‘We want to continue along the pathway’: civic workforce diversity report shows minor gains, losses

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This article was published 09/05/2023 (1206 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg is inching closer to some of its workforce diversity goals, though women and racialized peoples now account for a slightly smaller portion of employees.

A new report charts the portion of city staff who declare themselves to be part of one or more “equity groups,” which include Indigenous and racialized people, women, LGBTTQ+, people with disabilities, and newcomers, as of 2022.

The self-reported data show most of the categories were all slightly more represented among municipal staff than during the previous year, except for women and racialized people.

Racialized people made up 16.29 per cent of city staff in 2022, down from 16.37 per cent in 2021.

Women accounted for 26.91 per cent of the city’s workforce in 2022, down from 28.23 per cent the previous year.

Coun. Markus Chambers, chairman of council’s human rights committee, said the fact some of the equity groups are seeing increased representation within the city’s workforce is encouraging.

However, a labour shortage is now making diversity targets tougher to meet, said Chambers. “We see the challenges in just hiring staff. To get as granular as we want to be in terms of representation of the community, it’s even that much harder.”

Chambers said he expects the recent additions of a manager and administrative assistant to the city’s equity office should help trigger more progress toward ensuring civic staff reflect the makeup of Winnipeg itself.

“Now we can gather that data, analyze it and then implement initiatives to address the current targets that we’re not meeting,” he said, noting targeted employment fairs and outreach to cultural groups as possible steps.

Chambers said it’s important to have a diverse workforce to help the city become more culturally aware in the ways it delivers services.

“We want to continue along the pathway of ensuring that the services that we deliver are reflective of the population that we’re serving… It’s the lived experience of each individual that they can bring to the table (that’s important).”

The city notes its data is only considered partial, since a “self-declaration” questionnaire that tracks diversity had a 41.7 per cent response rate among about 10,300 total city employees.

Meanwhile, last year marked the second consecutive slight dip for female representation. In 2020, women made up 29.35 per cent of the city’s workforce.

“It is concerning when we see our numbers go down. We’d like to see more women participate in our workforce… We’re going to have to look at it and ask why women aren’t applying for the jobs,” said Coun. Cindy Gilroy.

Gilroy, who has worked with UN Safe Cities to combat violence and sexual violence towards women in public spaces, said recent safety concerns at some city properties may be making those facilities less appealing places for women to work at.

“I know that safety contributes to (women’s participation) in the workforce. I know, in particular, with some of the issues we’ve had around community services in our libraries and at our park facilities, we’re having issues getting people to even apply for those jobs, let alone women,” said Gilroy.

The city should also continue to combat any sense of a “boys’ club” in male-dominated departments and determine where flexible work hours and work-from-home options can be used to help women with children balance jobs and home lives, she said.

Gilroy said the city’s chief administrative officer has created a “women at work” committee, which could help address any gender gaps.

“I do think that the city has done a better job than in the past. I do think we’re on the right track,” she said.

The diversity report will be discussed at the May 12 meeting of council’s human rights committee.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

Workforce diversity report