All University employees will receive a self-identification questionnaire in March 2006 from the Employment Equity Program.
“The survey is designed to provide an accurate profile of the current University of Ottawa workforce,” says Geneviève Laurence, employment equity and staff initiatives officer at the Human Resources Service. “It’s required by the federal government to maintain the University’s eligibility to receive contracts from the Government of Canada.”
The Employment Equity Program at the University has existed for more than 20 years. In 1988 the University of Ottawa made a formal commitment to employment equity, becoming part of the Federal Contractors Program (FCP).
“In implementing employment equity, we are taking advantage of the diversity of Canada, a goal of Vision 2010,” says President Gilles Patry in a letter addressed to employees.
The FCP requires that employers who receive contracts from the federal government maintain a program to promote employment equity for the four designated groups in Canada — Aboriginal people, people with disabilities, visible minorities and women. “Any employer in Canada with a staff of 100 or more that receives contracts from the federal government of $200,000 or more is subject to the FCP,” says Laurence.
As a signatory to the FCP, the University must comply with the 11 criteria of the program, she notes, including collecting data about its workforce to determine where there is under-representation of the four designated groups. “That’s where the self identification questionnaire comes in.”
Although completing the questionnaire is voluntary, the form — completed or not — must be returned to Human Resources by March 15. The information is kept confidential and does not become part of the employee’s file.
For more information on employment equity or the survey, please contact Geneviève Laurence at 1527 or equity@uOttawa.ca.
