WSD alone in having equity employment program

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This article was published 06/10/2020 (1857 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ONLY one urban school division has an equity employment program — and the remaining ones aren’t ready to commit to making their own just yet — despite calls for their creation in a new report that highlights a shortage of Indigenous teachers in Winnipeg.

The Winnipeg Indigenous Executive Circle has issued 10 recommendations to help divisions and education partners ensure teaching and school leadership teams better reflect student populations. On the list is a call on all city divisions to establish Indigenous hiring targets and monitor results through an employment equity policy and program.

Heather McCormick, co-author of the report and chairwoman of the circle’s education committee, said she was “shocked” to learn only the Winnipeg School Division has a formal equity employment program.

“I’m not sure how you accurately address shortages of Indigenous people, people of colour, racialized communities, if you’re not actually keeping track of who’s in your schools,” McCormick said at the report launch Tuesday at Neeginan Centre.

The goal of such programs is to promote equality in the workforce and remove barriers for candidates who are Indigenous, visible minorities, women or have a disability — groups that are typically underrepresented.

“At the most basic level, it’s an audit of your workforce,” said Maureen Kilgour, a business professor at the University of Winnipeg who researches equality in the workplace.

Kilgour said equity programs are typically three-pronged and require: employers commit to making their workforce representative of their community; a collection of self-identification employee information; and a review of everything from recruitment strategies to hiring committees. Employers then create a strategy to monitor and evaluate progress, she said.

Alternatively, Kilgour noted there is a provision to do targeted hiring in the Manitoba Human Rights Code. Divisions could set immediate goals to hire only “disadvantaged individuals,” under section 11 of the code.

Superintendent Brian O’Leary said Seven Oaks has a goal of ensuring 50 per cent of its hires in the upcoming year are Indigenous or belong to another diverse group. While noting teacher self-identification isn’t tracked, O’Leary said the division has “a good track record,” citing partnerships with the U of W faculty of education.

The equity report suggests a shortage of nearly 600 Indigenous teachers in Winnipeg, given the population of Indigenous students. At the same time, the authors acknowledge significant reporting gaps.

Only the WSD provided 2017-18 Indigenous self-identification figures; data show Indigenous students accounted for 27.2 per cent of the student population, while 8.5 per cent of permanent teaching staff identified as Indigenous.

While the River East Transcona, Louis Riel, Pembina Trails, St. James-Assiniboia and Seven Oaks divisions did not confirm Tuesday if they would start to collect such data or create new equity policies, each division expressed a goal to have its workforce reflect the diversity of its community.

Superintendent Christian Michalik said Louis Riel needs to collect teacher data, and the pandemic cannot be an excuse for delays.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca