the Survey findings deserve further examination and exploration by women in the Fleet who are intimately aware of and concerned with the challenges and opportunities that exist for women in the CCG.

Recommendations

The Regional Directors of CCG, with the advice and support of the Director General of Marine Technical and Operational Services, should:

• Assign sufficient numbers of women onboard CCG buoy tending, science and ice breaking vessels in order to reduce the level of isolation for women and provide a more supportive work environment. The Department should establish general guidelines that identify a minimum percentage of women that should form part of an individual ship's complement in order to ensure meaningful numeric representation. The application of these guidelines should be sufficiently flexible so as not to be an impediment to the career progression of women or men in the CCG Fleet.
• Assign woman Ships Officers and Ships Crew, where feasible, to Search and Rescue and Fisheries Patrol units in groups of two or more to reduce the level of isolation and provide a more supportive work environment. The application of this guideline should be sufficiently flexible so as not to be an impediment to the career progression of women or men in the CCG Fleet.
• Initiate a program to train selected, volunteer Ship's Officers and Ship's Crew to act as shipboard "Intervenors" or "Ombudsmen" on CCG vessels. These "Intervenors" would continue to perform their existing duties, but would also provide advice, support and conflict resolution to anyone onboard requesting assistance.
• Implement a mentoring program to provide advice and guidance on workplace issues and career development to all new CCG shipboard personnel. Once experience has been gained with this initiative, evaluate its applicability to other areas of the Department.
• Create a network of women who represent Ship's Officers and Ship's Crew from each DFO Region. This network would provide advice and guidance to CCG management on the implementation of recommendations contained in this ESR pertaining to women working onboard CCG vessels as well as provide ongoing input to the challenges facing women working in a shipboard environment.

3.4.2.2 Conservation and Protection Fishery Officer Work Environment - Women's Issues

The findings and recommendations presented in this section are primarily based on the results of a telephone survey of twelve women who are currently Fishery Officers. Although not an extensive survey, there were a few key themes evident in most of the survey responses.

The work environment for women Fishery Officers can be very isolating. Women Fishery Officers often find themselves the only woman assigned to a remote district office. In some remote areas the public has little understanding and acceptance of women in non-traditional work roles.

The uniform and equipment provided to women Fishery Officers are designed more for men and do not accommodate the requirements of women. For example, the gun holster is designed for a man's body and safety boots are only available in men's sizes.

Recommendations

• Regional Directors of Conservation and Protection should assign woman Fishery Officers, where feasible, to work units in groups of two or more to reduce the level of isolation and provide a more supportive work environment.
• The Director General of Conservation and Protection and Regional Directors of Conservation and Protection should:
  • Ensure that uniforms and equipment provided to women Fishery Officers accommodate the special requirements of women.
  • Create a network of women Fishery Officers representing each Region. This network would provide advice and guidance to management on the issues and recommendations raised in this ESR as they pertain to women Fishery Officers, as well as provide ongoing input to the challenges faced by women employed as Fishery Officers in DFO.

3.5 Management Awareness of Employment Equity

The Corporate Culture Survey found that 73% of DFO managers stated they were generally familiar with the Employment Equity Plan. However, on average, those DFO managers interviewed during the ESR rated their knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities under the EE Act, at "2" on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 low level, 5 high).

A prime cause for the generally low level of awareness pertaining to EE policies and practices is the lack of HR functional support in the provision of advice and guidance pertaining to management's responsibilities and options to increase EE group representation. The following are the key factors leading to this lack of support.

• Positions in Pacific and Central and Arctic Regions, which included the responsibility for regional EE coordination, were each vacant for several months during the past year. The majority of HR Generalists are not sufficiently informed and experienced concerning EE to adequately address the full range of EE issues and challenges facing their departmental clients. In the medium to long term, HR Generalists will become more capable in advising on and supporting all aspects of EE. At this point, the requirement for EE specialists in HR may diminish.
• The principles, practices and responsibilities associated with EE were not included in the training provided to departmental managers during the one-day training on staffing for delegated managers.

Recommendations

• Regional Directors, HR should ensure that Regional HR Advisors are provided with additional training in EE principles, practices and tools so they can more effectively provide their Regional clients with ongoing support in exercising their EE responsibilities.
• Regional Directors, HR should maintain an adequate resource commitment to the position in the HR organization that provides a focus for EE in order to provide the required co-ordination and support for EE in the Region. The requirement for the maintenance of an EE speciality role should be reviewed in two years time in the light of the capability of HR Advisors to adequately advise and support their Regional clients in the area of EE.
• ADMs and RDGs should ensure that EE Awareness briefings are provided to all managers and supporting administrative staff involved in the staffing process. These briefings should initially be provided by HR to senior HQ/Regional managers. Once briefed, these senior managers, supported by HR, should brief their management teams.
• The Director General of HR should ensure that an EE module is added to the Staffing for Delegated Managers course so that those new managers taking the course are made aware of the requirement to address EE considerations while staffing.

3.6 Management Accountability Pertaining to Employment Equity

Results of interviews and the Corporate Culture Survey indicate that the majority of managers do not feel they are held accountable for progress towards EE objectives. These objectives are rarely considered as components of a manager's Accountability Accord. Many, especially those below the director level, are not aware of the Regional EE Representation/Availability data. The Corporate Culture Survey revealed that 48% of management respondents stated they had not taken any action in support of EE.

The following are the primary causes that have led to a lack of management accountability for EE:

• HR Corporate EE functional authorities have tended to monitor the progress of EE initiatives via the annual EE Progress Report and EE Planning process; as a result, the lack of progress and the underlying reasons are not brought to senior management attention in a timely manner.
• EE representation/availability data is provided only by region and occupational group level; this makes it difficult for accountable managers to determine the status of EE progress for their organization.
• Data on progress is available only on an annual basis; this does not reflect the EE initiatives taken by DFO managers in a timely enough manner to create a sense of accountability.
• Numeric EE recruitment goals provided to Regions by the HR Corporate EE Unit are expressed as absolute numbers that should be recruited. This leads to a diminished sense of management accountability because the goals do not reflect operational realities that often result in low annual recruitment rates, making the EE goals unrealistic.

Recommendations

• RDGs and ADMs should ensure that effort in support of EE initiatives and the creation of a positive, healthy and respectful workplace is included in the performance appraisals of all DFO managers and supervisors as well as EX Performance Agreements. The results from the annual survey of employees recommended above in Section 3.4.1 would provide part of the input to this aspect of the performance appraisals.
• The Corporate HR Planning, Employment Equity and Official Languages Unit should undertake the following:
• Provide EE representation/availability occupational group data to the Regions and break it down to Sector/Director General level in the NCR and Director level in the other Regions. If issues of designated group member confidentiality arise because the DG/Director organizational entity is too small, data should be provided only at the Regional/Sector level.
• Express the EE goals as a percentage of total recruitment to make the goals more realistic.
• Provide Regional management with semi-annual reports of EE representation versus availability in order to keep managers more current on their progress in meeting their EE objectives.
• Monitor, on an ongoing basis, EE progress, issues and best practices in all Regions to ensure that issues and opportunities are addressed in a timely manner.
• The Director General of HR should ensure that the resource levels of the Corporate HR Planning, Employment Equity and Official Languages Unit committed to EE are increased to enable it to address the added requirements associated with the increased reporting and monitoring activities recommended above. In addition, a temporary increase to resource levels should be provided to this unit to carry out other special initiatives recommended in this ESR, for example the Self-Identification Survey.

3.7 Recruitment Initiatives -- Under-represented Designated Groups

This section addresses issues and barriers in the recruitment of employees to DFO from outside the Department. The majority of the Department's recruitment initiatives focus on bringing in new employees at career entry levels. It is noteworthy that approximately 80% of all recruitment is into term positions. The recent and ongoing downsizing in DFO have somewhat limited the opportunities to bring new employees into the Department. Nevertheless, some recruitment is taking place in DFO; greater opportunities will emerge over the next five years as the aging workforce of the Department elects retirement.

The rate of recruitment is an important way to anticipate the speed of progress in addressing the under-representation of designated groups. Generally speaking, a guideline commonly used is that the recruitment rate for under-represented designated groups should be at least equal to the percentage availability of the designated group in the workforce. For example, if the availability rate for visible minorities is 5.4%, then the recruitment rate should be at least equivalent (i.e., for every 100 persons recruited, 5-6 should be visible minorities). Where significant under-representation exists, the recruitment rates should be higher in order to close the gap between representation and availability in a reasonable period of time.

DFO is making reasonable progress in the overall recruitment of women and Aboriginal peoples, with the exception of women in the Technical and Operational categories and Aboriginal peoples in the Scientific and Technical categories. The recruitment rates for visible minorities are generally below reasonable levels except in the Administrative Support occupational category. The recruitment rate for persons with disabilities is well below reasonable target levels with the exception of the PE, CS and PM occupational groups.

The Canadian Coast Guard College (CCGC) has a significant influence on the culture of DFO since many of its graduates ultimately assume senior management positions in the Department. The only members of designated groups that the CCGC have historically recruited and graduated are women. As recently as March 1999, a recruitment advertisement was placed in the National Post newspaper with absolutely no reference to the fact that members of designated groups were encouraged to apply. In addition, although currently under review, the existing curriculum for the four-year Cadet Program has no formal reference to diversity and EE.

Recruitment strategies for designated groups often require specialized approaches and skills. We found that many organizations (e.g. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), DND, and the Bank of Montreal) have dedicated units to address the recruitment and retention of EE group members. The HR organization in DFO endeavors to provide this focus for the Department; however, sectors such as the CCG and Fisheries Management have more complex recruitment and retention issues that require a more specialized understanding of the organization and its work environment.

Developmental positions enable an organization to hire inexperienced staff and provide them with an opportunity to gain relevant job knowledge and skills so they can successfully fill the requirements of fully qualified positions. These developmental positions are ideally suited to providing EE group members with the opportunity to join an organization without initially having the skills required for a fully qualified position.

Relatively few organizations in DFO currently have created development positions due to resource constraints. Several managers interviewed stated that developmental positions would better enable them to address under-representation of EE groups, and also better allow them to prepare for the shortage of qualified staff that is predicted in the next five years as an increasing number of qualified staff retire.

In most recruitment initiatives, DFO management has not targeted designated groups even though significant under-representation exits in several occupational categories. There have been some instances, however, where designated groups have been the focus of recruitment efforts, e.g., the Science Sector National Rejuvenation and Recruitment initiative. The Science Program Planning and Co-ordination Directorate, an organization that acts as a focal point for EE related issues in the Science Sector, coordinated this initiative. Other examples of designated group targeted recruitment in DFO are the recruitment of Fishery Officer candidates in the Maritimes, and Newfoundland Regions as well as the Inuit Employment Strategy of the Central and Arctic Region..

The key factors, which have caused the overall lack of focus on the recruitment of designated groups, are:

• Management commitment to be proactive in addressing areas of significant under-representation of designated groups is lacking.
• Management is often not fully aware of some of the target recruitment techniques that can be used to encourage more designated group members to apply for positions in the Department. Some degree of designated group recruitment expertise exists in some Regions; however, to date there has been very little sharing of best practices.
• Management is not generally aware of the Designated Group Inventories maintained by the PSC and other organizations that can be used as a direct source of potentially qualified candidates for DFO positions.
• Management is not aware of the recruitment/selection tools that can be granted by the PSC to enable a department to formally emphasize EE groups. (e.g. Section 5.1 of the Public Service Employment Act).

Recommendations

• Regional HR Advisors should encourage managers to refer to the Designated Group Inventories maintained by the PSC as potential sources of candidates for DFO positions.
• RDGs and ADMs should create formal target recruitment strategies for areas of significant under-representation of designated groups. This should include methods to increase designated group applicant pools such as expanding the areas of competition for designated groups. These recruitment strategies should focus on both term and indeterminate positions. The best practices of departmental organizations should be promulgated to the rest of the Department. HQ functional organizations should assist regions to identify best practices.
• The Director General of Marine Technical and Operational Services should ensure that the Canadian Coast Guard College actively recruits members of all designated groups and that diversity and EE are included in the curriculum of the four-year Cadet Program.
• When possible, developmental positions should be established to prepare DFO for the predicted shortage of qualified staff and to provide an increased opportunity to recruit members of designated groups where significant under-representation exists.
• The Director General of HR, on behalf of the Department, should formally apply to the PSC for a special program under Section 5.1(2) of the Public Service Employment Act to emphasize the recruitment and selection of designated group members where there is significant under-representation (e.g., Ships Crew and Fisheries Officers).
• Regional HR Advisors should work with their local PSC office to exercise either the newly acquired "ad hoc" departmental authority under Section 5.1 of the Public Service Employment Act, or the PSC authority on behalf of DFO, to emphasize the recruitment and selection of designated group members in those areas where under-representation of designated groups exists. This authority would be used selectively and in those areas not covered by the Special Program referenced in the above recommendation.
• The departmental operational and technical Sectors, CCG, and Fisheries Management should establish a focus for EE at the Corporate as well as Regional levels. These areas of Sector focus should work with HR to help address unique EE issues and problems in their respective Sectors.

3.8 Staffing of Casuals as Entry point to longer term Employment

It is a relatively common practice in all DFO Regions to bring new employees into the Department by first providing them with employment as a "casual" employee. These casual employees gain valuable job experience that enables them to successfully compete for term or indeterminate positions or be appointed to these positions without competition.

There are few restrictions to the hiring of casual employees. In most instances DFO managers do not consider designated group candidates and consequently designated group members are deprived of an opportunity to gain experience which often leads to a more permanent employment status.

The PSC discourages the practice of hiring casuals as a stepping-stone to a more permanent position. The workload burden on HR pay units is also significantly more for casual employees than other types of employees.

Recommendations

• The HR Branch in each Region should monitor the casual hiring practices of regional managers to ensure this practice is not abused.
• Casual hiring should be continued where there is genuine uncertainty as to whether a position will be required on a longer-term basis. However, in these situations, EE considerations should be acknowledged when hiring casual employees.

3.9 Selection Related to the Recruitment Process

This section addresses instances where the qualifications required or the selection tests administered create entry barriers for designated group members wishing to join DFO. The focus is on areas where significant under-representation of designated groups exists. Other specific findings pertaining to selection in the areas of promotions, acting assignments and internal deployments are presented in Section 3.10.

3.9.1 Fishery Officer Candidate Selection

The selection criteria for Fishery Officer candidates were revised in early 1999. These revisions eliminated barriers to the selection of designated groups in the areas of educational requirements and knowledge testing.

There remains, however, a potential barrier to designated groups in the current mandatory experience requirements for Fishery Officer candidates. The current Statement of Qualifications (S of Q) for a Fishery Officer states that candidates must have experience in at least one of the following areas: Renewable/Natural Resources, Law Enforcement, or the Fishing Industry. This mandatory experience requirement is considered to pose a barrier to women, visible minorities and to some extent Aboriginal peoples, since they all traditionally have less experience in these areas than non-designated group members.

It is not clear what the rationale is for demanding experience in one of the above three fields. For example, if it is believed that experience in law enforcement indicates a competency in mediation and negotiation, then it is clear other life experiences could also provide this form of competency. If, on the other hand, experience in one of these three fields is seen as evidence that a candidate has the ability to adjust to a non-traditional, outdoor oriented work environment, then other more generic experience profiles would also be reasonable predictors of future success as a Fishery Officer.

Experience in the above three areas could still be used as preferred elements of candidate selection if the recruitment initiative had a separate candidate stream (i.e., poster) for designated group applicants. In this way, lack of experience in these fields would not prevent designated group candidates from applying, yet they could still be used as a screening tool, especially for a large applicant pool of non-designated group candidates.

Recommendation

• The Director General of Conservation and Protection should eliminate the requirement that experience in Renewable/Natural Resources, Law Enforcement, or the Fishing Industry be a mandatory prerequisite for Fishery Officer candidates. Other more generic experience profiles should be evaluated as potentially valid predictors of ultimate success in the position of Fishery Officer.

3.9.2 Ship's Crew CCG

Generally, the selection requirements associated with Ship's Officers and Ship's Crew do not represent an unreasonable barrier to the employment of EE group members. The majority of the selection criteria for basic entry-level shipboard employment are directly linked to Health Canada medical requirements and Canada Shipping Act safety related requirements.

The medical requirements dictated by Health Canada do not discriminate against women, Aboriginal peoples or visible minorities. For safety considerations the medical requirements do preclude people with various types of disabilities from servings as crewmembers onboard a ship. These medical fitness requirements have been regularly reviewed by the CCG to confirm their ongoing validity in the light of technological and operational improvements that are continuously being made that might allow people, previously excluded, to work safely onboard a CCG ship.

The Canada Shipping Act requires that all Ship's Officers and Ship's Crew hold a valid A1, B1 and B2 level of the Marine Emergency Duties (MED) Certificate. Those serving on vessels operating in Canadian waters may temporarily work onboard a ship for a period of not more than six months before becoming certified. To become certified requires one to successfully complete a six-day course costing approximately $1,200. These courses are offered at only a few locations throughout a region, therefore travel and accommodation expenses are also a consideration for many wishing to take this course. Only the Newfoundland Region arranges to provide the MED course free of charge via a reciprocal arrangement with the Memorial University for services provided to the University by DFO. HRDC has in the past occasionally paid part of the MED tuition fee for CCG recruits. This practice varies from one geographic area to another depending on local HRDC policy interpretation.

The requirement to have designated group applicants paying all costs associated with taking the MED course poses a barrier to the recruitment of Ship's Crew. This barrier is more significant for women and visible minorities, since members of these groups traditionally have less experience working in the marine environment and are therefore less likely to already have MED certification.

Recommendations

• The CCG Director General of Operations and Technical Services and Regional CCG Directors of Operational Services should explore ways to reduce the MED tuition and related travel and accommodation costs especially for designated group members. This could include:
  • working with local HRDC offices to have them pay all or a portion of MED tuition for CCG Ship's Crew recruits;
  • direct CCG financial support to offset MED related training costs for otherwise qualified Ship's Crew recruits; and
  • arranging for local delivery of the MED course where CCG student numbers warrant to minimize travel and accommodation costs.

3.9.3 Designated Group Representation on Selection Boards

The review of staffing files conducted as part of this ESR revealed little evidence that staffing boards were formed to reflect the candidate pool. This is considered to represent a barrier to the equitable treatment of designated group members applying for positions in DFO.

The form used by staffing boards to identify the board members did not contain a section permitting board members to self-identify, either as a member of a designated group or a non-designated group. As a result, it was difficult to determine whether board members represented a designated group and ascertain whether the board composition reflected the candidate pool.

Recommendations

• RDGs and ADMs should ensure that staffing board membership, to the extent possible, reflect the pool of candidates that are to be evaluated by the board.
• The Director General of HR should create a form on which staffing board members identify themselves as either designated group members or non-designated group members. This will facilitate the monitoring of progress in this area for future ESRs.
• The Director General of HR should prepare a package on diversity issues as they pertain to the selection process and make it available to members of staffing boards prior to every staffing board.

3.9.4 Selection Interview Process

In most selection interview processes in DFO, candidates are required to focus on hypothetical situations and asked; "What would you do if you were in this situation?" Extensive studies have shown that the best predictor of candidate success in a job is past behavior in similar situations. These situations do not have to be work related as long as the behavior demonstrated in the past can be linked to the type of behavior expected on the job. This selection interviewing technique is called Behavior Description Interviewing.

Behavior Description Interviewing techniques will generally improve the candidate selection process in an organization, but they can also be used as a way to focus on a candidate's openness and acceptance of diversity and designated groups in the work place. Candidates could be asked to describe instances in their past where they have demonstrated an acceptance of diversity.

Recommendations

• The Regional Human Resources Directors should promote the use of Behavior Description Interviewing techniques for all DFO selection interview processes.
• Selection interviews should specifically probe candidates for past behavioral evidence that they are open and accepting of diversity.

3.10 Promotions, Acting Assignments and Internal Deployments

Data derived from PeopleSoft, the review of staffing files and the Corporate Culture Survey indicate that 50% of all promotions are the result of re-classifications, 35% result from competitions and the remaining 15% from appointments without competition. This data also shows that overall, designated groups received promotion shares equal to or in excess of their representation.

For acting appointments and internal deployments, all designated groups received shares at or above their representation except acting appointments for Aboriginal peoples. The gap for Aboriginal peoples came mainly from Administrative & Foreign Service and Technical categories. Appointments without a competitive process were the most common method used for filling acting appointments, accounting for about 90% of the total. The other acting appointees were generally chosen through closed competitions.

Of those promotions that were not a result of re-classifications, over 30% of the successful employees had previously acted in the position to which they were promoted.

Based on the data, designated group members have generally received their fair share of promotions, acting appointments and deployments. There is no indication of significant barriers pertaining to the designated groups when compared with others in the Department.

However, the results of the Corporate Culture Survey indicate that over 40% of all employees question the fairness of the promotion process and their own chances of receiving a promotion in DFO. A larger number of Aboriginal peoples (55%) and visible minorities (52%) felt the promotional process is unfair and does not respect the merit principle.

This general perception of unfairness may stem from the fact that only 35% of all promotions were the result of a competitive process. This perception of unfairness is also heightened because almost a third of these competitively based promotions go to persons who have previously acted in the position, with the determination of acting assignments itself rarely open to a competitive process.

Another factor, which could contribute to the perception that the promotional process is unfair, was revealed during the review of staffing files. Several instances were identified where the

S of Q for senior positions contained requirements for technical qualifications, knowledge and skills which normally should not be required in a senior management position. These requirements can pose a barrier to designated group as well as non-designated group members who are fully qualified as managers but do not have the technical qualifications demanded by the S of Q. This is contrary to the principle of moving to a more generic S of Q for senior managers as was used in the S of Q associated with the EX Bridging Program.

Recommendations

• Acting appointment and internal deployment opportunities should be more widely advertised within DFO.
• Longer-term acting appointments should be rotated among qualified staff to provide more people with developmental opportunities that can lead to promotion.
• The Statement of Qualifications of all EX and EX minus one level positions being staffed should be reviewed to ensure that prior experience requirements, prior knowledge requirements or demands for accreditation or certifications are necessary and do not create barriers to the employment of designated groups. These barriers should be eliminated as they are identified.

3.11 Training

DFO does not have a departmental system to record training taken by its employees. The Training Module in PeopleSoft has not been implemented. For this ESR, the data pertaining to training has been derived from the Corporate Culture Survey.

Based on responses to the survey, 64% of DFO employees stated they have had training within the past year. There was not a meaningful difference between designated and non-designated groups in terms of acknowledged training opportunities. With the exception of Aboriginal people, almost two thirds of departmental employees were satisfied with training opportunities. Only 49% of Aboriginal peoples responding felt satisfied.

Nevertheless, the majority of all respondents still view the allocation of training as not being done fairly. This indicates a level of mistrust and skepticism towards departmental management. However, the lack of hard data pertaining to departmental training makes it difficult to separate fact from perception.

Recommendation

• The Director General of HR should ensure that the Training Module of the departmental HR System, PeopleSoft, is implemented to provide comprehensive national data on the training undertaken by DFO staff.

3.12 Performance Evaluations

The DFO policy pertaining to performance evaluations stipulates that all supervisors and managers should provide regular and frequent (at least annually) feedback on employees' performance. For the most part, this feedback may be either verbal or written.

The Corporate Culture Survey provides the best source of data for determining whether the performance evaluation process in DFO is perceived by employees as being timely and fair. Most respondents to the survey (72%) stated they had received a formal annual performance evaluation within the last three years. Over 90% of respondents felt the evaluations accurately reflected their performance. However, a smaller percentage (75%) of Aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities believed their performance evaluations to be fair.

Even though there is general satisfaction with the formal annual performance evaluation process, only 53% of those surveyed stated that their supervisors provided them with feedback on their performance throughout the year. This percentage was lower for aboriginal peoples (43%).

Recommendation

• The Director General of HR should ensure that the importance of regular, continuous performance feedback to staff and the skills required to provide this feedback are emphasized in departmental management and supervisory training.

3.13 Accommodation for persons with disabilities and mixed-gender work groups

Accommodation issues presented in this section address physical accommodation, for example, facility accommodation for persons with disabilities. This section does not focus on cultural, attitudinal or policy accommodations. These have been presented in other sections of this review report.

The Corporate Culture Survey revealed that 43% of respondents do not believe the Department sufficiently accommodates persons with disabilities. A comprehensive survey of accommodation for persons with disabilities was not undertaken as part of this review. However, examples where full accommodation for mobility impaired persons was not in place were readily observed during regional visits. The attitude amongst DFO managers is generally supportive towards accommodating persons with disabilities, yet the underlying approach seems to be to focus on accommodation issues as they are brought to light by the presence of employees with disabilities.

The position of the CHRC is that all facilities where a person would require access during the hiring process (e.g., job application pick-up points, interview and testing rooms), should be fully accessible at all times to persons with disabilities. This position is equivalent to the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) policy on accommodations for persons with disabilities. The CHRC further expects that over time, all facilities should be fully accessible to persons with disabilities where there is a reasonable expectation that a person with a disability may require access.

Accommodating access to persons with disabilities can be expensive. When accommodations are not in place at the time of a hiring decision, the expense necessary to accommodate a candidate with a disability may negatively affect the decision to hire a person with a disability. For this reason, organizations such as the Bank of Montreal have established an Accommodation Fund that is available to managers to meet accommodation requirements as they arise. This recognizes the fact that facility accommodation plans for person with disabilities can take years to action and that in some instances accommodation requirements can not be foreseen. It should be noted that accommodation for persons with disabilities is not limited to physical facility accommodation; it also includes such accommodations as large monitors and voice recognition systems for the visually disabled. At the Bank of Montreal, last quarter Accommodation Fund surpluses are usually spent to expedite priority accommodation projects on the facility improvement plan.

An aspect of accommodation for persons with disabilities that does not relate to facility accommodation is the provision of recruitment, promotion and developmental opportunity information in forms other than the printed word, (e.g., audio tapes). The review of DFO staffing files did not uncover any instances where an offer was made to provide information pertaining to the staffing action in anything other than text. It is common practice in organizations sensitive to the needs of persons with disabilities to make it clear that material can be made available in other forms, if requested. This gesture in itself is an indication to persons with disabilities that an organization is open to accommodating the special requirements of persons with disabilities.

Accommodation of the physical requirements of persons with disabilities does not cover all the facility accommodation issues. Overnight accommodation and toilet facilities for mixed-gender work groups are also an important consideration. In DFO, reasonable over night accommodation of women, especially in non-traditional work environments such as those experienced in field work situations by the scientific and technical community and Search and Rescue staff, is key to the effective functioning and well being of women in the Department. Lack of mixed-gender overnight accommodation and toilet facilities is a barrier to the employment of women in DFO.

It was beyond the scope of this review to physically confirm the existence or lack thereof, of mixed-gender overnight accommodation facilities. Available facility inventories did not indicate whether or not overnight facilities could adequately accommodate a mixed-gender work team.

Interviews conducted during the course of this review along with the results from the survey of women Fishery Officers identified that many of the small DFO Fisheries Patrol and Search and Rescue craft do not have toilet facilities. This can prove problematic on assignments of more than a few hours when it is not always feasible to go ashore to seek toilet facilities. For women in a mixed-gender crew this situation can be a source of great inconvenience and embarrassment.

Recommendations

• The RDGs and the ADM of Corporate Services should ensure that facility plans are created which identify:
• facilities which are not fully accessible to persons with disabilities;
• overnight accommodation facilities which are not suitable for mixed-gender work teams;
• criteria to be used to determine which facilities are most critical in terms of access for person with disabilities; and
• a short, medium and long-term strategy to make all facilities requiring access for persons with disabilities or mixed-gender work teams fully accessible.
• The ADM of Corporate Services should ensure that the Real Property Inventory System, currently under development, includes the capability of recording the accessibility of facilities from the perspective of persons with disabilities as well as recognize the mixed gender overnight accommodation capability of a facility as appropriate.
• Where feasible, a portable toilet should be installed on DFO small craft where no toilet facilities currently exist. These facilities should be installed so as to provide a reasonable measure of privacy for members of mixed-gender crews.
• The RDGs and the ADM of Corporate Services should establish an Accommodation Fund to fund unexpected requirements to accommodate persons with disabilities.
• Regional Directors, HR should ensure that all notices pertaining to job opportunities within DFO indicate a willingness to accommodate the special needs of persons with disabilities in the provision of related material.

3.14. Special Initiatives and Support Mechanisms

3.14.1 Overview

There are several initiatives currently in place in DFO which contribute to support EE. Many of these initiatives are more comprehensive in scope having a positive impact not only on EE but also on the Departmental organizational culture as a whole. The Early Conflict Resolution Program, the Employee Assistance Program, the Exit Interview Program, the new DFO Harassment Policy and Guidelines and the Aboriginal Guardian Program are all important examples of initiatives in DFO that are contributing to the fostering of a more EE, diversity friendly, respectful and healthy workplace. These initiatives and the future plans for their improvement will serve the Department well in the future. Opportunities for improvement were, however, identified with regard to the Departmental Employment Equity Consultation Committees (EECC).

3.14.2 Employment Equity Consultation Committees

EECCs have been established in each DFO Region, including the NCR. A National Committee has also been created made up of representatives from each of the Regional committees. The general overall objectives of these committees are to provide advice and guidance to senior management on issues pertaining to EE and diversity and to promote EE and diversity.

However, some regional committees have experienced difficulty attracting committee members, especially Aboriginal peoples, visible minorities and person with disabilities. In addition, it has proven very difficult to attract middle and senior management to serve as committee members. The lack of middle and senior management presence on the EECCs leaves most of the committees lacking in strategic planning and organizational expertise. It should be noted that committee members do not necessarily have to belong to one of the EE groups. Different and valuable perspectives on EE issues are often possible when the diversity of EECCs is augmented by the participation of non-EE group members.

Some of the EECCs report to the Regional Director General in each Region. Several of the EECCs report through the Regional Human Resources Committee. In the NCR, the EECC, as well as the National EECC, report to the ADM Corporate Services. All these reporting relationships are at a senior level in the organization; however, a clearer message is sent regarding the importance of the EECCs when the committees report to the most senior manager in their respective organizations.

Several of the EECCs do not have an annual budget to cover their activities. The lack of an annual budget, even for those EECCs with approved workplans, has made it somewhat difficult and frustrating for committee members to carry out their planned initiatives. Significant delays are often experienced as committees are forced to seek piecemeal funding as requirements arise.

Recommendations

• Regional Employment Equity Consultation Committees should report directly to the Regional Director General and to the Associate Deputy Minister in the NCR. The National Employment Equity Consultation Committee should report to the Associate Deputy Minister.
• Employment Equity Consultation Committees should have an annual budget based on approved workplans and accountability statements.
• Members of the EX management group and high potential employees should be encouraged to accept membership terms on Employment Equity Consultation Committees.

3.15 Human Resources - Filing and Records Maintenance Practices

As a result of undertaking a review of staffing files in all Regions, several inconsistencies were observed in the records maintenance practices of the Regions. These inconsistencies often made it difficult to review the files from the perspective of determining the existence of barriers to the equitable treatment of designated groups. Since it is required that files be periodically reviewed in the future to verify the absence of barriers to the designated groups, problems encountered with file maintenance processes should be addressed.

Recommendations

• The Director General of HR should develop and implement a generic staffing file checklist, incorporating all elements critical to the analysis of designated group participation in staffing initiatives. This would include ensuring that candidate designated group self-identification information and reasons for screening out candidates in screening and selection board reports are recorded.

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4.0 Management Action Plan

Recommendations	Management Action Plan
The Corporate HR Planning, Employment Equity and Official Languages Unit should adjust the persons with disabilities availability rates for the GT, SO, SC and GL occupational groups to remove the percentage constituting those with mobility/agility problems and those who are blind.	These adjustments were made as the final ESR report was being approved. Ongoing adjustments as warranted.
The HR Planning, Employment Equity and Official Languages Unit should adjust the availability rates for visible minorities in the Pacific, Central and Arctic and Laurentian Regions to exclude the metropolitan areas of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal respectively from the visible minority availability rates used for the Operational and Administrative Support categories for DFO offices outside these metropolitan areas.	These adjustments were made as the final ESR report was being approved. Ongoing adjustments as warranted.
The Director General of HR should: Develop and deliver a workforce survey for self-identification that will improve the general EE awareness of all DFO employees and meet the requirement of the CHRC for an 80% participation rate in the workforce survey. Ensure that an ongoing process is implemented to enable all candidates for DFO positions to self-identify. To be in compliance with CHRC requirements, this process should ensure that candidates can self-identify as belonging to one of the designated groups or as being a member of the non-designated group. Ensure that the DFO self-identification process includes self-identification information for casuals and students in the event they become term or indeterminate employees in the future	New Project Special project funding in the amount of $140,000 is required and was requested in the Corporate Services Business Plan. Because of the complexity of the project and the workload on managers and staff expected from the UCS implementation, this project will begin in 2000-01 and be completed early in 2001-02. Funding needs to be found and could be obtained from unspent funds that have been identified to support the 10 National HR Initiatives being lead by 7 senior ADM level Champions. Ongoing Form amended to allow non-designated group members to fill it out. Note: Implementation of a new version 8.0 of PeopleSoft required to fully implement this recommendation. New Initiative. Immediate implementation for casuals is problematic since Regions do not routinely include casual employees in PeopleSoft. This may change when the on-line pay interface is implemented but until that time, this recommendation is not feasible. Regarding students, the self-identification form is already included in the letter of offer.
The Deputy Minister should ensure that the principles of valuing diversity, openness and equity are formally articulated into the DFO statement of Values	The DFO statement of values as expressed in DFO’s Strategic Plan, March 2000, contains the following values statement: DFO values a work environment that values people, diversity, openness and continuous learning.
Regional Directors General (RDGs) and Assistant Deputy Ministers (ADMs) should ensure that diversity and harassment training is provided on a priority basis to: managers, supervisors and employees in organizations where there have been acknowledged problems pertaining to the acceptance of diversity and the equitable treatment of designated groups; all staff of an organizational unit prior to the initial introduction of designated group members (e.g., prior to the first woman Fishery Officer joining a Conservation and Protection office); and organizations where managers request training for their work teams.	Diversity sessions are available on an annual basis through the training calendar. Regional Directors General (RDGs) and Assistant Deputy Ministers (ADMs) will ensure that, within a year, training is taken by managers and teams where there have been acknowledged problems in the equitable treatment of designated groups. Also, RDGs and ADMs will ensure that training is taken by managers and teams where a designated group member is being introduced and by request. Every 6 months, RDGs and ADMs will monitor attendance to training to ensure proper coverage.
RDGs and ADMs should ensure that an abbreviated form of the diversity and harassment training is provided to all DFO managers and supervisors not covered by the above recommendation over the next three years.	An abbreviated form of the diversity and harassment training will be provided to all managers and supervisors within the next two years. RDGs and ADMs will ensure managers and supervisors participate to the training by monitoring enrolment on a six-month basis.
RDG's and ADM's should ensure that all staff are exposed to Diversity awareness sessions that demonstrate the positive influences that diversity has on society and on an organization's culture. The Regional Employment Equity Consultation Committees should support management in organizing these sessions.	HR, NHQ will promote diversity in the workplace through increased education, and specific initiatives targeted towards awareness. All employees will be given diversity awareness session within two years. RDGs and ADMs will monitor enrolment to these courses on a six-month basis to ensure all staff participate within the next 2 years.
The Associate Deputy Minister should ensure that a workshop of senior DFO managers is conducted in order to develop specific strategies to promote diversity in DFO as a positive, strengthening contributor to organizational well being.	A workshop for senior DFO managers was held in June 1999. The DFO statement of values as expressed in DFO’s Strategic Plan, March 2000, contains the following values statement: DFO values a work environment that values people, diversity, openness and continuous learning. The ten national strategic HR initiatives underway will further promote diversity and work place well-being. A workshop for senior DFO managers will be offered every 2 years to ensure new strategies are developed on an ongoing basis.
The effectiveness of the Harassment and Diversity Tool Kits carried onboard vessels in the Maritimes Region should be evaluated by the Director General of Marine Technical and Operational Services for potential use by other Regions.	DG Fleet in co-operation with Maritimes HR, to evaluate the effectiveness of the Harassment and Diversity Tool Kits carried onboard vessels in the Maritimes Region. Send to CCGC cadets before initial sea phase, as well as to the special exchange cadets that are now at the college.
The Director General of HR should initiate an ongoing program to annually survey all departmental staff to measure progress in creating healthy, respectful working environments that value and support diversity. This survey should be no more than twenty questions in length and should preserve anonymity by not collecting information pertaining to the respondents themselves.	This recommendation should be reviewed after the action plans for the 1999 PS Employee Survey have had a chance to be implemented and DFO's own demographic survey on EE is completed (reference recommendation #3a). There is some concern about survey fatigue and risks associated with doing another survey before clear actions are taken on the 1999 PSES. It should be noted that some sectors are suggesting that instead of this approach, a 360 feedback process, linked to the Performance Review and Employee Appraisal process, be instituted on an every two year basis for all supervisors in DFO. The Associate DM and the Champion of the career development initiative should clarify if and when a 360 feedback process will be implemented in DFO as a component of overall management learning and development.
The Regional Directors of CCG, with the advice and support of the Director General of Marine Technical and Operational Services, should: Assign sufficient numbers of women onboard CCG buoy tending, science and ice breaking vessels in order to reduce the level of isolation for women and provide a more supportive work environment. The Department should establish general guidelines that identify a minimum percentage of women that should form part of an individual ship's complement in order to ensure meaningful numeric representation. The application of these guidelines should be sufficiently flexible so as not to be an impediment to the career progression of women or men in the CCG Fleet. Assign woman Ships Officers and Ships Crew, where feasible, to Search and Rescue and Fisheries Patrol units in groups of two or more to reduce the level of isolation and provide a more supportive work environment. The application of this guideline should be sufficiently flexible so as not to be an impediment to the career progression of women or men in the CCG Fleet Initiate a program to train selected, volunteer Ship’s Officers and Ship’s Crew to act as shipboard "Intervenors" or "Ombudsmen" on CCG vessels. These "Intervenors" would continue to perform their existing duties, but would also provide advice, support and conflict resolution to anyone onboard requesting assistance.	DG Fleet to begin policy work on female complement, including: Costing, budgeting Recruiting, retention issues by Region Career progression of existing SO/SC Crewing flexibility Other Operational constraints RDs CCG to begin application as appropriate. Survey seagoing women for a potential list of women willing to share a cabin on small vessels, i.e. Isle boats that have only 4-5 POB   Formulate list of volunteers Identify training required Address compensation issue
Implement a mentoring program to provide advice and guidance on workplace issues and career development to all new CCG shipboard personnel. Once experience has been gained with this initiative, evaluate its applicability to other areas of the Department. Create a network of women who represent Ship’s Officers and Ship’s Crew from each DFO Region. This network would provide advice and guidance to CCG management on the implementation of recommendations contained in this onboard CCG vessels as well as provide ongoing input to the challenges facing women working in a shipboard environment.	Assess experiences from DFO mentoring program Feasibility, given the hierarchical structure on vessels and the present lay-day system, will be investigated. Existing systems now support this type of input from all crew including women. As well, proposed changes in communications and manager's meetings with ships' crew will address this need.
Regional Directors of Conservation and Protection should assign woman Fishery Officers, where feasible, to work units in groups of two or more to reduce the level of isolation and provide a more supportive work environment.	The current numbers of woman Fishery Officers (55 women out of a total of 600 officers) makes this recommendation difficult to meet. The focus is therefore on recruitment. The current Fishery Officers candidate class contains 18 women out of 40 total recruits (addressing the deficiency). Regions will take into consideration this recommendation when deciding the posting of new Fishery Officers recruits. However, new recruits will not be posted in a specific area against their will for the sole purpose of having more than one female Fishery Officer in that area.
The Director General of Conservation and Protection and Regional Directors of Conservation and Protection should: Ensure that uniforms and equipment provided to women Fishery Officers accommodate the special requirements of women. Create a network of women Fishery Officers representing each Region. This network would provide advice and guidance to management on the issues and recommendations raised in this ESR as they pertain to women Fishery Officers, as well as provide ongoing input to the challenges faced by women employed as Fishery Officers in DFO.	Women Fishery Officers are represented on the DFO clothing committee. The proposed Women Network (see below) will be asked to identify actual problems related to uniform and equipment and to provide recommendations to the National Clothing Committee to address this issue. C&P consider that this kind of Network could be very beneficial. A memo will be sent to all female Fishery Officers proposing the creation of a Network (one representative per region). A meeting will be organised to put together the base of the network. From there, for budgetary reasons, the network will use the electronic tools available (e-mail, conference call, etc.) to promote their interests.
Regional Directors, HR should ensure that Regional HR Advisors are provided with additional training in EE principles, practices and tools so they can more effectively provide their Regional clients with ongoing support in exercising their EE responsibilities.	It is recognized that HR Advisors need state of the art information and tools to be able to properly advise their clients in matters of EE. The process of defining needs started at the HR Conference, organized by the corporate Staffing & WFA Unit, held in Rigaud (QC), in Nov/99. A Certification Program for HR Advisors is being developed to provide a systematic competency and training profile required for this position. Employment Equity knowledge will be included, and ongoing training, information sessions and web-based materials will be provided to support the evolving knowledge requirements.
Regional Directors, HR should maintain an adequate resource commitment to the position in the HR organization that provides a focus for EE in order to provide the required co-ordination and support for EE in the Region. The requirement for the maintenance of an EE speciality role should be reviewed in two years time in the light of the capability of HR Advisors to adequately advise and support their Regional clients in the area of EE.	HR continues to believe that EE responsibilities are best integrated into the responsibilities of the HR Advisors who deal with client managers on an ongoing basis. However, in all Regions there are ongoing coordination functions for EE that need to be discharged, e.g., development of annual EE progress reports, triennial Regional EE Plans, organizations of career fairs, updates for EE self-identification database, etc A proposal to significantly increase the resource base for HR Advisors in Regions was included in HR's submission for the Corporate Services 2000-2003 Business Plan.
ADMs and RDGs should ensure that EE Awareness briefings are provided to all managers and supporting administrative staff involved in the staffing process. These briefings should initially be provided by HR to senior HQ/Regional managers. Once briefed, these senior managers, supported by HR, should brief their management teams.	HR to provide initial EE awareness briefings to senior HQ/Regional Managers. These briefings will be incorporated into actions for recommendation # 3, which deals with improving the self-identification system and conducting a workforce survey. An EE Intranet website has been developed and was lauched in Q1 of 2000/01. It provides a comprehensive source of EE information and is an orientation tool for all DFO managers and employees. After the RECs and Sector MCs are briefed, ADMs and RDGs will schedule information sessions for all managers and supporting administrative staff involved in staffing process.
The Director General of HR should ensure that an EE module is added to the Staffing for Delegated Managers course so that those new managers taking the course are made aware of the requirement to address EE considerations while staffing.	The staffing delegation course for Managers has been completely redesigned and is now three days long instead of a one day course. Employment Equity content has been integrated throughout the various topics as appropriate. This is more effective than giving a separate EE module which would perpetuate viewing EE as a special program instead of part of ongoing HR management responsibility. The new EE publication "EE & the Selection Process" is provided as a handout on this course.
RDGs and ADMs should ensure that effort in support of EE initiatives and the creation of a positive, healthy and respectful workplace is included in the performance appraisals of all DFO managers and supervisors as well as EX Performance Agreements. The results from the annual survey of employees (referenced in Recommendation 10) would provide part of the input to this aspect of the performance appraisals.	EE initiatives are currently included in EX accountability accords and will be included in all manager and supervisor levels for both accords and/or performance appraisals for the coming fiscal year.
The Corporate HR Planning, Employment Equity and Official Languages Unit should undertake the following: Provide EE representation/availability occupational group data to the Regions and break it down to Sector/Director General level in the NCR and Director level in the other Regions. If issues of designated group member confidentiality arise because the DG/Director organizational entity is too small, data should be provided only at the Regional/Sector level. Express the EE goals as a percentage of total recruitment to make the goals more realistic. Provide Regional management with semi-annual reports of EE representation versus availability in order to keep managers more current on their progress in meeting their EE objectives. Monitor, on an ongoing basis, EE progress, issues and best practices in all Regions to ensure that issues and opportunities are addressed in a timely manner.	(a) A new approach to providing managers with EE information was taken in December 1999. It consisted of an information memo from the DG-HR and an attachment entitled "Facts and Tips" which contained information about the recruitment rates that DFO would need to achieve to improve representation and meet labour market availability (LMA). Based on feedback solicited from Regions and unsolicited comments from some managers who received the material, this approach is more favourably received than past approaches to Management Information. (b)The new newsletter expressed the EE goals as a percentage of recruitment. (c) The new newsletter style approach will be continued and sent out twice per year. (d) Ongoing, through regular teleconferences with Regional EE Contacts and the Annual Progress Report.
The Director General of HR should ensure that the resource levels of the Corporate HR Planning, Official Languages and Employment Equity Unit committed to EE are increased to enable it to address the added requirements associated with the increased reporting and monitoring activities recommended above. In addition, a temporary increase to resource levels should be provided to this unit to carry out other special initiatives recommended in this ESR, for example the Self-Identification Survey.	The unit compliment was increased by one FTE to provide additional capacity in EE as well as some relief to OL. The new employee will coordinate the self-identification survey – see recommendations #3 and #16.
Regional HR Advisors should encourage managers to refer to the Designated Group Inventories maintained by the PSC as potential sources of candidates for DFO positions.	The Regional HR Offices report that this is an ongoing practice when advising managers. HR Advisors also indicate to managers the possibility of using, when appropriate, the ad hoc authority referred to in recommendation #26. This is also covered on the new Staffing for Delegated Managers training course – See recommendation #17.
RDGs and ADMs should create formal target recruitment strategies for areas of significant under-representation of designated groups. This should include methods to increase designated group applicant pools such as expanding the areas of competition for designated groups. These recruitment strategies should focus on both term and indeterminate positions. The best practices of departmental organizations should be promulgated to the rest of the Department. HQ functional organizations should assist regions to identify best practices.	Department will draft a Recruitment Strategy for management approval in areas of significant under-representation of designated groups. Implementation of the Recruitment Strategy by Managers can then follow. Matthew King has been named as Champion of a group tasked with developing an overall DFO recruitment strategy and to work with Regions to implement the strategy. In June 2000, HREC will be considering and approving certain elements of this overall departmental recruitment strategy. Two elements will be the approval to proceed to ask the PSC for special EE recruitment programs (see recommendation # 25) and the approval of a recruitment and retention program for persons with disabilities under the Intervention Fund of the TBS Positive Measure Program.
The Director General of Marine Technical and Operational Services should ensure that the Canadian Coast Guard College actively recruits members of all designated groups and that diversity and EE are included in the curriculum of the four-year Cadet Program.	DG Fleet already in process of implementing this recommendation. Will develop an advertising strategy to specifically target designated groups
When possible, developmental positions should be established to prepare DFO for the predicted shortage of qualified staff and to provide an increased opportunity to recruit members of designated groups where significant under-representation exists.	The Department, under the leadership of Matthew King, will draft a Recruitment Strategy for management approval in areas of significant under-representation of designated groups. Implementation of the Recruitment Strategy by Managers can then follow. (See recommendation #22)
The Director General of HR, on behalf of the Department, should formally apply to the PSC for a special program under Section 5.1(2) of the Public Service Employment Act to emphasize the recruitment and selection of designated group members where there is significant under-representation (e.g., Ships Crew and Fisheries Officers).	The need for special programs under section 5.1(2) has been raised with the ESR Champions and with the Champion of the DFO Recruitment Strategy, Matthew King. The Human Resources Branch has prepared an HREC presentation to be delivered in June 2000 which proposes that DFO request special programs for recruitment of any designated group in all occupational categories and all Regions where the size of the representational gaps is very large. (reference recommendations #22 and #24)
Regional HR Advisors should work with their local PSC office to exercise either the newly acquired "ad hoc" departmental authority under Section 5.1 of the Public Service Employment Act, or the PSC authority on behalf of DFO, to emphasize the recruitment and selection of designated group members in those areas where under-representation of designated groups exists. This authority would be used selectively and in those areas not covered by the Special Program referenced in the above recommendation.	See the response for recommendation #21. A new departmental Employment Equity Policy has been drafted. It codifies many of the ESR recommendations and the available positive and proactive measures that are available to managers to deal with their EE representation situation. One of these is to promote the appropriate use of the ad hoc authority in the minds of DFO managers during selection processes.
The departmental operational and technical Sectors, CCG, and Fisheries Management should establish a focus for EE at the Corporate as well as Regional levels. These areas of Sector focus should work with HR to help address unique EE issues and problems in their respective Sectors.	Branches have identified the administrative assistants for this purpose with the exception of CCG. CCG have given the Business Services Officer position the responsibility of addressing/promoting EE issues and participating as a member of regional EE consultative committee.
The HR Branch in each Region should monitor the casual hiring practices of regional managers to ensure this practice is not abused.	The new Staffing Accountability Framework will put monitoring requirements for all staffing practices into place: casual hiring will be one of the various staffing practices monitored.
Casual hiring should be continued where there is genuine uncertainty as to whether a position will be required on a longer-term basis. However, in these situations, EE considerations should be acknowledged when hiring casual employees.	There is a clear departmental policy on the proper use of casual hiring. The use of casual hiring is also covered in the new Staffing for Delegated Managers training course. Recruitment of Employment Equity groups is and will continue to be regularly encouraged although not to the detriment of the preferred indeterminate staffing of equity groups.
The Director General of Conservation and Protection should eliminate the requirement that experience in Renewable/Natural Resources, Law Enforcement, or the Fishing Industry be a mandatory prerequisite for Fishery Officer candidates. Other more generic experience profiles should be evaluated as potentially valid predictors of ultimate success in the position of Fishery Officer.	C&P will evaluate other more generic experience profiles in collaboration with HR. The experience profiles will be changed, if justified, for the 2001 recruitment selection process. C&P considers that, even if the experience profile is withdrawn or modified to be more generic, it would not address significantly the EE problem. A major initiative that would help correct the problem would be to conduct special employment equity competitions (see recommendation # 26). C&P will continue its efforts to recruit greater numbers of women.
The CCG Director General of Operations and Technical Services and Regional CCG Directors of Operational Services should explore ways to reduce the MED tuition and related travel and accommodation costs especially for designated group members. This could include: working with local HRDC offices to have them pay all or a portion of MED tuition for CCG Ship’s Crew recruits; direct CCG financial support to offset MED related training costs for otherwise qualified Ship's Crew recruits; and arranging for local delivery of the MED course where CCG student numbers warrant to minimize travel and accommodation costs.	Policy position to be developed by Coast Guard (NCR) with respect to the possibility of direct financial support. Gather Regional experiences with local HRDC offices. Meet with HRDC at national level to discuss strategy. Investigate with CCGC possibility of providing MED courses in Sydney, NS. Investigate possibility of using provincial marine training institutions for the provision of MED courses through an exchange of services.
RDGs and ADMs should ensure that staffing board membership, to the extent possible, reflect the pool of candidates that are to be evaluated by the board.	The department will ensure that staffing board membership reflects the pool of candidates that are to be evaluated by the board. HR, at regional level, will develop a list of EE members who are managers and/or senior employees, who could participate on staffing boards.
The Director General of HR should create a form on which staffing board members identify themselves as either designated group members or non-designated group members. This will facilitate the monitoring of progress in this area for future ESRs.	A new and separate form will not be created, however, the existing form for selection boards will be modified as recommended. This change is also noted in the proposed EE Policy. Those self-identifying on staffing boards who have not officially self-identified will be followed-up with Self-ID form.
The Director General of HR should prepare a package on diversity issues as they pertain to the selection process and make it available to members of staffing boards prior to every staffing board.	Two publications provided to Regions for implementation: "EE & the Selection Process" AND "Tips for Supervising Employees in a Diverse Workforce". Regions have provided these publications to delegated managers.
The Regional Human Resources Directors should promote the use of Behavior Description Interviewing techniques for all DFO selection interview processes.	Behaviour Description Interviewing techniques and how they can mitigate potential barriers to designated group employees during selection is not universally understood within HR. Additional research and a Guide or other reference material will need to be developed. These concepts will also need to be incorporated into the new Staffing for Delegated Managers training course.
Selection interviews should specifically probe candidates for past behavioral evidence that they are open and accepting of diversity.	This is an extension of the previous recommendation and both should be addressed by the same means and at the same time. Sample questions will be added to the Guide or the reference material to be developed for #35. This is also noted in the proposed EE Policy.
Acting appointment and internal deployment opportunities should be more widely advertised within DFO.	A policy on acting appointments is being developed and will provide direction on this issue. The Champion of the Career Development working group will also address this because it increases developmental opportunities for all DFO employees, including those from EE groups. Managers will be accountable for ensuring that acting appointments and opportunities are well advertised.
Longer-term acting appointments should be rotated among qualified staff to provide more people with developmental opportunities that can lead to promotion.	A policy on acting appointments is being developed and will provide direction on this issue. The Champion of the Career Development working group will also address this because it increases developmental opportunities for all DFO employees, including those from EE groups. Managers will be accountable for ensuring that long-term acting appointments will be on a rotated basis.
The Statement of Qualifications of all EX and EX minus one level positions being staffed should be reviewed to ensure that prior experience requirements, prior knowledge requirements or demands for accreditation or certifications are necessary and do not create barriers to the employment of designated groups. These barriers should be eliminated as they are identified.	A pilot project will be undertaken by HR in Q2 and Q3 of 2000/01 to review all the S of Qs used for EX and EX minus one staffing processes before they are finalized. The objective of the review will be to identify barriers that may be present. At the end of the six month pilot period, the identified barriers will be reviewed and appropriate training and/or policy action taken. The use of a consultant, experienced in the identification of barriers, is recommended – estimated cost $5,000. This recommendation is also noted in the proposed EE Policy.
The Director General of HR should ensure that the Training Module of the departmental HR System, PeopleSoft, is implemented to provide comprehensive national data on the training undertaken by DFO staff.	The current plans for PeopleSoft would see the training module implemented in a similar way to the current Leave application, i.e., a self serve system with electronic authorization be the manager. The Training Application Form will need to be modified to incorporate self-identification information.
The Director General of HR should ensure that the importance of regular, continuous performance feedback to staff and the skills required to provide this feedback are emphasized in departmental management and supervisory training.	The DFO policy on Performance Review and Employee Appraisal encourages regular feedback. Annual call letters to all employees and to management also supports the principle of regular feedback. The Management Development Continuum of three courses also has content on giving and receiving feedback and the importance of communications in the management process.
The RDGs and ADM of Corporate Services should ensure that facility plans are created which identify: Facilities which are not fully accessible to persons with disabilities; Overnight accommodation facilities which are not suitable for mixed-gender work teams; Criteria to be used to determine which facilities are most critical in terms of access for person with disabilities; and a short, medium and long-term strategy to make all facilities requiring access for persons with disabilities or mixed-gender work teams fully accessible.	Since April 2000, Corporate Services is the only custodian for real property in DFO. In each region (incl. in HQ) there is a responsibility centre for Real Property Management which is responsible for ensuring that properties are in compliance with guidelines. Workplans are being established, and accessibility for persons with disabilities and suitability for mixed-gender work teams are part of the criteria for identifying concerns and priorities.
The ADM of Corporate Services should ensure that the Real Property Inventory System, currently under development, includes the capability of recording the accessibility of facilities from the perspective of persons with disabilities as well as recognize the mixed gender overnight accommodation capability of a facility as appropriate.	The RPIS is presently capable of tracking facilities’ accessibility for persons with disabilities but is not capable of tracking suitability of the properties for overnight accommodation for mixed gender work teams. This latter information is collected at the regional level through other means and can therefore be accessed. This issue will be further examined.
Where feasible, a portable toilet should be installed on DFO small craft where no toilet facilities currently exist. These facilities should be installed so as to provide a reasonable measure of privacy for members of mixed-gender crews.	A review will be undertaken with the Coast Guard and Fisheries Management to determine which vessels can be modified. It should be noted that in some cases (small boats), even if a toilet could be made available, the privacy aspect cannot necessarily be met.
The RDGs and the ADM of Corporate Services should establish an Accommodation Fund to fund unexpected requirements to accommodate persons with disabilities.	The above-mentioned changes in the management of real property will result in significant improvements in the ability of DFO to secure resources and devote them to the resolution of priority issues. Regions are responsible to identify priority accessibility issues and expected costs which will be rolled up nationally for decision-making.
Regional Directors, HR should ensure that all notices pertaining to job opportunities within DFO indicate a willingness to accommodate the special needs of persons with disabilities in the provision of related material.	This positive practice is already incorporated into the content of the new Staffing for Delegated Managers training course. It is also a measure contained in the proposed DFO EE Policy.
Regional Employment Equity Consultation Committees should report directly to the Regional Director General and to the Associate Deputy Minister in the NCR. The National Employment Equity Consultation Committee should report to the Associate Deputy Minister.	The role and terms of reference of the National and the Regional EECCs were reviewed. The NCR Committee will report through the Associate Deputy Minister, as will the National EECC. Other Regional EECCs will report to their respective RDG.
Employment Equity Consultation Committees should have an annual budget based on approved workplans and accountability statements.	The role and terms of reference of the National and the Regional EECCs were reviewed and accountability statements will evolve from the review. The National and Regional EECCs will develop work plans and budgets to be submitted for approval. Regional DGs and the Associate DM will support adequate funding.
Members of the EX management group and high potential employees should be encouraged to accept membership terms on Employment Equity Consultation Committees.	A seat will be identified for an EX or a High Potential, non-EX Employee. Yearly, RDGs and ADMs to identify volunteer participant to the EECC.
The Director General of HR should develop and implement a generic staffing file checklist, incorporating all elements critical to the analysis of designated group participation in staffing initiatives. This would include ensuring that candidate designated group self-identification information and reasons for screening out candidates in screening and selection board reports are recorded.	Such a list is being used in some regions, by some advisors. The Director, HR Planning & Development will formally ask the RDs of HR to amend their staffing files checklists (or similar work instruments in common use in the Region) to include a place to identify the EE status of candidates in DFO selection processes. It is essential that managers have this information to know about the EE composition of the candidate pool for specific selection processes.

 

Office of Prime Interest	Initial Target date
Corporate HR Planning, Employment equity and Official Languages Unit	Completed September 1999 Yearly adjustment as warranted
Corporate HR Planning, Employment Equity and Official Languages Unit	Completed September 1999 Yearly adjustment as warranted
Director General of HR Regional Directors HR	This project will begin in 2000/01 and be completed early in 2001/02 Version 8.0 of PeopleSoft is to be implemented in 2001/02 On-line pay interface for PeopleSoft is to be implemented in 2002/03
DM & DEC	Completed.
All RDGs All ADMs	2000-2001
All RDGs All ADMs	To be completed by March 2002
All RDGs All ADMs Supported by Regional Employment Equity Consultation Committees	To be completed by March 2003
Associate DM	Completed June 23 1999 Every two years
Director General, Fleet	December, 2000
Director General of HR	December, 2000
Regional Directors of CCG Support from the Director General, Fleet	2000/01
	2000/01
Regional Directors of Conservation and Protection	Ongoing
Director General of Conservation and Protection Regional Directors of Conservation and Protection	March 31, 2001 Memo was sent April 2000 Network first meeting planned in September 2000
Regional Directors HR	Certification Program – Q4, 2000/01
Regional Directors HR	To be determined
All RDGs All ADMs	Develop communications package by August 2000. Brief RECs and Sector mgt committees September to December 2000. Cascading Management information sessions January to March 2001. Employee meetings and survey delivery by April 2001.
Director General of HR	To be piloted in March 2000.New training course available in 2000/01
All RDGs All ADMs	2000/2001
Corporate HR Planning, Employment Equity and Official Languages Unit	December 1999 and ongoing December 1999 and ongoing December 1999 and ongoing December 1999 and ongoing
Director General of HR	New PE-04 on staff, April 2000
Regional Directors HR	Ongoing
All RDGs All ADMs	June 2000 and ongoing
Director General, Fleet	December 2000
All RDGs All ADMs	June 2000 and ongoing
Director General of HR	2000/01 – Q3
Regional Directors HR	Policy 2000/01 - Q3
ADM CCG ADM Fisheries Management Regional Directors CCG Regional Directors Fisheries Management	2000/2001
Regional Directors HR	2000/01Q2
All RDGs All ADMs	2000/01Q4
Director General of Conservation and Protection	March 31, 2001
Director General, Fleet Regional CCG Directors of Operational Services	2000-01
All RDGs All ADMs Delegated Managers to implement	2000/2001
Director General of HR	Form amended 2000/01 Q1
Director General of HR	COMPLETED. Regions provided with information, Aug/99.
Regional Directors HR to promote Delegated Managers to implement	2000/01Q4
Regional Directors HR to promote Delegated Managers to implement	2000/01Q4
All RDGs All ADMs Delegated Managers to implement HR to support	2000/01Q4
All RDGs All ADMs Delegated Managers to implement	2000/01Q4
Director General of HR	Review – 2000. Corrective actions if required – 4th quarter, 2000/01
Director General of HR	FY 2002/03
Director General of HR	Ongoing.
ADM of Corporate Services	Annual review of workplans
ADM of Corporate Services	2000/01
Regional Directors of CCG Regional Directors of Fisheries Management	December 31, 2000
ADM of Corporate Services all RDGs	Ongoing.
Regional Directors HR Delegated Managers to implement	Ongoing.
All RDGs Associate Deputy Minister	Ongoing.
All RDGs Associate Deputy Minister	Ongoing.
All RDGs Associate Deputy Minister	Ongoing.
Director General of HR	2000/01 Q3.

 

 

APPENDIX A - DFO WORKFORCE ANALYSIS

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND

The new Employment Equity Act requires employers to carry out specific steps in implementing their Employment Equity (EE) program. One of the requirements is to carry out an analysis of the workforce to determine if there are any gaps in the representation of women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities. This analysis is based on the representation data gathered by DFO through a self-identification survey, and includes the following components:

• Availability analysis to determine if there are any gaps in representation;
• Analysis of distribution of designated groups to determine if they are concentrated in lower levels; and
• Analysis of recruitment, attrition, promotion, internal deployment and acting appointments to determine if designated groups are receiving equitable shares.

The following are brief explanations of key terminology used in workforce analysis:

• Representation: the internal (department or regions) composition of designated groups.
• Availability: the composition of qualified designated groups in the Canadian labor market. The source for this information is the data collected by Statistics Canada through Canada Census in 1991. This data is organized into various job groups (category or occupational group level) with corresponding availability rates on a National, Provincial and Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) basis for women, Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities.
• HALS (Health and Activity Limitation Survey): To determine the composition of persons with disabilities in the Canadian labor market, Statistics Canada uses a separate survey (HALS). While labor market data for the other three designated groups are gathered through the census, the same data for persons with disabilities is gathered via the HALS
• Gap: the difference between representation (actual) and availability (expected).
• Under-representation: when the representation is below availability.

1.2 METHODOLOGY FOR AVAILABILITY ANALYSIS

Availability rates used are based on the 1991 census and the Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) 1991 data. The National availability is a roll-up of each DFO Region’s labor market availability rates developed at the Provincial and Occupational Group levels. The following are the exceptions:

• Executive category: National rates developed by Treasury Board are used.
• Persons with disabilities: Due to the small sample size of the HALS survey, availability data are often suppressed at levels below the National. Therefore, only National rates are used in accordance with the guidance provided by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. For four occupations (GT, SO, SC and GL), the availability rate has been adjusted by removing a percentage constituting persons with disabilities with mobility/agility problems and those who are blind, to reflect the ship-based work environment for these occupations. This approach results in an adjusted national availability rate with a 29% reduction for these four occupations.
• Visible minorities: Visible minorities are highly concentrated in the Metropolitan Areas of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, compared to other areas of the provinces. Because of this, their availability in provincial labor markets is higher if these cities are included in the provincial counts. A large percentage of DFO employees are located outside these large metropolitan areas. Most DFO positions in the Operational and Administrative Support categories are staffed at the local level. Therefore, instead of using the broad provincial availability rates for the Operational and Administrative Support categories, Census Metropolitan Area rates are used for those portions of the Regional workforce located in these cities, and provincial rates minus the Metropolitan areas are used for the workforce located outside these cities. As a result, the availability rates for visible minorities in Operational and Administrative Support categories become lower in Pacific, Laurentian and Central & Arctic regions.

The DFO representation data for this workforce analysis was derived from data from April 1, 1997 to December 31, 1998.

2. WORKFORCE DESCRIPTION

DFO is a large department with 9,063 employees located in five Regions and a Headquarters in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The Technical category accounts for about 36% of the workforce, followed by the Operational category at 23%, Administrative & Foreign Service category at 17% and Administrative Support category at 12%. The remaining 12% workforce includes 10.5% of the Scientific & Professional category and 1.5% of Executives.

3. OVERALL REPRESENTATION & AVAILABILITY

At the National level, all designated groups are under-represented. The following table provides comparisons of representation and availability for DFO.

Table 1 – Comparisons of Representation and Availability in DFO

Designated Group	Representation		Availability*		Gap	% of Target
	#	%	#	%	#	Achieved
Women	2,361	26.1%	2,708	29.9%	-347	87.2%
Aboriginal People	137	1.5%	219	2.4%	-82	62.7%
Persons with Disabilities	172	1.9%	385	4.3%	-213	44.6%
Visible Minorities	220	2.4%	481	5.3%	-261	45.7%

Overall, women appear to be the most under-represented group in terms of sheer numbers. However, when representation is viewed as a percentage of target (availability) achieved, persons with disabilities are the most under-represented group at only 45% of target achieved, followed by visible minorities at 46%, Aboriginal peoples at 63%, and women at 87%.

4. REPRESENTATION AND AVAILABILITY BY OCCUPATIONAL CATEGORY

The following is a summary of designated group representation by Occupational Category.

• Executive Category: With the exception of women, the representation of designated groups is below availability. However, it is to be noted that all designated groups have representation in the EX category.
• Scientific & Professional Category: All four designated groups are significantly under-represented. The gaps in the Biologist (BI) group representation contribute significantly to the overall under-representation.
• Administrative & Foreign Service Category: Overall, the representation of women exceeds availability, while the representation of aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities are close to availability. Visible minorities are the most significantly under-represented group with representation less than half of the availability.
• Technical Category: Overall, all four designated groups are significantly under-represented in most occupations.
• Administrative Support Category: Overall, the representation of women and visible minorities exceeds availability. Aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities are under-represented, mostly in the Clerical (CR) group.
• Operational Category: Overall, all four designated groups are under-represented. The largest gaps are found for all designated groups in the Ship’s Crew (SC) group, which accounts for over 60% of the workforce in this category.

5 REPRESENTATION BY DESIGNATED GROUP

5.1 Women

Women meet 87% of availability overall and are the best represented group. Their representation is 26.1% compared to an availability of 29.9%. They exceed availability in the Executive, Administrative & Foreign Service and Administrative Support categories.

In order of size, the biggest gaps in representation are in the Technical, Operational and Scientific & Professional categories. The following are the gaps in specific occupations:

• Scientific & Professional: Total of 68: BI (-47), SERES (-9), ES (-8) and EN (-4)
• Administrative & Foreign Service: Total of 80: PM (-62), CS (-8) and CO (-10)
• Technical: Total of 251: GT (-103), SO (-34), RO (-89), EL (-17) and SI (-8)
• Operational: Total of 206: SC (-143), GL (-18), LI (-18) and GS (-27)

Availability is met in all other occupations.

5.2 Aboriginal peoples

The representation of Aboriginal peoples is at 63% of availability. After women, they are the next best-represented group. Their representation is 1.5% compared to an availability of 2.3%. Aboriginal people exceed availability in the Administrative & Foreign Service category. However, they are under-represented in all other categories.

In order of size, the biggest gaps in the representation of Aboriginal peoples are in the Technical and Operational categories, followed by Scientific & Professional and Administrative Support and Executive categories. The following are the gaps in specific occupations:

• Executive: Gap of 1
• Scientific & Professional: Total gap of 6: SERES (-1), EN (-2), PC (-1), and ES (-2)
• Administrative & Foreign Service: Total gap of 11: AS (-5), CS (-3), FI (-2), and PE (-1)
• Technical: Total gap of 33: SO (-10), EG (-9), RO (-10), EL (-3) and SI (-1)
• Administrative Support: Total gap of 8: CR (-7) and ST (-1)
• Operational: Total gap of 33: SC (-20), GL (-6), LI (-6) and GS (-1)

Availability is met in all other occupations.

5.3 Persons with Disabilities

Overall, persons with disabilities are the most under-represented group, with a representation of 1.9% compared to an availability rate of 4.3%. They meet less than half of availability. Persons with disabilities almost meet availability in the Administrative & Foreign Service category, but are under-represented in all other categories.

In order of size, the biggest gaps in representation are in the Technical and Operational categories, followed by the Scientific & Professional, Administrative Support, Administrative & Foreign Service and Executive categories. The following are the gaps in specific occupations:

• Executive: Gap of 2
• Scientific & Professional: Total gap of 26: BI (-12), SE (-5), EN (-3) and PC (-6)
• Administrative & Foreign Service: Total of 11: AS (-6), FI (-1), CO (-2), PG (-1) and IS (-1)
• Technical: Total gap of 97: GT (-16), SO (-24), EG (-30), RO (-15), EL (-10) and DD (-2)
• Administrative Support: Total gap of 14: CR (-10) and ST (-4)
• Operational: Total gap of 75: SC (-59), GL (-12) and LI (-4)

5.4 Visible Minorities

Overall, visible minorities are the second most under-represented group, with a representation of 2.4% compared to an availability rate of 5.4%. They meet only 46% of availability. Visible minorities exceed availability in the Administrative Support category, but are under-represented in all other categories.

In order of size, the biggest gaps in representation are in the Technical, Administrative & Foreign Service, Scientific & Professional, followed by Operational and Executive categories. The following are the gaps in specific occupations:

• Executive: Gap of 6
• Scientific & Professional: Total gap of 60: BI (-33), SE (-7), EN (-9), PC (-5), ES (-1), CH(-4) and LS (-1)
• Administrative & Foreign Service: Total gap of 61: AS (-26), PM (-19), CS (-7), CO (-4), PG (-4) and IS (-1)
• Technical: Total gap of 148: GT (-42), SO (-27), EG (-41), EL (-22), RO (-11) and SI (-5)
• Operational: Total gap of 12: SC (-9), LI (-2) and GS (-1)

6. DISTRIBUTION ANALYSIS

In order to determine if designated groups are clustered in lower level jobs, their distribution across various levels was examined. Occupational groups with at least five designated group members, and/or occupations with a sizeable number of jobs were selected to conduct this analysis.

6.1 Women

For women, the following 14 occupations were reviewed: EX, BI, SERES, AS, CS, PM, PG, FI, IS, GT, SOMAO, EG, RO and SI.

Compared to men, women were found to be concentrated in the lower or middle levels of 12 out of 14 occupations.

The two exceptions were the CS and FI groups, where women were found not to be concentrated in lower levels.

In the EX category, while women were found to be concentrated in lower levels, at the senior level (EX 4), more women than men were found.

6.2 Aboriginal peoples

For Aboriginal peoples, the following 8 occupations were reviewed: BI, AS, PM, GT, SOMAO, EG, CR and STSCY.

Compared to all other employees, Aboriginal peoples were found to be concentrated in the lower or middle levels of 7 out of 8 occupations.

The one exception is the EG group, where Aboriginal peoples were not found to be concentrated in lower levels.

With the exception of the PM, EG and CR groups, no Aboriginal peoples were found at the senior level of these operational groups.

6.3 Persons with disabilities

For persons with disabilities, the following 7 occupations were reviewed: AS, CS, PM, GT, EG, SOMAO, and CR.

Compared to all other employees, persons with disabilities were NOT found to be concentrated in the lower levels of 5 out of 7 occupations.

The two exceptions are the PM and CR groups, where concentration was found at lower levels.

6.4 Visible Minorities

For visible minorities, the following 12 occupations were reviewed: EN, BI, SERES, AS, CS, FI, PE, GT, EG, SOMAO, CR and STSCY.

Compared to all other employees, visible minorities were NOT found to be concentrated in 7 out of 12 occupations. The exceptions are the EN, AS, CS, PE and SCY groups, where concentration was found.

7. ANALYSIS OF RECRUITMENT, ATTRITION AND INTERNAL CAREER

PROGRESSION

An analysis was carried out of trends in recruitment and internal career progression (promotion, deployment and acting appointments) to determine if designated groups are participating on an equitable basis.

Attrition rates were also examined to determine if designated groups were leaving the department in greater numbers, and how this may impact on their retention. The following sections address each process.

7.1 RECRUITMENT

The following chart shows the recruitment shares received by designated groups in comparison to their availability during the period from September 1996 to January 1999. There were 1,365 actions.

Chart 1

• For women, the recruitment pattern is encouraging. Women receive fair shares in all categories except the Operational. The recruitment rates are above labor market availability in many currently under-represented occupations such as BI, SERES, PM, SO, and EG. But the recruitment rates are still below availability in the GT, RO and SC groups in the Technical and Operational categories where women are significantly under-represented.
• Overall, the recruitment of Aboriginal peoples is close to target. They fare well in recruitment of Administrative Support and Operational categories. For other categories, their recruitment rates are below the availability in every occupations except for PM and GT groups.
• Persons with disabilities receive shares well below target in all categories, and in all occupations except several occupational groups (PM, CS & PE) in the Administrative & Foreign Service category.
• The shares received by visible minorities are below target in all categories except the Administrative Support category. The recruitment rates are below target in many currently under-represented occupations such as BI, PM, CS, GT, EG, EL and SC groups.

7.2 ATTRITION

From September 1996 to September 1998, the average annual attrition rate for the Department is 2.9%. This rate includes persons who resigned, retired or moved to another Department during the period. Persons leaving for early retirement or early departure incentives are excluded. The following chart shows the attrition rate of designated groups in comparison to the overall departmental rate.

• All designated groups have attrition rates higher than the Departmental average.
• The highest attrition rate is for visible minorities, followed by women, persons with disabilities and Aboriginal peoples.
• The attrition rates in the Executive, Administrative Support and Administrative & Foreign Service categories, at 9.5%, 5.5% and 5.1% are the highest in the Department, followed by Scientific & Professional at 2.2%, Technical at 1.8% and Operational at 1.4%.
• Women have an attrition rate higher than the average in all categories except the EX and Administrative Support.
• Retention of Aboriginal peoples is not a problem in the Scientific & Professional and Administrative Support categories, as none left during the review period. However their retention in the Administrative and Foreign Service and Operational categories is poor.
• Persons with disabilities have a poor retention rate in the Administrative Support and Technical categories.
• The most serious retention problem for visible minorities is in the Administrative & Foreign Service category.

7.3 INTERNAL CAREER DEVELOPMENT

7.3.1 Promotion

The following chart shows promotion shares received by designated groups compared to their representation.

Out of 1,405 promotions within DFO during the period September 1996 to September 1998, 595 were in the Technical category, 385 in the Administrative & Foreign Service category, 167 in the Operational category, 124 in the Scientific & Professional category, 90 in the Administrative Support category and 44 in the Executive category.

• All designated groups received promotion shares at or in excess of their representation.
• Women received shares in all categories in excess of their representation. In all occupations where women were found to be concentrated in lower levels, women received promotion shares mostly in excess of their representation. The only exception is the SI group, where women received lower shares.
• Aboriginal peoples received shares in excess of their representation in all categories except the Scientific & Professional and Operational. In several groups where Aboriginal peoples were found to be concentrated in lower levels, their shares were in excess of their representation in the AS, SO and CR groups. The exceptions are the BI, PM, GT and SCY groups where their shares were lower.
• Persons with disabilities received shares at target overall. They fared well in Technical and Operational categories, however in other categories their shares were below their representation. In the PM and CR groups where persons with disabilities were concentrated in lower levels, their share in the PM group was excellent at 5.2%, whereas low in the CR group.
• With the exception of the Administrative Support category, visible minorities received higher shares in all categories. In the AS and PE groups where they were found to be concentrated in lower levels, visible minorities received excellent shares, whereas in the EN, CS and SCY groups, shares were lower.

7.3.2 Internal Deployment

During the period from September 1996 to September 1998, 1,163 internal deployments occurred.

The Technical category had the highest number of activities (322), followed by the Operational (302), Administrative and Foreign Service (219), Administrative Support (218), Scientific & professional (81) and Executive (20).

The following chart compares the shares by designated groups to their representation.

Chart 4

• All four groups received overall shares at or above their representation.
• Women received shares in excess of their representation in internal deployment in all categories except for Administrative Support.
• Aboriginal peoples received shares in excess of or almost equal to their representation in all categories.
• With the exception of Administrative and Foreign Service category, persons with disabilities received shares at or above their representation in all categories.
• Visible minorities received no shares in the Scientific & Professional category, and shares below their representation in the Administrative Support and Operational categories. In the other categories, their shares were above target.

7.3.3 Acting Appointments

During the period of the review (September 1996 to September 1998), there were 3,455 acting appointments. The Technical category accounted for the highest number of actions (1,560), followed by Administrative & Foreign Service (995), Administrative Support (342), Scientific & Professional (261), Operational (238) and Executive (59).

The following chart compares the shares received by designated groups to their representation.

Chart 5

• With the exception of Aboriginal peoples, all designated groups received shares at or above their representation.
• Women received overall shares in excess of their representation in most categories. The exceptions are the Executive, Technical and Administrative Support categories. For those groups where women were concentrated in lower levels, they received good shares in the BI, SERES, AS, PM, PG, IS, GT, RO and SI groups. The exceptions are the EX, SOMAO and EG groups, where women received lower shares.
• With the exception of the Executive and Administrative Support categories, Aboriginal peoples received shares below their representation.
• Persons with disabilities received lower shares in all categories, except in the Executive and Operational categories, where their shares were in excess of their representation.
• Visible minorities received good shares in all categories. Of particular note is in the Executive category, where their share was more than four times their representation.

8. SUMMARY OF DESIGNATED GROUP PARTICIPATION

8.1 Participation of Women

Table 2-Participation of Women

	Recruitment	Attrition	Promotion	Deployment	Acting
Actual	39.6%	5.0%	33.7%	36.0%	31.9%
Target	29.9% Availability	2.9% Dept. Average	26.1%                        26.1%                 26.1% Representation

Though women are under-represented in the Department, they are catching up with higher recruitment rates. Their participation rates for promotion, internal deployment and acting are also higher than expected. Only is the retention of women of some concern. Women were found to be concentrated in lower levels, but appear to be receiving shares above target in promotions. However, to ensure that this trend is continued, employment practices related to promotions should be monitored to ensure no barriers are created in the future. In addition, the issue of retention of women should be further examined.

8.2 Participation of Aboriginal Peoples

Table 3-Participation of Aboriginal peoples

	Recruitment	Attrition	Promotion	Deployment	Acting
Actual	2.0%	3.5%	1.7%	1.5%	0.9%
Target	2.4% Availability	2.9% Dept.Average	1.5%                      1.5%                        1.5% Representation

Aboriginal peoples are under-represented but are receiving recruitment shares close to their availability. In promotions and internal deployment, their shares are at target, but below target in acting appointments. Similar to women, Aboriginal peoples are receiving good shares in overall promotions, but appear to be concentrated in lower levels.

8.3 Participation of Persons with Disabilities

Table 4-Participation of Persons with Disabilities

	Recruitment	Attrition	Promotion	Deployment	Acting
Actual	1.5%	4.9%	1.9%	2.2%	1.9%
Target	4.3% Availability	2.9% Dept. Average	1.9%                 1.9%                         1.9% Representation

Persons with disabilities are under-represented; receiving lower recruitment shares and having a higher attrition rate. This situation needs to be addressed. They are, however, participating at expected levels in promotion, deployment and acting appointments, and, overall, not concentrated in lower levels to the extent women and Aboriginal peoples are.

8.4 Participation of Visible Minorities

Table 5-Participation of Visible minorities

	Recruitment	Attrition	Promotion	Deployment	Acting
Actual	3.2%	5.5%	3.1%	2.4%	3.4%
Target	5.3% Availability	2.9% Dept. Average	2.4%                   2.4%                          2.4% Representation

Visible minorities are also under-represented; receiving lower recruitment shares and having higher attrition rates. Given their significant under-representation, this situation needs to be addressed. However, similar to persons with disabilities, they are receiving shares at or above target in promotion, deployment and acting appointments, and, overall, not concentrated in lower levels to the extent women and aboriginal peoples are.

9. CONCLUSIONS

DFO has made good progress in increasing the representation of women and Aboriginal peoples, but more effort is needed to increase the representation of persons with disabilities and visible minorities. Recruitment efforts also mirror this scenario, with progress being made in the recruitment of women and Aboriginal peoples, while lagging behind in the recruitment of persons with disabilities and visible minorities.

In providing fair opportunities for internal career progression, DFO has shown a strong performance in the promotions, internal deployment and acting appointments of designated groups, with a few exceptions in specific categories.

However, DFO faces some challenges with regard to the retention of all designated groups. While these may not be as significant for women and Aboriginal peoples due to higher recruitment rates, the attrition rates of persons with disabilities and visible minorities is impeding DFO’s ability to increase their representation given their lower recruitment shares.

The review of employment systems and practices was carried out with a focus on those areas where this Workforce Analysis identified that the designated groups were perhaps experiencing some barriers to their fair and equitable treatment. Because of the similar patterns found in the performance of designated groups nationally and regionally, the Employment Systems Review addresses systems and practices across the Department.

APPENDIX B - DFO Corporate Culture Survey Summary

1. Introduction

In January 1999, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) decided to conduct a Corporate Culture Survey. The survey is one element in a systems review undertaken by DFO in order to comply with the statutory requirements of the Employment Equity Act. With minor modifications, the survey questionnaire was the same as the one developed by Lakshmi Ram & Associates for another federal organization, which had been approved by Statistics Canada.

DFO selected ComQUEST Research to administer the survey, and Lakshmi Ram & Associates to conduct an analysis of the results. All respondents were initially contacted by telephone to determine their willingness to participate. The majority of respondents who agreed to participate opted to have the survey questionnaire faxed to them and the completed survey faxed directly back to ComQuest. Some 1,500 employees agreed to receive a questionnaire. Due to some unavoidable delays and unforeseen logistical problems some were not able or willing to participate in the survey. In total close to 700 employees took part in the survey. In addition to expressing opinions on most subjects, few used the no opinion option. Respondents to the survey also took the time to provide a large number of narrative comments.

The survey collected basic demographic data on the composition of DFO’s workforce, factual data on employment policies and practices - such as promotions, training and development and performance evaluations - and employees’ assessments of these processes. A major part of the survey focused on employees’ views on corporate culture and employment equity in DFO.

2. Summary of Survey Results

2.1 Overview

The responses provided by employees at DFO raise a number of questions that the Department may wish to pursue further.

On the positive side, many employees were aware of Employment Equity (EE) and were to a large extent supportive, and those with managerial and supervisory duties did not appear to encounter many problems with regard to managing a diverse workforce.

On the negative side, there remained quite a few misconceptions with regard to EE, such as that employment equity did not respect the merit principle and led to reverse discrimination. The majority of employees at DFO were relatively happy with their immediate working environment, although satisfaction was somewhat lower among employees with disabilities and Aboriginal employees.

By contrast, only a small proportion of employees believed that there was a high degree of trust between managers and employees and that managers genuinely cared about employees. Although the latter may not be that surprising after years of downsizing and stagnated upward mobility, DFO may want to pursue the reasons for this lack of trust further, since it appears to interfere with good employment practices. This was manifested for example in employees’ questioning of the application of the merit principle in obtaining promotions, and their negative views on the allocation of developmental opportunities, especially acting positions. Aboriginal employees and visible minority employees were even less convinced than their counterparts that these processes were conducted in a fair manner.

The following are some of the main findings.

2.2 Employment Policies and Practices

A number of questions dealt with both factual information and respondents’ views on promotions, training and development, and performance evaluation.

2.2.1 Promotions

• About 40% of all employees and a larger proportion of Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities, questioned the application of the merit principle with regard to promotions in general and their own chances to obtain a promotion at DFO. Some write-in responses elaborated on this negative view.
• Write-in responses suggested that although some employees were quite happy with their current job and their promotion opportunities, a significant number were unhappy with certain practices at the Department. Many respondents believed that there was no equal access to acting positions and reclassifications, and that a substantial number of competitions had predetermined outcomes.

2.2.2 Training Opportunities

• More than 80% of all respondents reported that they had participated in training within the last two years, with 64% receiving training within the past year.
• Employees were very much aware of training opportunities: nine out of ten employees and 94% of all designated group employees knew of such opportunities.
• Two thirds of all employees were happy with their access to training. Most members of designated groups were satisfied, but only half of all Aboriginal respondents were happy with their share of training.
• However, less than half of all employees expressed confidence that those training opportunities were provided equally to all employees. Only 37% of Aboriginal employees believed this to be the case.

2.2.3 Development Opportunities

• Sixty percent of all employees, including designated group employees, reported that they had received a developmental opportunity during the last two years.
• Awareness of developmental opportunities was quite high (almost 70% of all respondents knew of they existed), although not as high as awareness of training opportunities. Women and persons with disabilities were better informed about such opportunities than Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities.
• Only about half of all employees were satisfied with their share of developmental opportunities. Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities were least satisfied.
• Only one in three employees and fewer Aboriginal and visible minority employees - believed that developmental opportunities were provided equally at DFO.

2.2.4 Performance Evaluation

• Three quarters of all respondents indicated that they had received an annual performance evaluation within the past three years; somewhat fewer women, Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities reported that this had been the case.
• Nine out of ten employees reported that this evaluation accurately reflected their performance. Satisfaction was high across regions and occupational categories.
• Whereas 65% of men and women who received a performance review indicated that career development had been addressed, this was only the case for about 55% of persons with disabilities and visible minorities and less than 50% of Aboriginal peoples.
• Almost two thirds of all employees, who indicated that career development had been addressed, reported that efforts had been made to provide such opportunities. By contrast, only 60% of Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities reported such follow-up measures.

2.3 Corporate Culture

Employees were asked questions with regard to their direct working environment and their views of management at DFO.

• Seven out of ten employees were quite happy with their immediate working environment, and the decisions they could make related to their work. Satisfaction was somewhat lower among persons with disabilities and Aboriginal peoples.
• Seventy six percent of all employees reported that they had the necessary flexibility to balance personal and work needs. Support was especially high among women and persons with disabilities (more than 80%), but somewhat less among Aboriginal peoples (63%) and visible minorities (68%).
• Only a small proportion of employees believed that there was a high degree of trust between managers and employees and that managers genuinely cared about employees. Members of the designated groups shared this negative view.

2.4. Accommodation of Employees with Disabilities

Four questions, which focused on accommodation, were directed at employees with disabilities.

• More than 90% of employees with disabilities reported that it was easy to access the workplace, and an even larger number replied that they had the necessary technical aids to do their work.
• Of the one third who reported that they needed flexible working arrangements, 90% indicated that this need had been accommodated. Most of those whose needs had not been accommodated indicated that they had not asked for an accommodation.

2.5 Employment Equity

A series of questions related to employees’ familiarity with, and views on EE.

• About 70% of DFO’s employees reported that they knew about the Employment Equity Act. Awareness varied quite extensively by region and occupation.
• Whereas 56% of all respondents agreed that men were treated equally at DFO, and about half believed that this was the case for women and persons with disabilities, somewhat fewer believed that Aboriginal peoples and visible minorities fared that well. In interpreting these answers one should take into account that about one in two respondents had either no opinion on the subject, or neither agreed nor disagreed.
• It appears that ethnic and cultural differences do not pose problems at DFO. Eight out of ten respondents reported that they enjoyed working with people from other ethnic and cultural backgrounds. There were virtually no dissenting views and support was high across regions and occupations.
• Six out of ten employees at DFO reported that their colleagues did not make sexist or racist jokes or comments, but two out of ten disagreed. Reactions varied by occupation and region. Men and women responded quite similarly, but a large majority of visible minorities (75%) agreed that the working environment was free of sexist and racist jokes or comments, and only one out of ten disagreed.
• Although overall awareness of the Employment Equity Act was quite good, DFO may consider further communication on this issue, since write-in responses showed misconceptions. For example, some employees believed that employment equity does not respect the merit principle, others stressed that it led to reverse discrimination. In addition, there was some confusion between pay and employment equity.

2.6 Additional Questions for Managers and Supervisors

A number of questions queried the views of managers and supervisors with regard to EE and managing a diverse workforce.

• In general, support for EE was quite high and most respondents did not appear to encounter too many problems.
• Seventy three percent of DFO’s managers and supervisors indicated that they were familiar with the employment equity plan. However, write-in responses suggested that there were some misconceptions with regard to EE.
• Support for EE was quite high: Seventy-seven percent did see the need for such policies for persons with disabilities, 71% saw the need for Aboriginal peoples, 66% for visible minorities and 60% for women.
• Two thirds of respondents indicated that supervising a diverse workforce did not pose special problems. Furthermore, 77% felt properly equipped to effectively supervise such a workforce. However, men felt more up to the task than women did (81% compared to 63%).
• Less than one in four respondents reported receiving special training on effectively managing a diverse workforce. Of those who had taken such training, nine out of ten regarded it as useful.
• Only half of all respondents indicated that they had done anything to promote employment equity in their area of responsibility, and only 38% reported that they were held accountable for promoting such policies.
• Almost eight out of ten respondents believed that DFO had an effective policy on sexual and other forms of workplace harassment. Belief in this effectiveness was especially strong on average among Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities (88%), but less so among women (69%).