With growing questions around racism and equity, including in the workplace, the Employment Equity Census is one way of getting some answers.  The census data is used to get an accurate understanding of our current landscape and to collect the information needed for evidence-based decisions.

Since 2016, the Employment Equity Census (available through the Employee Self-Service module in Mosaic) has been used to collect valuable information about the university’s workforce. The voluntary, confidential census invites staff and faculty to answer six short questions to understand the diversity of our workforce. The responses to these questions provide insight into the composition of teams through an equity lens.

Employment equity builds on McMaster University’s work to advance equity and diversity in the workplace. McMaster has committed to produce and share reports on the composition of our workforce and progress towards employment equity every two years.

The 2019 Employment Equity Report provides the current composition of our workforce from four equity-seeking groups including Indigenous peoples, racialized persons, persons with disabilities and women. The report also includes data on members of the Transgender and LGBTQ+ communities, as well as analysis on intersectional identities (individuals who identify as members of more than one equity-seeking group).

Some key findings from this year’s report include:

• An increase in representation across almost all equity-seeking groups
• Intersectional identities exist among all equity-seeking groups, with particularly high intersectional representation among racialized persons, women, persons with disabilities and LGBTQ+ individuals
• The overall composition of MUFA Faculty is very similar to the Labour Market Availability for each of the equity-seeking groups

While there was some progress made, there is still work to do. McMaster has launched an institution-wide Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy to help reach our EDI goals, and the census is only one component.

The census is ongoing and can be completed anytime – and everyone within the university is encouraged to do so. The more information collected, the better the understanding of McMaster’s workforce.

Want to learn more?

• Read the full Employment Equity Census Report.
• If you haven’t already, complete the census here.

Human Resources has also recently launched a new Applicant Diversity Survey for those applying to positions at McMaster.  Further information is available here.

Should you have questions, or want to learn more about Employment Equity at McMaster, reach out to May-Marie Duwai-Sowa, Employment Equity Specialist in Human Resources at duwaisom@mcmaster.ca.