Annual Report 2019-2020 / Visible Minorities Network

1. Message from the Executive Committee

Fiscal 2019/2020 was a good year for the Visible Minorities Network (VMN) full of change and progress. In the Summer 2019, a newly elected Executive Committee was on-boarded; the Network Terms of Reference were modified to reflect updated objectives as well as an approach to communicating with its membership; and, plans to host several events and engagement sessions were implemented to promote and address issues of importance to the community.

Over the last few months, we have been working hard to strategize and enhance the working conditions and opportunities for visible minorities within the Department. The activities we have engaged in have really enabled us to build strong foundations to support our goals of acting as champions for our community. We strongly believe that this Network is important and plays an essential role in guiding the Department to embark on a culture of the future – a culture of collaboration, recognition and inclusivity. As such, we are proud to be working with a broad range of hardworking, caring individuals and community leaders. From dedicated volunteers to senior leadership there is a genuine understanding for persistence and focus on achieving the Department's objective towards diversity and inclusion.

We believe that our success is the Networks success. With the ongoing support of members, senior leadership and our communities of practice, the VMN will be ready for the challenges and achievements ahead in fiscal 2020/2021.

2. Background

Since launching ESDC's Visible Minorities Network (VMN) in November 2018, the first major step was to fill the Executive Committee with nine member positions consisting of four core and five regional executive positions.

To fill these positions, the Department engaged in an election process, which ran from April to May 2019. After receiving hundreds of votes from employees across the Department, the result of this election was the nomination of nine members to lead the Network as the VMN Executive Committee.

Following the nominations, the Executive Committee members, each elected for two-year terms, had to vote amongst themselves to appoint members to each of the core positions of Chair, Vice-Chair, Communications Manager, and Secretary. The appointment of Regional Representatives however, was based on the number of votes received by each nominee during the election process. Therefore, the regional nominee with the most vote in each region was automatically appointed as the Regional Representative for their respective region (National Capital Region, Ontario, Quebec, Western-Territories, and Atlantic). The Executive Committee was formally established in September 2019. More details outlining the committee structure and objectives can be found under the section labelled Executive Committee.

2.1 Mandate

The Executive Committee of the VMN strives to enhance the working conditions and opportunities for visible minorities within ESDC. The Executive Committee will work and collaborate strategically with Network members, ESDC senior leadership, communities of practice, and various other subject matter experts to identify and reduce barriers and challenges that visible minorities face. This includes finding attainable solutions and recommendations to submit to senior leadership within ESDC for action and decision-making.

According to the Terms of Reference, the Network mandate is to:

• Raise awareness of inclusion, employment equity, and diversity in ESDC;
• Build a more welcoming, inclusive, and representative department for visible minorities; and,
• Eliminate barriers that inhibit the full participation of visible minorities within ESDC.

2.2 Network Objectives

The Executive Committee established, through the Terms of Reference, that the VMN will undertake activities that focus on the following three objectives:

• Develop strategies to increase visible minority recruitment, retention and advancement;
• Develop visible minority inclusion; and,
• Increase visible minority engagement.

2.3 Executive Committee

2.3.1 Structure

The VMN Executive Committee consist of nine elected members: one regional representative for each of the five regions (National Capital Region, Western-Territories, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic), along with a Chair, Vice-Chair, Communications Manager, and Secretary.

In general, responsibilities for the Executive Committee include representing the Network at various Employment Equity related committee meetings, managing the Network budget, developing and circulating communication material on Network related matters, maintaining records for Network activities, and engaging with regionalmembers on matters related to the network.

A detailed listing of Executive Committee member responsibilities can be found on the Network iServices page.

2.3.2 Biographies

The Executive Committee, representing the approximately 6,000 self-declared visible minority employees across the Department, consists of a strong, passionate and talented group of individuals.

Hayley Millington, VMN Chair, is a Fraud Investigator with the Learning Branch. Hayley has been with ESDC since she joined the Public Service in 2001. She is a passionate advocate and activist that is excited by the change that the VMN represents. Hayley looks forward to continuing to work with other members of the VMN and its allies to ensure that the lens of diversity and inclusion are applied and that meaningful dialogue and action ensues.

Mamadou Ndiaye, VMN Vice-Chair, has been working with ESDC since 2009. He is currently a Senior Advisor with the Social Innovation and Community Development Directorate. Mamadou is passionate about diversity, human rights and employment equity.

Sagal Abdullahi, VMN Communications Manager, joined ESDC in 2017 and is currently a Senior Program Advisor with the Transformation and Integrated Service Management Branch. She is passionate about helping others succeed and is an advocate for promoting more inclusivity in all her communities of practice.

Raul Llorente Topete, VMN Secretary, is a first-generation immigrant, and a proudly selfidentified visible minority. Since 2006, he has worked at different levels within the Federal Government. He has a sincere devotion to bring visible minorities to the next level by making real, tangible and substantial changes.

David Nelson, VMN Quebec Regional Representative, joined ESDC in 2017, and currently works as a Program Officer at the Programs Directorate. He is particularly interested in visible-minority representation at the management and senior management levels, and in opportunities for advancement for his peers.

Sadia Ahmed, VMN Ontario Regional Representative, joined the Public Service in 2017 and currently works as a Program Services Officer in the Integrity Services Branch at ESDC. Supporting and helping people from various walks of life is important to her. She connects strongly with the VMNs commitment to inclusion and equality, where every voice is valued and respected.

Moss Elmouftaquir, VMN National Capital Region Representative, has been with ESDC for over 10 years now and went through most business lines. A proud member of the VMN Executive Committee, he is concretely involved in raising awareness about this topic through his role with the ESDC Office of Values and Ethics. Passionate and devoted, he is a firm believer in the positive culture change.

Adwoa Gyasi Nimako, VMN Western-Territories Regional Representative, is currently an Integrity Services Investigator with Service Canada and has over 10 years of experience across various business lines. Passionate about leadership, talent management, and learning, Adwoa believes in empowering, developing, and encouraging all employees to find passion in their work.

2.3.3 Executive Committee Objectives

This year the VMN Executive Committee has committed to the following objectives:

• Promote employment equity, inclusion and diversity of visible minority employees;
• Provide a supportive and responsive Network for visible minority employees;
• Provide advice and guidance on inclusion issues and policies that affect visible minorities in ESDC;
• Advise managers, human resource advisors and Diversity Champions on issues related to recruitment, staffing, training, retention, career and talent management for visible minority employees;
• Serve as a consultative body for departmental initiatives (policies, services, programs, etc.) to review the potential impact on visible minority employees; and,
• Be champions of the VMN in their respective Directorates across ESDC.

In order to achieve these objectives, the committee engaged in several initiatives and met regularly with ESDC leadership, other employment equity networks, and subject matter experts to identify and propose solutions for barriers faced by visible minorities.

For example, in October 2019 the Executive Committee Chair and Vice Chair became standing members of an interdepartmental working group between the various communities of practice (Indigenous Employees Circle, Persons with Disabilities Network, and the Pride Network) and the Departments Human Resources and Services Branch (HRSB). The purpose of this working group is to address the issue of Unconscious Bias in the areas of hiring policies, recruitment, and career management. The committee has been fully engaged in this working group and has since been engaging senior leadership on solutions to remove barriers that visible minorities face within the Government of Canada.

A more recent example demonstrating the committee's ability to meet objectives was shown through its immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In early March 2020after hearing from a member in the Western-Territories region that had been subjected to discrimination in their local community, the committee immediately took the initiative to build awareness regarding racism and xenophobia towards visible minorities. Through an email communication, the committee advocated for members to stand up against these kinds of behaviours and communicated that they would be available to help those who may be facing discrimination as a result of COVID-19.

More examples, which demonstrate the committee's ability to meet objectives, are found in the following section, labelled Progress Report.

3. Progress Report

The following section highlights progress and achievements made in the areas of data, building awareness and collaborations.

3.1 Understanding the Data

In November 2019, the committee conducted research and collected statistical data from external partners such as TBS and Statistics Canada to gain a better understanding of visible minority demographics in the country as well as within the federal public service. The committee also collaborated with HRSB to collect internal departmental employment data in order to identify trends and patterns within the organization for visible minorities.

Following an analysis of the data collected, the Executive Committee concluded that as of April 2019, 22.1% of the total departmental population (approximately 25,000 employees) selfidentify as visible minorities. This represents approximately 6,000 employees. The overall visible minority representation within the Department has been trending positively every year since 2015. The increasing population is most notable outside of the National Capital Region (i.e. the Western-Territories, Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic regions) where collectively 73% of visible minorities are currently located.

The committee further examined the data to conduct an analysis on role types (i.e. Management vs. Non-Management positions) to determine the proportion of visible minorities that hold positions with the authorities, decision-making capabilities and senior leadership level influence. The purpose was to examine the relationship of role type and the ability to provide advice and guidance on inclusion issues and policies that affect visible minorities within ESDC. The analysis demonstrated that approximately 93% of visible minorities within the Department are currently in Non-Management (i.e. two positions lower than an EX-01 position) type roles. Furthermore, the data collected indicated that approximately 2% (504) of the total departmental population hold executive level positions. However, only one out of every 10 executives within the department self-identify as visible minorities (51 of 504).

As of April 1, 2019, data collected from HRSB indicated employment gaps for visible minorities in the Scientific and Professional classifications of Nursing (NU), Medicine (MD) and Education (ED). Data from a more recent report as of January 1, 2020, indicates that gaps in these classifications remain as well as additional gaps in the executive suite (EX) and in the Administration and Foreign Services classifications of Administrative Services (AS), Computer Systems (CS), Information Services (IS) and Purchasing and Supply (PG).

Through this research, the committee is now able, and prepared, to provide senior management, as well as other stakeholders, with evidence-based data to quantify discussions around visible minority recruitment, retention and advancement within the department. The data will also serve to better position the committee to become a stakeholder, or consultative body, for any departmental initiatives regarding policies, services, and programs that affect visibly minority employees. In this way, data will continue to be integral in promoting and achieving visible minority objectives.

3.2 Building Awareness

3.2.1 Corporate Communications

Throughout the year, the committee has had several opportunities to draft, review and provide input to departmental communiques. For instance, the Executive Committee contributed to an article announcing Latin Heritage Month (October 2019) to recognize the valuable contribution of members of the Latin American community to this country's social, economic, political and cultural fabric. Similarly, the committee drafted and edited articles announcing the 2020 Lunar New Year (January 2020), Black History Month (February 2020), and the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 2020). These kinds of articles in departmental wide publications have served to build awareness of important cultural and historical dates.

3.2.2 Events

The Executive Committee also planned and delivered several events to build awareness and celebrate visible minorities. On January 24, the executive committee, with support of regionally based Network volunteers and members of the HRSB Diversity and Inclusion team, hosted simultaneous regional events to mark the official launch of the recently established Network as well as to celebrate Lunar New Year 2020. The events took place around noon local time in Vancouver, Toronto, Gatineau and Montreal. For each event, the VMNs Regional Representatives adapted formats that would best serve their local areas. For instance, in the Western-Territories (W-T) Region, the Lunar New Year was marked by a panel discussion with speakers sharing their thoughts, opinions and experiences as visible minorities within the federal public service. The intent of the panel was to foster inspiration for members of the community in hopes of them achieving career success. Many thanks to the representatives from the W-T Indigenous Employees Circles, W-T Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and W-T Disability Network for their support in the event's success.

The Quebec Region also celebrated the launch with a panel discussion bringing together local employees representing the visible minority and allies. Speakers introduce participants to the Asian culture, traditions and described how the Lunar New Year was celebrated from one culture to another. Speakers also shared their career journeys within ESDC.

The National Capital Region celebrated the launch by inviting guest speaker Fahd Alhattab to deliver a workshop on: What does leadership means for visible minorities? Participants engaged in a networking session following the event. Similarly, the Ontario (ON) Region invited two guest speakers to discuss diversity in leadership. The first speaker, Dr. Wendy Cukier, Academic Director of the Diversity Institute of Ryerson University, discussed how to enhance the inclusion of visible minority employees in the Public Service. Dr. Cukier's speech was followed by Indira Persaud, Executive Director of Employment Insurance for Service Canada, Ontario Region, which offered her lived experience as a visible minority within the Public Service.

In general, event turnout was fantastic with several dozen employees joining (in-person and virtually) the local events in their respective regions. Based on the feedback, the events were all well received with the Network seeing an increase in its membership. In fact, since the January events, the committee has received over 30 applications from employees requesting to join the Network.

On February 7, the Executive Committee hosted a 2-hour long Panel Discussion to celebrate Black History Month. Moderated by Andrew Brown, the ESDC Champion for Visible Minorities, panelists consisted of Richard Sharpe, Hamdi Mursal and Jessica Yamoah. Richard is the co-Founder of the Federal Black Employees Caucus (FBEC), the first organization for Black federal public servants formed to address the issues faced within government departments and agencies. Hamdi, a former Legal Aid Lawyer at the African Canadian Legal Clinic ("ACLC"), is an Advisor with the Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Prevention (WDHP) unit for the Ontario Public Service (OPS). Jessica is the CEO and Founder of INNOV^TE INC, a community-based organization that provides awareness and access to underrepresented communities with a focus on entrepreneurship and technology.

The panelists, all community leaders from both the public and private sectors, shared experiences from their respective fields of practice and provided a conversation that was honest, frank and, at times, vulnerable. The audience engaged in an open conversation with the panelists who spoke about their lived experiences as Black Canadians, challenges they faced in the workplace, and pivotal initiatives with the Black community.

A key take away from the event was that every individual's voice matters – no matter one's tenure, race or credence. The panelists referenced that as public servants, we can contribute to and influence the lives of the Canadian public that we serve. The panelists' willingness to be frank and vulnerable provoked the audience to be mindful of the impacts of their work and how it effects those in racialized communities. Overall, the often intense conversations were well received, leaving a call-to-action to positively influence change and find innovative solutions to the challenges faced by those in marginalized communities.

On February 25, the VMN Quebec Regional Representative along with Quebec's Youth Mandate for Greater Involvement Network (YMAGIN) collaborated on a local Black History Month event. The event invited employees to discuss the theme of "Freedom is never given, it is won". Guest speakers Brian Smith, Vice President of the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education; Andrew Brown, the ESDC Champion for Visible Minorities and Director General of Employment Insurance Policy at ESDC; and Jessy Thermil, Consultant in Service Canada's Programs Branch, spoke of their career paths and their commitment to their communities. In addition, the Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Patrick Lefort; Caroline Harès, Director General, Programs Branch; Philippe Émond, Champion of the YMAGIN Network and Director of Integrity Services; and, Fabienne Jean-François, National Vice-President of the Canada Employment and Immigration Union also attended the conference in person.

The main objective of this event was to provide a forum to enable EDSC employees to discuss and deepen their knowledge on topics related to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and to acquire tools to facilitate their career and personal development. As such, this type of event directly supports the Department's objectives for diversity and inclusion. More than 100 employees attended this event. Efforts are currently underway to make the conference, in its entirety, available on GCconnex.

The Executive Committee looks forward to hosting many more similar events in the near future.

3.2.3 Community Engagements

Throughout February, the committee remained busy participating in numerous engagements and building awareness for the VMN. Committee members attended several events hosted by MPs and other communities of practice. For instance, on February 3, members of the Executive Committee meet with Minister Hussen (Minister of Families, Children and Social Development) at the Evening on the Hill Event and took the opportunity to speak to him regarding the Network and opportunities to collaborate in upcoming events. Members of the Executive Committee along with the ESDC Champion for Visible Minorities took part in an all-day event on February 24 hosted by the Federal Black Employee Caucus (FBEC). Members ended this night by attending a Black History Month celebration hosted by Minister Chagger (Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth). A member of the Executive Committee was also invited to a reception hosted by Prime Minister Trudeau on February 25 to be briefed on outcomes of his recent trip to Africa along with his delegation of MPs. Again, the committee took advantage of this opportunity and promoted the VMN to the PM, MPs and other members of the community to build awareness and develop opportunities for partnership.

3.3 Collaborations

The Executive Committee has been collaborating with departmental partners and other communities of practice by contributing a visible minorities lens to ongoing departmental conversations. For instance, on October 18, the ESDC Champion for Visible Minorities along with members of the executive committee had the opportunity to partake in a Design Jam for Innovation in Inclusion hosted by the National Visible Minorities Champions and Chairs Committee and the Canadian Heritage Innovation & Experimentation Team. The event involved approximately 100 people from various federal departments. The event itself explored two main issues. First, the term "visible minority", how it makes employees feel as well as exploration of their experience including whether they self-identify and the reasons. Second, exploring how the public service can enhance the inclusion of visible minority employees, how it could be measured and tracked. The committee hopes to continue being involved and contribute to future Design Jams lead by Heritage but also plans on using this kind of innovative approach to engage with Network members.

Also in October, as previously mentioned, the Chair and Vice Chair became standing members of an interdepartmental working group between the various communities of practice (Indigenous Employees Circle, Persons with Disabilities Network, and the Pride Network) and HRSB to address the issue of Unconscious Bias in the areas of hiring policies; recruitment; and career management. The committee continues to be fully engaged in this working group and has since been engaging senior leadership on solutions to remove barriers that visible minorities face within the Government of Canada.

On December 2, a member of the Executive Committee was interviewed by the College@ESDC for insights from a visible minority's perspective to support an initiative focused on updating course content for the Richness of our Differences online curriculum. The Collage and the committee have since been engaging in regular touchpoints to discuss information that would support new course content and inclusion of case studies on behaviors observed at work for members belonging to diverse communities. Significant advances continue to be discussed with the College@ESDC such as the committee's suggestions for the inclusion of topics like intersectionality and privilege in the updated course material.

As further evidence of the importance of inclusion, the Executive Committee is co-developing a presentation along with senior leadership that have expressed a keen interest in the area of diversity and inclusion. The presentation will focus on demonstrating the importance for the Department to have an inclusive policy and the central role that the VMN could play in this process. This document will be shared with senior management in order to facilitate understanding and to contribute to raising awareness on issues faced by visible minority employees.

The committee also engaged with the Public Service Commission (PSC) on presenting to the VMN Executive Committee on Guidance Product tools the commission developed to support hiring practices for more diversity and inclusion. The Executive Committee took the opportunity to introduce this topic along with a brief overview of the tools during a meeting with the departmental Building Bridges meeting. This interdepartmental working group consists of communities of practice and is a great opportunity for VMN Executive Committee to continue sharing information that is important to the various interdepartmental networks mandates.

4. Special Mentions

Fiscal 2019/20 has been a very productive year for the recently established Network. Since September 2019, the VMN Executive Committee, along with volunteer support and guidance from the HRSB Diversity and Inclusion Unit and PASRB Internal Communications Directorate, has been working hard at planning events, engaging partners and addressing all planned activities and commitments for the year. A very special thank you to all those who have spent countless hours and days providing support to the Network.

The Executive Committee would also like to thank Thi Phan Will, VMN Atlantic Regional Representative from May 2019 to January 2020, for all her efforts, dedication and overall positive contributions to the Network during her tenure. Thi Phan, who joined ESDC in 2014 and is currently a Program Officer with Citizen Services Program Delivery Branch, was a motivated leader who wanted to encourage and empower those around her to have a sense of belonging and positive impact in the workplace. Her contributions were greatly appreciated. Thank you Thi Phan!

5. Planning Ahead

Much of what was accomplished in the past year will pave the way forward as the Network continues to deliver on it mandate. To plan for the year ahead, the Executive Committee met in February 2020 to discuss priorities and activities for fiscal 2020/2021. The three priorities discussed included strategies for increasing engagement of visible minorities; increasing inclusion of visible minorities; and, developing recruitment, retention and advancement of visible minorities. By focusing on these three priorities, the Executive Committee hopes that the VMN will unlock its potential as a progressive and adaptive Network that is well positioned to help the Department meet its objectives of diversity and inclusion.

To achieve these priorities, the committee deliberated on activities, such as focus groups and surveys, as well as training and tools most beneficial for visible minorities. See below table (Table 1: Looking Ahead for FY 2020/21) for a sample of the activities discussed per priority, during the Executive Committee meeting of February 2020. The committee believes that these activities along with the many other projects being planned for the upcoming year will help spark the culture change that will eventually ripple across our Department. The committee is excited and looks forward to another productive and successful year ahead.

Table 1: Looking Ahead for FY 2020/21