Chapter 1: Introduction

As of March 31, 1995 there were 8,914 visible minority employees in the federal public service, 4.1% of the total as against a workforce availability of 9.1%. Very few departments have attained the labour force availability level of visible minorities nationally. Hiring of visible minorities into the public service currently remains at 2.7% annually. Moreover, it is likely that a higher percentage of visible minorities will depart (retirements, resignations and deaths) the public service because of their age profile, so that future representation of visible minorities could actually fall while the labour force availability of visible minorities rises (estimated to be 12% in 1996) in conjunction with their increase in population.

The federally regulated private sector has had much more success in bringing the representation of members of visible minorities into line with labour force availability. The representation of visible minorities in this sector in 1994 stood at 8.2%, double the rate for the public service. The banks have been in the vanguard. In 1995, the five major chartered banks in Canada had between 10.7% and 18.2% of their workforce from visible minorities. Among "upper level managers" in 1995, 5.4% were visible minorities in the Bank of Montreal, closely followed by the Bank of Nova Scotia (4.6%), while the comparable levels in the public service (the EXs) remained at 2.4%.

Geographic factors cannot fully account for different performance of the public and private sectors; in fact, in Ontario -- the province with the highest concentration of visible minority members -- visible minority representation in the public service falls well short of labour force availability (5.2% vs. 12.6%), while representation among federally-regulated private sector employers (13.16%) approximates availability. And the problem is not merely a historical "hangover" of past hiring practices: even today, the percentage of new recruits to the public service who are members of visible minorites is still about half their percentage in the labour market availability.

This study was undertaken with the aim of providing the public service with constructive input by identifying elements in hiring practices and the workplace environment that may help explain the statistical patterns outlined above.  

1.1 Methodology

Fourteen departments and agencies were selected for the study to represent a wide spectrum of the Canadian public service. Some were large, others small; some had greater success in the hiring of visible minorities than others; some appeared to be making greater efforts than others in becoming more representative of the visible minority labour force.

The departments and agencies chosen were: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the Commissioner of Official Languages, Correctional Service of Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Environment Canada, Human Resources Development Canada, National Defence, the Public Service Commission of Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Revenue Canada, Statistics Canada and the Treasury Board of Canada.

The study's methodology was primarily qualitative. Altogether, over 2,000 individuals participated in the study by filling out questionnaires, attending focus groups, and participating in personal interviews. Many others communicated their views through letters, faxes, e-mail and telephone calls, and sent relevant reports. The details on the questionnaires and focus groups are contained in Annex 1.

Respect for confidentiality meant that it was not possible to choose a random sample of participants. However, a comparison of the characteristics of the respondents and those of the visible minorities in the public service showed that, for the visible minority questionnaire, we had obtained a 12 percent sample, which roughly matched the universe of visible minorities in the public service with respect to characteristics such as sex and occupation, as seen in Annex 1. In addition, the distribution of visible minority participants was not too far from the ethnic distribution of visible minorities in Canada. The three major groups among visible minorities in Canada are the Chinese, South Asians and Blacks; the same was true for the respondents for the survey, as seen in Annex 1.

The relative representativeness of participants notwithstanding, no claim is made that the study is a "perfect" reflection of reality. However, its results are certainly indicative of the key issues facing visible minority employees in the public service.

The study was based on the following elements: (a) a review of literature on the situation of visible minority employees in the public service mostly in the 1990s; (b) a statistical comparison of representation of visible minority employees in the public service and of the private sector under federal jurisdiction; (c) an analysis of policies and practices relating to hiring and workplace environment; (d) completion of written questionnaires from a certain number of visible minority employees in the public service, from a control group of non-visible minority employees, from the hiring/managing group, and from the EX group and from a small number of private sector firms; (e) interviews with key persons (mostly at the Assistant Deputy Minister and Director General levels) in the fourteen departments and agencies, and with a small number of human resources managers in the private sector; and (f) focus groups of visible minorities, non-visible minority public servants, hiring and/or managing personnel and a group of former visible minority public servants.  

1.2 Focus Groups

Thirty-eight focus groups were organized across Canada. Face-to-face focus groups took place in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Telefocus groups run from Ottawa involved participants from all provinces. Altogether, 378 individuals participated. The size of the groups varied from one to 21. Separate focus groups were held whenever possible for: (a) visible minority public servants, (b) a control group of non-visible minority public servants, (c) those in hiring and/or managing group, and (d) former public servants. The participants expressed their views candidly and provided valuable information that has been used in the report.

1.3 Interviews

Interviews were conducted with fourteen Assistant Deputy Ministers and Directors General in the public service, human resources managers in eight different private sector organizations, and the former President of the Canadian Bankers' Association. Many also provided us with written materials useful for the study.

Summary: Chapter 1

Introduction

The purpose of this chapter was to introduce the study and outline its aims and methodology.

• Representation of members of visible minorities in the federal public service is lower than expected given their representation in the Canadian workforce as a whole. It is also below comparable figures for federally regulated private sector employers.
• The study aims to provide the public service with constructive suggestions about important factors that may contribute to low representation levels.
• Fourteen federal departments and agencies, and over 2,000 individuals, participated in the study

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