Why is Equitable Hiring Important?
1) It makes companies and organizations more effective and is key to success and innovation.
When we talk about diversity, it’s important to focus on the ways in which diversity unlocks our full potential. As we saw earlier in the Canadian data, there is a significant lack of diversity in many organizations and senior leadership levels.
That lack of diversity hampers our ability to succeed.
Research suggests that organizations with gender-diverse and racially diverse leaders are 35% more likely to outperform their metrics and goals. Furthermore, diverse teams are more innovative, more likely to implement breakthrough ideas and perform at more efficient and more productive levels. Finally, organizations led by diverse leaders have more informed decision-making and decrease the likelihood of “groupthink.”
2) A company and organization’s success and future is directly tied to its ability to successfully implement equitable, inclusive and welcoming work environments.
Increasingly, social movements have drawn attention to systems where inequity, oppression, prejudice, and bias have long operated to exclude folks from underrepresented communities. Companies that embed equity, inclusion, anti-oppression, and anti-racism throughout their decision-making structures are key to recruiting top talent from all groups. An Organizations’ reputation within a sector is increasingly tied to the implementation of EDI initiatives, and the importance of recruiting a diverse workforce will only grow in the years to come.
3) Equitable hiring is our legal obligation.
The Federal Contractors Program began in 1986 and requires organizations with 100 or more employees who bid on and provide goods or services to the federal government valued at $1 million or more to have an employment equity policy. The Federal Contractors Program ensures that contractors who do business with the Government of Canada seek to achieve and maintain a workforce that is representative of the Canadian workforce, including members of the Four Designated Groups under the Employment Equity Act.
Employment equity exists to remove barriers to employment and participation in employment for members of non-dominant groups, specifically those who have been traditionally under-represented. This includes women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and racialized persons (referred to as the Four Designated Groups). Employment equity acknowledges that these groups have faced systemic discrimination in hiring and promotion processes and works to eliminate those systemic barriers, including sexism, racism, prejudice, and physical barriers.
Your company should adopt and implement employment equity strategies to identify and remove barriers to equity.
Your Equity Policy is designed to eliminate discriminatory barriers that interfere with employment, promotion, transfer, and advancement opportunities.
Furthermore, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, or AODA, requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations during the hiring process and after the candidate has been hired.
4) Inclusive environments are essential to recruit and retain staff from equity-deserving groups and foster a sense of belonging for all staff.
Cultivating a diverse group of community members is only the first step. Without a true commitment to equity and inclusion, we risk recruiting a diverse workforce, without the supports in place to ensure the full success of every member. Retention of diverse communities is dependent upon each member of the community embedding equity, inclusion, and anti-oppressive lenses into everything we do, including equitable recruitment and selection.