Over the past few years, the Government of Canada has made a conscious effort to improve outcomes for visible minorities wishing to enter into Government of Canada.
It is important to note that Aboriginal Persons are not considered visible minorities. They are classified under a separate Employment Equity group which has it’s own recruitment and retention process.
The effort to increase the percentage of visible minorities in the Government of Canada stems from three elements:
1) The percentage visible minorities in the Government does not accurately reflect the percentage of visible minorities in Canada .
2) The visible minority population has been growing steadily over the past decades and is predicted to continue doing so in the future. StatsCan predicts that the visible minorities can constitute 31% of the Canadian population by 2031. Click here for more information.
3) Workforce availability of visible minorities has been steadily increasing. However, hiring is not up to speed unlike other Employment Equity groups. Click here for more information.
Many departments have created strategies to recruit a diverse workforce. Change is happening but at a slow pace. However, there are a small number of departments that have now met and surpassed their goals as they see large benefits in hiring visible minorities and other employment equity groups.
If you are applying for a job in the Government of Canada and are a visible minority you will need to self-identify. Although it is a personal decision, it will help the department to better understand its outreach to this particular employment equity group.
In the near future, actions plans may be implemented to ensure that visible minorities (and other Employment Equity groups) are represented in all classifications and at all levels in the Government.