HomeMy WebLinkAboutP 146 HR - Equitable Recruitment, Hiring, and Promotion
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POLICY P.146.HR
TITLE: EQUITABLE RECRUITMENT, HIRING, AND PROMOTION
Date issued: 27 April 2021
Last revised:
Authorization: Board: 27 April 2021
1.0 OBJECTIVE
To set out the principles that will govern the development and implementation of fair,
consistent, transparent, and equitable practice for the recruitment, hiring and promotion for all
positions within the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) that will result in a
qualified and diverse workforce with the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to ensure all
students reach their full potential, regardless of their background or identity.
2.0 DEFINITIONS
In this policy,
2.1. Board means the Board of Trustees.
2.2. District means the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB).
2.3. Diversity refers to the presence of a wide range of human qualities and attributes within
a group, organization, or society. The dimensions of diversity include, but are not limit ed
to, age, ancestry, colour, citizenship, creed, culture, ethnic origin, family status, gender,
gender identity, gender expression, immigration status, language, marital status,
physical and intellectual ability, place of origin, race, racial identity, se x, sexual
orientation, and socio-economic status.
2.4. Equality means treating people the same way, to give everyone equal access to
opportunities and benefits in society.
2.5. Equity refers to fairness of treatment and processes by the removal of systemic
barriers, disparity and disproportionality between groups, using extra and positive
measures to bring about equal access to opportunities and benefits in society. It does
not mean treating everyone the same.
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2.6. Hiring means the process for selecti ng candidates for available positions, including all
stages from setting job requirements to the recruitment, application, screening, and
selection processes. The selection process may include multiple sources and methods
such as interviews, written assignments, and references.
2.7. Inclusive (Inclusion) for the purpose of this policy means an environment in which all
individuals are welcomed and treated fairly and respectfully; supported to succeed with
access to relevant resources and opportunities; inspired to contribute fully to the
organization's success; and, valued for their distinctive skills, experiences, and
perspectives at different levels of the organization.
2.8. Promotion means the process of advancement from one position to another position
within the organization that is classified at a higher level, has a higher salary range, and,
often, more and higher-level responsibilities.
2.9. Recruitment means the process for advertising, posting, and other outreach activities
to attract potential candidates based on the unique needs of OCDSB schools and their
communities and central departments.
2.10. Special Program refers to the special measures permitted under the Ontario Human
Rights Code to help create opportunities for people who experience discrimination,
inequality, hardship or economic disadvantage. The Code also protects these programs
from attack by people who do not experience the same disadvantage. To be a special
program, the program must meet one of the following conditions:
a) It relieves hardship or economic disadvantage;
b) It helps disadvantaged people or groups to achieve, or try to achieve, equal
opportunity; or
c) It helps eliminate discrimination.
3.0 GUIDING PRINCIPLES
3.1. It is the policy of the Board to commit to excellence in education and use equity to
achieve equal outcomes for all students.
3.2. The Board upholds fairness, equity, and inclusion as essential principles governing its
human resources, systems, and practices, and as key determinants of its learning and
working environments in which all students, staff, and families have a sense of
belonging.
3.3. The Board believes it is critical to have a well-prepared, diverse, and qualified workforce
with the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to ensure students reach their full
potential.
3.4. The District is committed to the development and implementation of fair, consistent,
transparent, and equitable practices and procedures for recruitment, hiring, and
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promotion for all positions to improve the ability to achieve and maintain a strong and
diverse workforce.
3.5. The OCDSB recognizes the positive effect on the educational experiences and
outcomes of historically underserved students when staff from separate employee
groups and across all levels of the organization reflect their identities.
4.0 SPECIFIC DIRECTIVES
4.1. The OCDSB workforce, including within separate employee groups and across all levels
of the organization, shall increasingly reflect the diversity of the school communities
being served by the District.
4.2. The OCDSB expects all staff in its employ to demonstrate capacity to understand and
respond to the diverse lived experiences of students and families, and to implement
strategies to support equitable and meaningful education that reflect diversity for all
students.
4.3. The OCDSB expects all system and school leaders to model actions to enhance equity
and inclusion of historically disadvantaged identities protected under the Ontario Human
Rights Code as an essential leadership competency.
4.4. The principles found in the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for
Ontarians with Disabilities Act shall guide and set the minimum standards for the
recruitment, hiring, employment, retention, and promotion of staff.
4.5. All applicants for positions within the District shall experience equitable employ ment
systems processes including recruitment, hiring, and promotion. These processes shall
be accessible, fair, consistent, and transparent, regardless of the position.
4.6. Hiring decisions must be based on providing the best possible education program for al l
students while ensuring student safety and well -being.
4.7. All human resource processes will be conducted within the parameters of Collective
Agreements and established Terms and Conditions, where applicable. In the event of a
conflict between this policy and the collective agreement, the collective agreement will
prevail, except insofar as any conflict with the Ontario Human Rights Code, then the
Code prevails.
4.8. The Director of Education shall develop and implement equitable recruitment and
selection procedures. Such procedures shall be based on and include the elements
listed below.
a) Diversity, Equity, and Human Rights
The promotion of Indigenous rights and broader human rights and equity is vital
to achieving a diverse and representative workforce to meet the needs of an
increasingly diverse student body. The way to achieve a diverse and
representative workforce is to:
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i. ensure all employment policies, procedures, and practices are non -
discriminatory;
ii. intentionally identify and remove barriers for Indigenous peoples and
historically disadvantaged groups at each stage of the employment systems
process including recruitment, hiring, retention, and promotions.
b) Qualifications and Merit
While adhering to the qualification requirements set out in Regulation 298,
“Operation of Schools – General”, the importance of the following factors will also
be considered when establishing selection and evaluation criteria for recruitment,
hiring, employment, retention, and promotion processes :
i. valuing applicants' demonstrated experience and commitment to creating a
safe, inclusive, equitable, accessible, and high-quality learning environment;
ii. valuing applicants’ additional experiences, lived experiences, skills,
backgrounds, perspectives, and work experience, including, for example, the
unique perspectives of graduates from Indigenous communitie s or
historically disadvantaged communities or the ability to speak other
languages in addition to English and French;
iii. promoting the recruitment, hiring, employment, retention, and promotion of
staff from under-represented and historically disadvantaged groups;
iv. providing the best possible outcomes for all students, by considering
applicants’ experience or time spent in a particular school and/or department
and suitability for a particular assignment and/or role; and
v. responding to local needs based on clea rly defined criteria, including
additional qualifications.
c) Employment Mobility
Recruitment and hiring procedures will support and facilitate employment mobility
by permitting applicants who have relocated from other jurisdictions to apply and
be fairly considered for any positions for which they are qualified.
d) Fairness and Transparency
To help ensure that candidates are evaluated through a fair, equitable, and
transparent process, hiring procedures shall include:
i. a conflict of interest disclosure policy and process, and clear steps to avoid
nepotism, cronyism, or other forms of favouritism;
ii. a process for ensuring adherence to the bona fide (or “legitimate”) job
requirements and qualifications through the recruitment, hiring and
promotion processes;
iii. a process and criteria for all aspects of recruitment and hiring, and
promotions including setting and the communication of all job requirements,
postings, application, screening, interviewing, selection processes, and
outreach strategies to reach a diverse pool of candidates;
iv. expectations for diverse hiring panels, where possible, to draw on the lived
experiences, skill sets, and educational and professional backgrounds in the
District;
v. objective criteria for evaluating candidates based on more than one
assessment tool, method or source;
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vi. provisions for structured evaluation criteria, questions, and assessment tools
that prevent selection bias;
vii. a process for providing accommodation based on needs related to the
Human Rights Code;
viii. a process for providing constructive feedback for candidates, upon request;
ix. a process for the disclosure of information to the appropriate bargaining
units; and
x. a process for tracking and communicating with the applicant.
Monitoring and Evaluation
4.9. In demonstration of its commitment to accountability for equitable employment practices
and guided by the obligations under the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, and Ontario’s Anti-Racism Act, the Board will monitor,
evaluate, and review the effectiveness of its hiring policy on a regular basis.
4.10. The evaluation of this policy will include:
a) assessing the skills, equity, and human rights competencies of the District’s
workforce and identifying any gaps;
b) collecting voluntary workforce demographic data that will disclose the diversity of
the workforce and identify any gaps in representation, including within separate
employee groups and at different levels of the organization;
c) undertaking an employment systems r eview regularly to determine whether
formal and informal employment systems, policies, procedures and practices are
non-discriminatory and do not create barriers or otherwise unfairly impact
historically disadvantaged groups. Any effective review will examine
organizational culture for unconscious values, assumptions, and behavioural
norms that can disadvantage groups and individuals based on their personal
characteristics;
d) developing and implementing an appropriate fairness in employment plan and
strategy to ameliorate the identified gaps and barriers including workplace culture
and attitudinal barriers to a diverse and inclusive work environment, and to
enhance the diverse representation across all levels of the workforce. This plan
should include goals, timelines for closing those gaps and removing barriers and
positive measures; and
e) maintaining a centralized applicant tracking and file management system for all
hiring-related documentation.
Special Programs
4.11. The Board reserves the right to implement a special program, as permitted under the
Ontario Human Rights Code, where it has determined that specific historically
disadvantaged communities are demonstrably underrepresented within the Board’s
workforce or where it has been determined that such a program is necessary to meet
the needs of students who are members of historically disadvantaged communities.
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2.0 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Ontario Education Act, 1998, section 8.1 (29.1)
Ontario Regulation 298, Operation of Schools – General
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
Ontario Human Rights Code
Ontario Anti-Racism Act
Ontario Human Rights Commission Policy on Preventing Discrimination Based on Creed, 2015
Ontario’s Equity Action Plan, 2017
Policy/Program Memorandum No. 165, School Board Teacher Hiring Practices, November
2020
Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119: Developing and Implementing Equity and Inclusive
Education Policies in Ontario Schools
Board Policy P.008.GOV: Advisory Committee on Equity
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