A new report from McMaster’s Employment Equity Working Committee provides a detailed roadmap as the University continues its efforts toward a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce.
The group, chaired by Vice Provost, Faculty Susan Searls Giroux and Wanda McKenna, Assistant Vice-President & Chief Human Resources Officer, included input from various areas from across campus as it considered next steps for McMaster to further employment equity.

“The report notes that the University’s aim has been to develop and realize the potential of all members of our community as we work simultaneously to improve governance structures more generally,” says Searls Giroux. “Advancing employment equity will build on our greatest strength: the people who work every day to discover, communicate and preserve knowledge, to support our students and researchers, and to ensure the successful functioning of our University.”
The report includes a new employment equity policy and recruitment statement that reinforces McMaster’s commitment to building a diverse workforce and inclusive community. It also draws attention to the work still to be done with recommendations focusing on addressing and mitigating systemic discrimination and removing barriers in employment policies and practices.

The report also provides a summary of the recent employment equity census. Employees were asked to complete a survey in order to garner a more complete understanding of representation of four federally designated groups, defined by government to include: women; First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples; persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities. McMaster also included representation of LGBTQ+ persons in the census.
“With this part of the work complete, it’s now time for us to reach out to colleagues across campus to continue the discussion,” McKenna says. “There will be information sharing through various forums and other training over the coming months to help everyone understand the policy and next steps.

You can read the report and policy here.