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This guide is part of a suite of new employment equity tools launched by the Government of Canada to support employers in addressing representation and pay gaps.
"To improve workplace equity, we need to debias systems, not people. Human resource management must be based on rigorous evidence of what works to level the playing field, treat everyone fairly, and benefit from 100 percent of the talent pool. Evidence-based design of hiring practices, promotion procedures and compensation schemes helps our organizations do the right and the smart thing, creating more inclusive and better workplaces."
Iris Bohnet – Academic Dean, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government and Co-Director of the Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School.
This guide suggests evidence-based actions to help employers work together to improve workplace equity, with respect to members of designated groups under the Employment Equity Act Footnote 1 – women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities.
Throughout this guide, select additional resources are indicated.
This work was researched and authored by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), working in collaboration with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). The research builds on BIT's prior work in the United Kingdom for the Government Equalities Office as part of the Gender & Behavioural Insights Programme.
Special acknowledgement to Dr. Sonia Kang, Canada Research Chair in Identity, Diversity, and Inclusion, for her review and contributions to this guide.
This guide summarizes actions that have been shown to improve workplace outcomes (and those that have not) for members of the designated groups under the Employment Equity Act Footnote 2
While the focus is on these 4 groups, it is recognized that people who do not belong to them, or people with intersecting identities, may also face unequal treatment or specific barriers at work (for example, members of sexual minority groups, non-native official language speakers). It is believed that highly inclusive and equitable workplaces benefit everyone, whether or not they belong to designated groups.
To help employers create more effective employment equity plans, this guide also identifies actions that need more evidence before they can be considered effective, as well as those that should be avoided (or pursued with caution) due to no impact, negative or mixed consequences.
The descriptors below list the actions and their effectiveness for each group. The evidence is evaluated as follows:
The descriptors also indicate where evidence specific to a designated group was not found. This does not necessarily mean that the action is ineffective for that group, just that more research is required.
The Behavioural Insights Team reviewed over 350 academic and grey literature publications related to reducing bias and improving equity in the workplace, focusing on studies from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
Most equity, diversity, and inclusion research focuses more on gender and race, rather than Indigenous peoples or persons with disabilities. Research explicitly conducted on intersectional groups is also limited. Despite these limitations, this guide highlights valuable and relevant suggestions for employers in Canada.
Evidence has been grouped into 5 different Human Resources (HR) process areas across the employee lifecycle: Footnote 4
Within each area, effective actions, promising actions, and actions to avoid have been identified:
It is also noted where evidence specific to a designated group was not found. The action may be effective or promising for these groups (particularly if it has been shown to work for another group), but more research is needed to know with confidence. Above all, employers are encouraged to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of any action they implement, with a focus on behaviour change; results may vary in different organizational contexts and for different groups.
In the preparation of this document, actions that are grounded in strong evidence, as well as those that are common in the workplace, even though they may not be evidence-based were reviewed. However, this is not an exhaustive list of all of the approaches employers can take to improve equity.
What is the Employment Equity Act?
In Canada, the Employment Equity Act (the Act) aims to achieve equality in the workplace to ensure that no person be denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability. The Act seeks to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by 4 designated groups of people:
The Act supports the principle that employment equity means more than treating people identically – it also requires special measures to correct underrepresentation and the accommodation of differences.
To achieve its objectives, the Act requires that employers collect workforce data and use this information to determine if any members of designated groups – women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities – are underrepresented. Answering the questions in Box 1 will help you identify where workplace inequity is occurring, and the action that is needed.
Under the Act, employers must then prepare an employment equity plan that specifies the positive policies and practices to correct for the underrepresentation of persons in designated groups, as well as measures to eliminate employment barriers. Positive policies and practices comprise those that the employer will use for:
To help employers create more effective employment equity plans, this guide summarizes and assesses actions employers might take to improve outcomes for women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. Footnote 6 , Footnote 7
This document highlights effective actions and makes note of approaches that need more evidence before implemented widely, as well as those that should be avoided or pursued with caution due to strong evidence of no impact, negative or mixed consequences.
Every organization is different and faces unique challenges, so it is recommended that employers take a data-driven approach to prioritize employment equity efforts.
That said, while targeted efforts are important, equity will not be achieved by implementing just a few, separate actions. Change is driven by a sustained, systemic approach that reaches every part of an organization.
"A data-driven approach is recommended."
Employers who use high-quality data to understand the factors driving inequities will be able to target their actions to achieve the most effective results.
Guidance on how to collect and analyze your workforce data is available online (see Employment Equity Tasks 1, 2 and 3). Guidance on how to review your employment systems to find out why your organization has significant representation and pay gaps is also available online (see Employment Equity Task 4).
To identify areas where action is needed, start by answering these questions:
"It has become imperative for companies to create spaces where diverse groups of employees feel valued, supported and able to do their best work, and where they feel committed to sticking around. This includes redesigning the systems, processes, and procedures that have created and perpetuated workplace inequality for far too long. Without this critical work, much of the investment into diversity is wasted because people leave in search of a more inclusive workplace.
This workplace equity guide will enable readers to become inclusive leaders. Inclusive leaders will raise the stakes on ED&I as it is currently practiced in their organization by implementing: careful evaluation and baseline measurement; precise goal-setting, forecasting, and milestones; concrete actions with explicit targets and plans for accountability. This will require creating the space for failure, re-design, and adaptation, as well as for the mindful and efficient application of a variety of allyship behaviours."
Dr. Sonia Kang – Canada Research Chair in Identity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Leaders play a vital role in driving workplace equity, diversity, and inclusion. They can do this more successfully by setting clear targets and by creating strong accountability mechanisms to ensure that every manager feels accountable for their team's equity outcomes.
"Making a public commitment makes it more likely that the target will be achieved."
Under the Employment Equity Act (the Act), employers must create an employment equity plan that includes short and long-term goals to close representation gaps (see Task 5 online). General goals such as "we will change our culture to be more inclusive" are not effective unless they are accompanied by clear targets and milestones. The Act requires employers to set short-term numerical goals for hiring and promoting people in designated groups (for example, "we will increase the proportion of staff with disabilities from 4% to 8% by 2024), and specific measures to be taken to meet these goals. This evidence-based approach, along with well-designed targets, can improve equity and diversity, including leadership diversity. Footnote 9 , Footnote 10 , Footnote 11
What about quotas?
Whereas targets are organizational goals that are not mandatory to achieve, quotas must be met. Countries that have legislated quotas tend to have more women on company boards Footnote 12 and lower employment gaps between persons with disabilities and persons without. Footnote 13 In Canada, quotas are not imposed on employers under the Employment Equity Act. They can be set voluntarily by organizations internally. For quotas to be effective at improving workplace equity, they should include monitoring mechanisms and sanctions for non-compliance (for example, compensatory levy payment). Footnote 14 , Footnote 5
Targets Footnote 15 are most successful when they are:
Pay gap reporting
Pay gap reporting shows that collecting and making equity data public achieves positive change. Since public reporting was introduced, it is estimated to have reduced the gender pay gap among studied employers by as much as 13% in Denmark, 19% in the UK and 30% in Canada. Footnote 19 , Footnote 20 , Footnote 21
Equity leads and task forces hold the organization accountable for equity, diversity, and inclusion outcomes. Having an equity lead is associated with better representation of underrepresented groups; one US study of over 800 organizations suggests that appointing equity task forces is one of the most effective actions an employer can take to improve gender and ethnic diversity. Footnote 23 , Footnote 24
To work well, equity leads and task forces need power. They should be able to review hiring and advancement decisions and receive justifications for them. The accountability this power creates can reduce bias.
Case study: In one study, hiring managers rated white applicants higher even when they had the same experience as Black candidates. However, when managers were told that their decisions were going to be reviewed, their racial bias decreased, Footnote 25 and they tended to feel more satisfied with their decisions. Footnote 26
Successful equity leads and task forces Footnote 27 should:
The Government of Canada's Employment Equity Tasks recommend that the head of your organization, such as the president or chief executive officer, issue the first communication about employment equity.
"Organizations with equity leads can have better representation of underrepresented groups."
To reduce the influence of systemic barriers, unconscious biases, and stereotypes on recruitment, selection and hiring, employers can implement numerous effective or promising actions, including using specialized outreach to increase applications from underrepresented groups, structured interviews and skill-based assessment tasks.
When employees only share vacancies with people they know, it can result in an applicant pool that mirrors an employer's current demographics. If there are underrepresented groups in the organization to begin with, this can reinforce the lack of diversity. Engaging in specialized outreach and targeted recruitment to connect with candidates from underrepresented groups can help.
Specialized outreach efforts can include:
Language used in job ads may discourage members of designated groups from applying. For instance, women assume roles advertised with stereotypically masculine words, such as leader or competitive, are in male-dominated teams and they may not fit in. Footnote 42 , Footnote 43 , Footnote 44 More women apply to job ads written with de-biased language (for example, ads that use gender neutral phrases such as, "must be willing to pursue new and creative ideas" instead of "entrepreneurial"). Footnote 45 There are tools available to help use more impartial language – search online for "linguistic gender decoding tools".
Workplace flexibility promotes work-life balance and can help recruit and retain employees from underrepresented groups. Plus, it may be especially beneficial for recruiting persons with disabilities. Footnote 46
Offering flexible working arrangements by default in job ads makes it easier for applicants who require such flexibility to find suitable employers without having to ask about whether the option is available. In a randomized controlled trial with John Lewis Partnership, the Behavioural Insights Team found that simply changing the job-ad default to include part-time options boosted applications by 50%. In a previous trial with Zurich Insurance, a part-time default boosted applications of women to senior roles by 19%.
As an alternative to defaults, prompting hiring managers to list flexible working options when posting a new role is key. A simple prompt asking managers what flexible options they would consider for the role, accompanied by a checklist including flexitime, annualized hours, staggered hours, etc., led to a 20% to 30% increase in employers advertising flexible jobs on Indeed. Footnote 47
Listing requirements as concrete skills helps candidates determine their suitability for a role and helps employers identify a wider range of individuals who meet the requirements. It also makes it easier for underrepresented candidates to know what is expected of them to progress.
It is recommended that job advertisements clearly express requirements in terms of behaviours, skills, and experiences rather than character traits or 'cultural fit'. Evidence behind this approach suggests that:
Being specific and clear should benefit other underrepresented groups, too (for example, people with autism are disproportionately affected by a lack of clear job requirements). Footnote 52
Interviews alone may not give candidates equitable opportunities to demonstrate their strengths. During the selection process, ask candidates to complete tasks relevant to the role they are applying for, such as situational judgment tasks, work samples or small assignments. These tasks should be brief and their completion should only provide information pertinent to selection (such as, candidates should not be asked to spend undue time on free work for the organization).
Case study: Because many members of Indigenous cultures value humility rather than self-promotion, they may be hesitant to highlight personal successes, which can hinder them in traditional interview processes. Footnote 54 , Footnote 55 Skills-based assessment tasks offer opportunities to demonstrate personal qualifications without the need to talk about one's accomplishments.
While there is little difference between how men and women perform on skill-based tasks, members of visible minorities receive significantly lower scores than their white counterparts. Footnote 56 , Footnote 57 , Footnote 58 Using tasks that measure a variety of skills and abilities (for example, numeracy and literacy, if appropriate) may help reduce differences in how candidates are rated overall. It may also ensure that a single task does not disadvantage some groups while advantaging others. Footnote 59 , Footnote 44
Testing candidates on problems encountered on the job may also make it more likely that visible minority candidates perform well and increase the likelihood that selected candidates will succeed when hired. Footnote 60 , Footnote 61 For example, for a customer-facing position, candidates could be asked to role play resolving a challenging customer interaction.
Case study: Reframing the task can also help members of visible minorities. When UK police force candidates were prompted to reflect on why they valued becoming a constable (in other words, asked to reflect on what being a police constable means to them and their community), compared with a status quo invitation to take the test, it closed the gap between visible minority and white candidates passing a situational judgment test. Footnote 62
Skills-based assessments need to be developed carefully to minimize bias. They should:
Free-form interviews are more susceptible to bias, Footnote 64 while high-quality evidence shows that there are no such differences based on gender or race, Footnote 65 in interview scores when structured interviews are used. Footnote 66 , Footnote 67 , Footnote 68
Structured interviews are most effective when they:
Case study: Using a guide which sets out the assessment criteria and how to score each response increased the likelihood that Black women would be selected for a role by 21%. Footnote 72
Women and members of visible minorities are less likely to negotiate their pay, Footnote 73 , Footnote 74 which can lead to women starting with lower average salaries than men. These differences persist and increase over time. In situations where no salary negotiations are the norm the wage gap disappears. Footnote 58
Women are also more affected than men if no information about negotiation expectations or salary range is provided. Footnote 57 In the absence of salary ranges, women and members of visible minorities are not as likely to know people in senior positions who could help them to determine if an offer is reasonable. Footnote 75
To address these inequities, employers should clearly state the salary range available and whether it is negotiable. This will increase the number of women who negotiate and help to close negotiations-related gender pay gaps. Footnote 59
However, women and members of visible minorities also choose not to negotiate their salaries because they are more likely than men to face backlash (for example, be seen as "too demanding"). Footnote 76 Therefore, employers must ensure that they are treated fairly when they do negotiate. It is recommended that employers continually monitor negotiation outcomes and starting salaries to see if gaps between groups emerge, as well as experiment with interventions to close these gaps.
Anonymizing an application entails removing all identifying information – name, international work or study experience, spoken languages, and so forth – before sharing it with the hiring team. Anonymizing makes it more difficult to tell if an applicant is a member of an underrepresented group, and can prevent biases from influencing decision-making.
While a promising tactic, anonymizing applications should be done carefully. While women applicants are more likely to progress when their gender is obscured, Footnote 77 , Footnote 78 , Footnote 79 , Footnote 80 this practice may still have a negative impact for women if it prevents organizations from targeting them in the first place. Footnote 81
Sometimes résumé anonymization makes it more likely visible minority applicants are selected for interviews, Footnote 63 , Footnote 82 , Footnote 83 and sometimes it does not. Footnote 84 The impact of anonymizing résumés likely depends on how anonymous they are, since some cues may still point to an applicant's identity. This is also more difficult (or impossible) to execute when hiring internally, or filling senior or executive roles.
Employers should consider anonymizing all or part of their application process if:
Reduce bias against people returning to work after a break to care for children, other family members, or themselves by making it possible to list years of experience instead of date ranges. Indicating years of experience may also have a positive impact for persons with disabilities, who are more likely to have employment gaps. Footnote 87
Case study: Positioning experience in terms of years (for example, '4 years') rather than dates (for example, '2016 to 2020') on a résumés increased call-back rates from employers by 15% for women returning to work after a break to care for children. Footnote 88
Résumés that include years help employers see returners in terms of their skills, rather than negative stereotypes. This may also help reduce age-related bias, as it obscures the applicants' age. Using a standardized application form makes this easier to implement.
Having more than 1 woman or visible minority candidate in a hiring shortlist increases the likelihood that a candidate from that group will be hired. Footnote 89 , Footnote 90
Employers should set ambitious diversity targets for their shortlists. This can mean tasking recruiters with looking for equally well-qualified candidates from underrepresented groups or investigating if there are equally well-qualified internal employees from underrepresented groups who have not applied.
Employee backlash and negative perceptions of candidate competency are risks of shortlist targets. Footnote 91 One potential solution might be for Human Resources to take demographic characteristics into consideration as a means of ensuring a representative candidate shortlist, which is then given to hiring managers to select from.
Rather than evaluating candidates in isolation, reviewing them in batches can help to minimize bias. When hiring teams consider job applicants one at a time, they are more likely to be influenced by stereotypes or demographic cues. Footnote 92 For example, a well-qualified woman applying for a job on a predominantly male team may be rejected because she does not fit the image of a talented employee. Comparing the woman to 2 other new candidates could allow her qualifications to stand out more. In addition to making decisions in batches, making multiple selection and hiring decisions at once (instead of making a single hire) can increase the gender diversity of the group. Footnote 93
Organizations may already engage in this practice if they conduct recruitment or promotion rounds where candidates are compared to each other. For those that practice ongoing recruitment or promotions, look for points in the process where multiple candidates could be assessed together and for opportunities to make multiple hires.
Case study: Encouraging unsuccessful but highly qualified candidates to reapply makes it more likely that women will reapply for a role compared to men. Footnote 94
Work experience programs can improve equity when they are designed and implemented well. If opportunities are paid fairly and recruited transparently, they can benefit the careers of underrepresented groups, while ad-hoc internships that are poorly paid and recruited through personal contacts usually benefit people with privileged connections more. Footnote 95 , Footnote 96 , Footnote 97
Completing an internship carries the same positive effect on starting salaries for men and women. Footnote 98 Having internship programs for persons with disabilities increases their likelihood of being hired. Footnote 19 However, members of underrepresented groups miss out on these opportunities, as work experience programs often discriminate against these applicants. Footnote 99 , Footnote 100 , Footnote 101
When recruiting for interns, trainees or apprentices, employers should implement the actions from the Hiring and Selection section to ensure their processes are more equitable.
Case study: When female graduates mention internship experience on their résumé, they are more likely to receive a callback for interviews, even compared to their male peers with internship experience. Footnote 102 Moreover, studies using a variety of methodologies consistently show that internships and traineeships can support persons with disabilities to gain and retain employment. Footnote 103 , Footnote 104
A diversity statement is an expression of an organization's commitment to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. Employers often place them in job ads and other communication materials. Unfortunately, there is conflicting evidence on these statements; while they might encourage some members of designated groups to apply for jobs in some contexts Footnote 105 , they are likely to backfire in others. Diversity statements:
Case study: Visible minority applicants who 'whiten' their résumés receive more call-backs from companies with and without diversity statements. But they are less likely to 'whiten' their résumé and more likely to be transparent about their racial identity if the company has a diversity statement. Therefore, diversity statements may paradoxically result in minority applicants being less likely to get a callback. Footnote 87
Therefore, organizations should not rely on diversity statements to attract a diverse candidate pool, especially if they do not yet have many employees from underrepresented groups. Given how difficult it is to do this well, it is suggested that employers proceed with caution, providing concrete evidence (for example, specific numeric goals) Footnote 116 and case studies for the claims they present, and continually monitoring or evaluating for impact. If employers cannot provide explicit goals and evidence of progress, it is suggested that it may be prudent to avoid diversity statements altogether.
Diverse selection panels are a common practice, but have mixed consequences. When more women are on a panel, women are sometimes more likely Footnote 117 and other times less likely Footnote 118 , Footnote 119 , Footnote 91 , Footnote 120 to be selected for a role. Researchers have found an association between a diverse panel and the likelihood of a visible minority candidate being hired, but it is not clear whether panels cause this outcome. Footnote 121
There is also a risk that requiring underrepresented employees to participate in hiring panels may burden them disproportionately, as this task is unlikely to be rewarded Footnote 122 , can detract from other responsibilities and can result in colleagues viewing them more negatively. Footnote 123
Case study: A series of experiments found that Black men and white women who were asked to participate in a work group because of their identity, were seen as less competent, effective, and as having less leadership potential than demographically similar employees who were randomly selected to participate or for whom a different rationale was provided (for example, based on scheduling or merit). Footnote 97
More research is needed to understand when and how diverse selection panels improve hiring equity. Until then, consider using this approach carefully.
"When more women are on a panel, women are sometimes more likely to be selected for a role, Footnote 91 but not always."
While mentorship programs, which enable employees to learn from one another, show promise for increasing equity, there is little evidence that unconscious bias and diversity training improve representation of or outcomes for members of underrepresented groups. Footnote 124 Organizations should avoid the latter as the only approach, or one of their few approaches, to improve equity. If employers continue investing in unconscious bias or diversity training, we recommend tracking their effectiveness in terms of positive behavioural outcomes.
The potential for growth-mindset
Growth mindset is the belief that one can improve by dedicating time and effort to a goal, and it is powerful. For example, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) faculty with growth mindsets have a narrower racial achievement gap in their classes compared to faculty who see ability as fixed. Footnote 125 Growth mindset can be encouraged among managers. Giving them timely reminders about how employees' skills tend to develop over time, with practice and constructive feedback, can help improve performance assessments and coaching. Footnote 126
Mentorship programs aim to give employees guidance from their colleagues on specific skills or knowledge that will help them succeed. Mentorship programs are beneficial for the career development of a range of underrepresented groups Footnote 127 including women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and visible minorities. Footnote 128 , Footnote 129 , Footnote 130 , Footnote 131 , Footnote 132 , Footnote 133 , Footnote 27 , Footnote 134 , Footnote 14
Case study: A systematic review of mentorship interventions for persons with disabilities found increases in knowledge of employment services, preparation for employment, and employment outcomes. Footnote 102
Indigenous employees might benefit from programs where more experienced employees transfer knowledge to those with less experience. Footnote 27 , Footnote 107 One lab experiment found that mentorship increases willingness to compete for men, but not for women. Footnote 135 Combined with other approaches, like defaulting employees into applying for promotions, mentorship programs might help improve equity. However, studies to date have explored job satisfaction, confidence and willingness to compete rather than pay, progression or organizational equity.
Unconscious biases influence a person's judgment subconsciously. Diversity or unconscious bias training aims to bring these biases to light and mitigate their impact by promoting positive interactions and reducing prejudice and discrimination. Some trainings have been shown to increase awareness and shift attitudes in the short-term, Footnote 136 , Footnote 137 but they do not change behaviour or improve equity in the long-term and can have unintended negative consequences. Therefore, it is suggested that employers avoid using diversity training and unconscious bias training as their only pro-equity intervention because of a lack of evidence that they improve workplace equity. Footnote 138 If employers proceed with the training, they should consider it a starting point, supported by a comprehensive, longer-term action plan. Footnote 139
Diversity training does not improve career outcomes for members of underrepresented groups nor does it increase the number of women in management positions. Footnote 140 In fact, diversity training can sometimes even decrease diversity in management. Footnote 141 Training can also be damaging if it focuses on a specific group Footnote 142 , Footnote 143 by inadvertently distancing groups from one another and highlighting stereotypes.
These backfires may occur because people resent being forced to do things (in the case of mandatory training), because the training elevates stereotypes that people then act on, or because it suggests that the organization has already solved its diversity problems. Footnote 86 , Footnote 144
While diversity training is unlikely to change behaviour, Footnote 145 , Footnote 113 it can have learning and attitudinal benefits. Footnote 117 Thus, organizations may use select diversity training offerings as a starting point; any positive effects of diversity training are greater when combined with other initiatives, over a significant period of time. Footnote 117
Case study: One rigorous study on diversity training found that the effects on knowledge and awareness were short lived, sometimes lasting only 24 hours and that there were no changes in behaviour. Footnote 107 Another study showed that participants who completed a training to mitigate their biases related to race, sexual orientation, and weight still showed these biases after training. Footnote 146
"Diversity training does not improve career outcomes for members of underrepresented groups, nor does it increase the number of women in management positions."
Leadership development programs aim to improve management competencies and self-confidence. Unfortunately, there is currently no high-quality evidence that designing these programs for underrepresented groups (for example, a "Women in Leadership" program) helps them progress. Women, especially women from visible minority groups and persons with disabilities are stereotyped as less apt for leadership roles. Footnote 147 , Footnote 148 , Footnote 149 It is possible, but not proven, that targeted leadership training could support these prejudices by inadvertently signalling that members of these groups need special support to learn how to lead – when in reality, the barriers they face come from others' biases rather than a lack of competence. Because targeted leadership programs can be expensive, and there is limited evidence that they improve managerial diversity and progression, Footnote 150 it is recommended prioritizing other initiatives to build a fairer workplace.
Case study: Some very small-scale studies have looked at the effects of leadership training programs for women, particularly in medicine and academia. Footnote 151 But the results are not strong enough to recommend targeted leadership training. What's important is ensuring that everyone has equal access to organizational training opportunities, rather than singling out select groups. To start, you can track invitations or attendance and review the data regularly. You can also set targets, and consider strategies like defaulting all employees into training, or offering flexible scheduling to include part-time employees.
More and more employers recognize that transparency increases accountability, which can support equitable decision making. It is recommended that organizations build on this by making promotion, pay, and reward processes clearer to employees at all levels. Organizations should also consider defaulting all eligible employees into promotion processes and competitive opportunities, where possible (for example, for specialized training and development or special projects).
Employers may consider programs like diversity networking initiatives and internships as well. However, they should evaluate the effectiveness of these programs rather than assume they will work.
Transparent organizations are open with employees about processes, policies, and criteria for decision making. For instance, with transparency, employees know how pay raises and promotions are decided. Managers also understand that their decisions must be objective and evidence-based because they can be reviewed by others.
Case study: In a longitudinal study, a large US organization made their pay and reward processes more transparent by appointing a committee to monitor reward decisions. The committee members had enough influence to hold others accountable and ensure that the appropriate changes were made to the pay and reward systems to make them more equitable. Overall, the pay gaps between white men, women and visible minority employees decreased. Footnote 153 While the precise reason for the change cannot be pinpointed, it may be because transparency creates accountability. When people know that their decisions will be reviewed, or that they will have to justify their decision to others, both gender and racial disparities decrease. Footnote 55 , Footnote 15
Increasing transparency to promotion, pay and reward processes can reduce pay inequalities. Footnote 154 Without transparency, it can be hard for underrepresented candidates to know what they need to progress, or to question unfair choices. Compared to white employees, when visible minority employees attempt to negotiate salary or question inconsistent decisions, they are more likely to face backlash. Footnote 60 Being open builds trust and advances equity.
"Increasing transparency to promotion, pay and reward processes can reduce pay inequalities."
Defaulting employees into applying for promotions means that all eligible employees are automatically considered for promotion, while having the option to opt out. Over 3 quarters (76%) of the promotion gap between men and women is explained by women being less likely to put themselves forward for promotion. Footnote 155 Even when told that they are a group's top performer, women are still less likely to opt into leadership selection than men. When using an opt-out system, this gender gap is significantly reduced and more women are likely to be selected for leadership roles. Footnote 156 , Footnote 157
Diversity networks (also called "affinity networks" or "employee resource groups") inform and support employees who share similar identities, with the goal of helping them advance their careers. They can be particularly helpful to increase management opportunities for white women, but have not been shown to be effective for visible minority men. Footnote 115 This may be because there are fewer opportunities for members of visible minorities to connect with people similar to themselves via networking. Several studies suggest that diversity networks provide underrepresented employees with psychosocial support, providing a space to share experiences and build interpersonal connections. Footnote 158 , Footnote 159 , Footnote 160 , Footnote 161
Case study: A US study found that even though members of visible minorities network as much as white people, their networks did not yield the same outcomes when it came to securing jobs. Footnote 162
More research is needed to understand the impact of network programs, and if they need particular features to work well for all underrepresented groups.
Employees raise concerns to their employer through formal grievance procedures (for example, reporting sexual harassment or discrimination). In practice, formal grievance procedures do not improve organizational diversity and may even worsen managerial diversity. Footnote 163 , Footnote 164 The current system seems to be harming those who it should protect. Employees who file complaints often face retaliation (for example, denied promotions) while those accused are rarely penalized. Footnote 144 , Footnote 145 , Footnote 165 , Footnote 166 , Footnote 167
Case study: A US-based study of 800,000 complaints found that half (50%) mentioned retaliation against an initial formal complaint. Footnote 168 Women who file complaints have worse career and well-being outcomes than women who also experienced harassment but did not file a complaint. Footnote 169 Formal grievance procedures negatively affected the mental health of victims of racial discrimination. Footnote 170
Consider complementing formal procedures with alternative ways of addressing issues, such as mediation and restorative justice. Offering employees resources for peer support networks or expanding the Employee Assistance Plan to include culturally-based support could help, too. Footnote 29 , Footnote 171 These methods show promise in solving workplace disputes equitably. However, they have not been thoroughly tested, and there is no evidence that they improve retention and progression of employees from underrepresented groups.
Women and members of visible minorities are more likely to rate themselves lower than their male or white peers. Footnote 172 , Footnote 173 , Footnote 174 , Footnote 175 These self-assessments may then go on to influence managers' judgments. Using peer-evaluations instead of self-evaluations and changing performance scales to 1 to 6 instead of 1 to 10 reduces the gender gap. Footnote 90 If a performance evaluation process includes a self-assessment, to minimize the potential bias, do not share assessment scores with managers until they have evaluated the employee's performance themselves. Similar to job requirements performance evaluation questions should be behaviour-based. Footnote 90
Case study: A study using data from a US organization found that managers who saw staff self-assessments before making their own judgements penalized visible minority staff. When self-assessments were removed, they no longer penalized visible minority women (although they continued to penalise visible minority men). Footnote 156 This can affect performance-related outcomes such as pay raises, bonuses and progression.
Generous parental leave policies and flexible working arrangements are critical for attracting the best talent. Employers must ensure that people across the organization are genuinely encouraged to take up these policies. They are also required to make reasonable accommodations for designated groups, like persons with disabilities, as stated in the Employment Equity Act.
Flexible working is any alternative to the traditional 9 to 5 in-person work day, employees choose when and where they work, and for how many hours. Improving workplace flexibility for everyone can enable employees to balance their job with other parts of their lives. It increases access to the job market for women with caregiving responsibilities and enables men to contribute more to domestic labour. Flexibility also reduces the burden of travel on employees with disabilities by allowing them to shape their schedules.
Case study: A comparative study of 5 European countries, including the UK, found that flexible work schedules led to longer periods of employment for workers with disabilities. Footnote 176 Specifically, offering reduced hours increased the likelihood of workers with disabilities returning to work and reduced their absences. Footnote 157 Interviews with Indigenous peoples in Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut revealed that cultural demands (such as the need to travel to attend ceremonies several times a year) can conflict with traditional, inflexible work arrangements. Footnote 27 , Footnote 29 , Footnote 107
Flexible working is highly attractive and increases the total number of applications to vacancies. Footnote 177 To become more supportive of flexible working arrangements, organizations should:
"Flexible working is highly attractive and increases the total number of applications to vacancies."
Workplace or role adjustments (or "accommodations") make a big difference in recruiting and retaining persons with disabilities. Footnote 183 , Footnote 184
Case study: A large-scale survey of persons with disabilities shows that 1 in 3 non-working persons with disabilities say that their barriers to work could be resolved with workplace accommodations. Footnote 185 Another large-scale survey found that persons with disabilities who worked in offices with accessible facilities (for example, ramps, bathrooms and other adjustments) were more satisfied with their employer and likely to stay there. Footnote 186
Under the Employment Equity Act, employers are required to specify their policies and practices that support making reasonable accommodations for designated groups. However, simply offering these accommodations may not be sufficient for employees. Footnote 187 Organizations that are open and proactive about offering accommodations can motivate employees to come forward sooner with accommodation requests. Organizations should ensure the accommodation they provide addresses the employees' barrier(s) at work, fund and implement accommodations properly, and be transparent when a request is denied. These actions often require training for supervisors. Footnote 188
To become more inclusive of people with disabilities, organizations should be proactive in conducting occupational health assessments and provide adjustments during the application process, if appropriate. Footnote 19 Having trained professionals conduct these assessments can remove the discomfort employees with disabilities may face when asking for adjustments and give employers the information needed to improve their workplace.
Childcare that is unequally shared between men and women has a lasting impact on women's earnings. When fathers take longer parental leave, it helps balance expectations around childcare responsibility, can help women return to employment sooner, and increase mothers' earnings. Footnote 189 However, many men do not take leave, or keep it short.
Case study: Normalizing parental leave for men is vital for workplace equity. At Santander, 99% of male employees supported men working flexibly, but thought only 65% of colleagues supported flexible work for men. Footnote 190 When men were informed of their peers' higher support, their intentions to work flexibly rose by 4%. At a second bank, rates of men intending to take 5-8 weeks of parental leave increased by 50% when they were informed about high support levels.
Under the Government of Canada's Employment Insurance (EI) Maternity and Parental Benefits, eligible parents can share up to 40 weeks (standard parental) or 69 weeks (extended parental) of leave.
In addition to the government's guidance, employers can encourage men to take longer parental leave by:
How can you help?
The Workplace Equity Division, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) will continue to work with employers to build more evidence about what works and what doesn't. Please submit your own evidence of what works – and what doesn't work – in your own organization as we are interested in learning from your experience. If you are interested in working on this with us, please write to the Workplace Equity Division at ee-eme@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca.
Dobbin, F., & Kalev, A. (2016). Why diversity programs fail. Harvard Business Review, 94(7/8), 52–60.
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For the Love of Work Podcast (hosted by Sonia Kang), Season 1, Episode 2: Leaning Into Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging
For the Love of Work Podcast (hosted by Sonia Kang), Season 2, Episode 5: The Power of Belonging
Under the Employment Equity Act, employers must eliminate employment barriers experienced by and correct underrepresentation of individuals from four designated groups: women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. The Canadian government strives for workplaces that are free from barriers and that correct conditions of disadvantage in employment.
Under the Employment Equity Act, employers must eliminate employment barriers experienced by and correct underrepresentation of individuals from four designated groups: women, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities. Actions listed in this guide may also benefit members of other underrepresented groups.
Workplace flexibility includes reasonable accommodation of the special needs of members of designated groups, as referenced in the Employment Equity Act.
Areas 2-5 align with requirements under the Employment Equity Regulations. Workplace flexibility includes reasonable accommodation of the special needs of members of designated groups, as referenced in the Regulations.
The EEA refers to Indigenous peoples as Aboriginal peoples.
Federally regulated private-sector employers covered by the Employment Equity Act are required to set, in their employment equity plan, representation goals where these four designated groups are underrepresented, and make all reasonable efforts to implement their employment equity plan.
It is recognized that these four designated groups are not inclusive of everyone who experiences systemic discrimination at work. Additionally, the term "visible minorities," used in the Employment Equity Act (the Act), can be seen as inappropriate, as it may seem to homogenize the experiences of the many diverse groups living in Canada. Actions listed in this report may also benefit underrepresented groups that are not designated in the Act.
The Employment Equity Act defines designated groups as women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. However, there may be other underrepresented groups in your organization to consider.
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Most commonly referred to as an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion lead or task force.
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While targeted referrals are one way to encourage women to apply, there is currently no evidence evaluating the impact on the numbers of applications for characteristics beyond gender.
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He, J.C., & Kang, S. K. (under review). Identities between the lines: Re-aligning gender and professional identities by altering job advertisement language attracts more female applicants.
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The Behavioural Insights Team previously developed a guide on "How to use skills-based assessment tasks" for the UK government, available here.
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The Behavioural Insights Team previously developed a guide on "How to run structured interviews" for the UK Government, available here.
Further reading: Derous, E., Buijsrogge, A., Roulin, N., & Duyck, W. (2016). Why your stigma isn't hired: A dual-process framework of interview bias. Human Resource Management Review, 26(2), 90-111.
While there is a small-scale laboratory study of the effects of structured interviews for persons with disabilities, there is currently no high-quality evidence that structured interviews help persons with disabilities progress in the recruitment process.
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Of course, the design of the program matters. Simply sponsoring employees (for example, advocating for a protégé) may increase willingness to compete for men but not for women.
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Further reading: Leslie, L. M. (2019). Diversity initiative effectiveness: A typological theory of unintended consequences. Academy of Management Review, 44(3), 538-563.
Schmader, T., Dennehy, T. C., & Baron, A. S. (2021). Why Antibias Interventions (Need Not) Fail. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 17(5).
Dobbin, F., & Kalev, A. (2018). Why doesn't diversity training work? The challenge for industry and academia. Anthropology Now, 10(2), 48-55.
Dobbin, F., Kalev, A., Kelly, E. (2007). Diversity management in corporate America. Contexts, 6(4), 21-27.
Chang, E. H., Milkman, K. L., Gromet, D. M., Rebele, R. W., Massey, C., Duckworth, A. L., & Grant, A. M. (2019). The mixed effects of online diversity training. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(16), 7778-7783.
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The Behavioural Insights Team previously developed a guide on "How to increase transparency of progression, pay and reward" for the UK government, available here.
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