Changing demographics of Canadian labour force

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Changing demographics of Canadian labour force

• Historically work force responsibilities fell on
• White
• Able-bodied
• Heterosexual
• Married
• Christian
• Men

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Workplace designed to meet needs of this group

• Implications of changing demographics
• People who are different?
• Having mothers fathers in labour force?
• People of different religious observance?
• Opening homosexual employees?
• Persons with disabilities?

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Demographic quiz

• Some definitions
• Labour Force Those 15 years older, employed
  and unemployed (looking for work)
• Labour Force Participation Rate proportion of
  group who are in labour force
• Visible minorities Non-white by colour,
  non-Caucasian by race
• Aboriginal peoples Status and non-status,
  Metis, Inuit
• Persons with disabilities Lacking a major life
  function

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Changing demographics

• Affect pool of available labour
• Direct impact on effectiveness of many HR
  functions
• Legislative response to
• Ensure fairness
• Overcome past discrimination

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Charter of Rights FreedomsEquality section
(Section 15)

• 15(1) Every individual is equaland has
  right(s)without discrimination based on race,
  national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex,
  age, or mental or physical disability.
• 15(2) (The guarantee of equality) does not
  preclude any law, program or activity that has as
  its objective the amelioration of conditions of
  disadvantaged individuals or groups including
  those that are disadvantaged because of .

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Comparison Individual and systemic
discrimination

• Individual
• Aberrant incident
• Employee suspects discrimination can file a
  complaint
• Remedy Make person whole
• Liability begins at time of complaint
• Focus Past
• Complaint-based

• Systemic
• Operation of system
• Discrimination is often subtle difficult to
  see
• Remedy Usually more than one way
• Period of time required to identify and correct
• Focus Future
• Pro-active (may have complaint component too)

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Federal compared to Provincial legislation

• All organizations covered by one or other
• Federal legislation covers
• Federal Crown Corporations
• Federal public service and agencies
• Federally regulated industries
• Banking, communications transportation

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Provincially regulated organizations

• Any organization which is NOT federally regulated
• Private sector organizations not in federally
  regulated industries (these companies must obey
  legislation in each province in which they
  operate)
• Provincial Crown Corporations
• Provincial civil service
• Broader public sector
• E.g., Municipalities, hospitals and universities

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Come together Supreme Court

• Supreme Court decisions
• Decisions in one jurisdiction affect other
  jurisdictions
• E.g., Manitoba Human Rights case said
  discrimination on the basis of pregnancy covered
  by prohibition of discrimination on basis of
  gender
• Cannot discriminate on basis of sexual
  orientation

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Comparison between human rights, EE Diversity
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Most Controversial aspects

• Duty to accommodate (Human rights and EE)
• Data collection (EE) see questions
• Setting goals (goals vs targets) (EE)
• Assumption that hiring unqualified people
• Special measures (EE)

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EE workforce survey questions

• Are you female or male?
• Are you
• a. an Aboriginal person or
• b. a member of a visible minority (e.g., Asian,
  Black, Chinese, East Indian), or
• c. white
• 3. Do you consider yourself to have a disability
  which prevents you from using a major life
  function (e.g., blind, missing a limb, learning
  disability)? Yes No

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Harassment

• Sexual
• Gender
• Race
• Disability
• Sexual orientation
• Etc. protected groups under human rights

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Sexual harassment
Clearly Acceptable Behaviour
Clearly unacceptable behaviour
GRAY AREA exists because everyone draws a line
between acceptable unacceptable behavior at a
different place
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Building Block for Diversity Culture
Rules for right behaviour (norms) Norms teach
us what is right in our culture which leads us
to believe that our culture is right
Feels omni-present Unaware of extent our
others behaviours are influenced by culture
Learned much of what is assumed to be human
nature is culturally learned