Letter to the Public Service Commission President about Employment Equity

Fellow members,

I recently wrote to Public Service Commission (PSC) President Patrick Borbey about the Employment Equity Promotion Rate Study published by his organization in late May 2019.

Overall, the study demonstrates that while some progress has been made on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in the public service, critical gaps remain in the experiences of equity-seeking groups in specific sectors.

Notably, the study’s results indicate that while promotion rates for women in the federal public service have improved over the years when compared to those of men, there are still significant shortfalls in certain areas. Namely, women still have significantly lower promotion rates in the scientific and professional categories. Additionally, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and visible minorities also have lower promotion rates in these same categories. As the union representing the single largest science workforce in Canada, the Institute is acutely aware of the challenges that women face in the public sector’s scientific and technical professions.

This is a matter of significant importance to the Institute.

We urge the Public Service Commission to leverage the work currently being undertaken by bargaining agents, including PIPSC, to act on the study’s recommendations.

As well, we encourage the PSC to conduct a Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) of the Study and of the Commission’s future research activities, such as the upcoming Staffing and Non- Partisanship Survey (due in Spring 2020).

We also support the PSC’s recommendations for outreach to government agencies in order to increase awareness of the range of policy, service and program options aimed at supporting a diverse workplace.

PIPSC calls on the PSC to develop a clear plan of action on how it intends to act on the Study’s recommendations, leverage current bargaining agent activities on employment equity to examine barriers facing women in scientific and technical professions, conduct a GBA+ of its past and future research activities, and devise a plan for consultation with equity-seeking groups.

I will keep our members apprised of the PSC President’s response when I receive it.

Better Together!

Debi Daviau
President