Equity &
Diversity
THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT & VALUING DIVERSITY:
CHAPTER 3
Overview:
Legal issues and Canadian Law
Discrimination
Equity
Sexual Harassment
Diversity
The Legal Framework
• The Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms
• The Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA)
• Provincial laws
Charter of Rights and
Freedoms
Freedom of conscience and religion
Freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and
expression, including freedom of the press and
other media of communication
Freedom of peaceful assembly
Freedom of association
Section 15: Equality rights
Canadian Human Rights Act
“Every individual should have an equal
opportunity with other individuals to make for
himself or herself the life that he or she is able
and wishes to have, consistent with his or her
duties and obligations as a member of society.”
(Section 2)
“It is a discriminatory practice, directly or indirectly,
(a) to refuse to employ or continue to employ
any individual, or
(b) in the course of employment, to
differentiate adversely in relation to an
employee, on a prohibited ground of
discrimination” (Section 8)
Prohibited grounds for
discrimination
race/colour
national or ethnic origin
religion
sex (including pregnancy and childbirth)
marital status/family status
age (18+)
mental or physical disability
pardoned conviction
sexual orientation
dependence on alcohol/drugs (except Yukon & NW
Territories)
Provincial Human Rights Codes
The Enforcement of
Provincial Human Rights Laws
Provincial human rights laws are enforced in a
manner very similar to that of the federal system.
Employers tend to be small and medium-sized
businesses, many of which lack an HR professional
who is knowledgeable about human rights
legislation.
The majority of cases are resolved at the
investigation stage. If no agreement can be
reached, the case is presented to the province’s
human rights commission.
The Enforcement of
Provincial Human Rights Laws
• File a written complaint
• Investigation and submission of report
• If complaint is substantiated, settlement
• If no agreement, then a tribunal
Preventing discrimination
Direct Discrimination
Intentional impact on protected groups
Systemic Discrimination
Unintentional negative impact on protected
groups- test is “in good faith”
Preventing discrimination
Business Necessity
A practice that is necessary for safe and efficient
organizational operations.
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)
Justifiable reason for discrimination based on
business necessity or a requirement that can be
clearly defended as intrinsically required by the
tasks on the job (reasons of safety or effectiveness).
Disparate Treatment
A situation that exists when protected-class members
are treated differently from others.
Preventing discrimination
Adverse Impact
adverse impact exists if the number of people hired divided by
number of applicants, for any group, is less than 80% of the
selection ratio for another group
Majority hires Minority hires
4/5 =
Majority applicants Minority applicants
Applying the Adverse
Impact Rule
Adverse Impact?
# Females Hired: 9
# Males Hired: 40
# Female Applicants: 60
# Male Applicants: 100
Selection Ratio (Males):
Selection Ratio (Females):
→ Evidence of Adverse Impact
Applying the Adverse
Impact Rule
Adverse Impact
# Females Hired: 6
# Males Hired: 8
# Female Applicants: 36
# Male Applicants: 80
Selection Ratio (Males):
Selection Ratio (Females):
→ No Evidence of Adverse Impact
Preventing discrimination
If Systemic Discrimination
Reasonable Accommodation
Duty to modify test to allow protected individual(s)
fair chance, unless undue hardship to employer
Reasonable Alternative
Employer must show that there are no other
reasonable alternatives to a discriminatory practice
Sufficient Risk
Proof of safety risk for not complying with BFOR
Legal Decision Making 15
1. Review use of the
selection predictor
2. Evidence of direct No 6. Does the predictor 7. Operationally
discrimination have adverse impact? No adopt predictor
Yes Yes
5. Revise or Replace
No 3. Is use of general 8. As good a predictor 9. Investigate
predictor to exclusion rule a BFOR? without adverse impact? Yes alternative predictor
eliminate use of
prohibited ground Yes No
4. Operationally 10. Does the predictor 11. Revise or
adopt predictor comprise a BFOR? No replace predictor
Yes
12. Has the employer met burden 13. Revise or
of reasonable accommodation? No replace predictor
Yes
14. Operationally
adopt predictor
Pay Equity
Covered by all Canadian jurisdictions, either through
explicit laws or policies, except Alberta.
Illegal to discriminate on the basis of job content
helps address the discriminatory portion of the historical wage
gap between men and women and to ensure that salary
ranges reflect the value of the work performed
Equal pay for work of equal value – pay equality
Equal pay for work of comparable worth, or equal pay for
work of comparable value – pay equity legislation
The Employment Equity Act
(1995)
Organizations regulated under the Canada
Labour Code
More than 100 employees
Why do you think the federal government treats small businesses
differently than large businesses?
Federal Contractors Program
Employment Equity
4 Designated Groups
Women Visible
minorities
Persons with Aboriginal
disabilities people
Equity Programs
1. Sr. Mgt commitment & support
2. Data collection and analysis
3. Employment systems review
4. Plan development
5. Implementation
6. Monitoring, evaluating, revising
Benefits
Impact
Sexual Harassment
Sexual Harassment
• Unwelcome advances,
requests for sexual
favours, and other verbal
or physical conduct of a
sexual nature in the
working environment
Managing
Diversity
FOCUSING ON INDIVIDUALS
• THE OPTIMIZATION OF AN ORGANIZATION’S
MULTICULTURAL WORKFORCE IN ORDER TO
REACH BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
Managing Diversity
Include diversity as part of strategic objectives
Communicate plan
Provide Training
Ensure accountability
Measure
Economic sense & competitive advantage?
Business Reasons for Diversity
Management
• Better utilization of talent
• Increased marketplace understanding
• Enhanced creativity
• Increased quality of team problem solving
• Greater understanding in leadership positions
