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Employment Equity Policy

  • Related Documents: Accessibility Statement of Commitment
  • Owner:  Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs (in situations involving members of the Toronto Metropolitan Faculty Association); Human Resources
  • Approver:  Board of Governors
  • Approval Dates:  November 1999, June 2003, September 2003, August 2007

I.    Purpose

The purposes of this policy are:

a.   To outline the principles of equity and diversity in the workplace underlying Toronto Metropolitan University's (the "University") employment equity program;

b.    To define the accountabilities for the University's employment equity program;

c.    To establish the policy framework within which the University's employment equity program will be managed and implemented.

II.    Principles

The University is committed to principles of equity and diversity in the workplace.  Employment equity is a principle at the core of the University's overall mandate as a community leader and an institution of higher learning.  The University is committed to promoting employment equity within its community, and to ensuring there is equal opportunity and equitable representation in employment for all current and potential faculty and staff.

Employment equity involves hiring the best-qualified candidate while ensuring a fair and equitable hiring process for all persons.  The University shall hire and make employment and promotion decisions on the basis of qualifications and merit.  Within this context, the University shall make proactive efforts to increase the participation from the four groups designated for employment equity, namely women, visible minorities, persons with disabilities and aboriginal persons.

III.    Objectives

The following objectives apply to the Employment Equity policy:

1.    Achieve and maintain a representative workforce for all employees by actively seeking to attract individuals of diverse backgrounds while affirmatively addressing the historic under-representation of aboriginal peoples, people with disabilities, visible minorities and women.

2.    Develop and implement an employment equity plan (including goals and timetables) to achieve and maintain representational hiring among faculty and staff.

3.    Identify and remove discriminatory barriers (systemic or otherwise), implement special programs and work with the community at the University to foster an environment that promotes the principles of employment equity in the workplace.

4.    Work collaboratively with academic and administrative leaders, unions and employee groups to develop an effective communication strategy that will educate, inform and raise the level of awareness within the community towards employment equity and diversity-related issues.

5.    Manage an effective outreach program that will facilitate the wide promotion of employment opportunities in order to enhance the diversity of the candidate pool and ultimately enhance the representation of designated groups among faculty and staff.

6.    Ensure continued compliance with the requirements of all relevant legislation (including the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Federal Contractors Program) as well as internal policies and collective agreements that govern the various groups of faculty and staff.

IV.    Policy

The University is committed to actively seeking and attracting qualified individuals of diverse backgrounds while affirmatively addressing the historic under-representation of Aboriginal Peoples, people with disabilities, visible minorities and women.

The University is committed to actively promoting employment equity within its community and to promoting a climate that is favourable to the successful integration of members of designated groups.

The University shall ensure that there are no discriminatory barriers in the selection, development and training, promotion, and retention and termination of employees.  The University will make reasonable accommodations to enable employees to compete on an equitable basis.

V.    Scope

This policy applies to all employees of the University, including faculty - career or tenure stream, academic and administrative support staff, supervisors, managers, academic administrators and senior administrators and the executive.

VI.    Definitions

Statutory Definitions

(as set out in Schedule IV of the Employment Equity Regulations)

Aboriginal Peoples: For the purposes of employment equity, aboriginal peoples means persons who are Indian (including both status and non-status), Inuit or Metis.

Persons with Disabilities:  For the purposes of employment equity, persons with disabilities means persons, who have a long-term or recurring physical, mental, sensory, psychiatric or learning impairment and who:

a.    consider themselves to be disadvantaged in employment by reason of that impairment, or

b.    believe that an employer or potential employer is likely to consider them to be disadvantaged in employment by reason of that impairment, and includes persons whose functional limitations owing to their impairment have been accommodated in their current job or workplace.

Visible Minorities:  For the purposes of employment equity, members of visible minorities means persons, other than aboriginal persons (from Canada), who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.                  

Non-Statutory Definitions

Special Programs - fall within the provisions found in the Canadian Charter of Rightsand Freedoms (s. 15(2)).  The Charter, as part of the Canadian constitution, is the supreme law of Canada.  Special program provisions are also protected under federal and provincial human rights legislation.  Declared by the Supreme Court to be quasi-constitutional legislation, human rights legislation has precedence over all other legislation with the exception of the constitution.

Under-Representation - is defined as having a significantly lower percentage of designated group members in a particular occupational group than would reasonably be expected in comparison to their known availability.

VII.    Roles and Responsibilities

All members of the community at the University play a role in the success of employment equity.  Final responsibility and accountability for the University's Employment Equitypolicy, however, rest with the President.

1.    The President of the University has primary responsibility for the University's employment equity program.  The President will ensure open communications on this policy and on the results of its employment equity initiatives by reporting annually to the Board of Governors.

2.    The Provost and Vice President Academic, the Vice President, Administration and Finance and the Vice President, University Advancement, assisted by the senior management group, are responsible for implementing steps in the employment equity program and are accountable for the overall achievement of employment equity in their respective divisions.

3.    The Vice President, Administration and Finance, in consultation with the Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs (on issues relating to faculty or instructors) is responsible for setting overall University goals for achieving employment equity consistent with the policies and collective agreements which govern the various groups of faculty and staff.

4.    The Employment Equity Unit, under the leadership and direction of the Executive Director, Human Resources, is responsible for managing and monitoring the University=s employment equity program and for ensuring compliance with all legal requirements.  The Unit will develop an employment equity plan in consultation with the academic and administrative departments, which establishes quantitative and qualitative measures and which reflects the findings of the ongoing employment systems reviews.

5.    The Chancellor, Board of Governors, President, vice presidents, deans, senior administrators and all other administrators who have responsibility for employment actions have ultimate responsibility and accountability for the outcomes of this program, and are also expected to foster and endorse attitudes and behaviours within their individual work groups that advance employment equity.

VIII.    Jurisdiction

This policy falls under the jurisdiction of the Vice President, Administration and Finance.  The interpretation and application of this policy is a shared responsibility of the Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs (in situations involving members of the Toronto Metropolitan Faculty Association) and Human Resources.