Overview

Preventing Discrimination

Employment Equity

Striving for Continuous Improvement

As an essential component of the Commission’s Discrimination Prevention Program, the Employment Equity Compliance Program supports the Commission’s commitment to renewal and continuous improvement. The Program requires employers to identify barriers to employment for the four designated groups - women, visible minorities, Aboriginal peoples, and persons with disabilities - and implement proven practices to eliminate those barriers. The Commission is mandated to conduct audits of public sector and federally regulated private sector workplaces to ensure compliance with the Employment Equity Act.

A results-based approach has led to a new streamlined audit process, which provides employers with a smoother, faster and user-friendly audit experience. The audit process has been further improved through increased outreach and information sharing. Through workshops explaining the audit process, a simplified framework document and a compliance questionnaire, employers are encouraged to fulfill their responsibility and take on a greater role in their compliance before they engage in the audit process.

In 2007, invitations were extended to over 600 federally regulated employers. Workshops were held in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver and nearly 200 managers, human resources advisors and employment equity officers participated. Compliance Review Officers and statistical analysts explained procedures and answered questions in order to provide a clear understanding of the audit process. Feedback was extremely positive and encouraging.

This collaborative and proactive approach to ensuring that organizations are compliant with the Act has increased the Program’s output significantly.