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Home Library Official Languages and Visible Minorities in the Canadian Public Service

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Official Languages and Visible Minorities in the Canadian Public Service

Issue

Whether the official languages policy of the Public Service of Canada constitutes a barrier to employment or career advancement for visible minorities.

Position of the Government

The Government is pleased to note that the percentage representation of visible minorities in the public service continues to increase. Recent data show that steady progress is being made in the recruitment, retention and advancement of visible minority employees. While access to language training may be an issue in the career advancement of visible minorities, our analyses to date do not point to any official languages policy instrument that constitutes a specific barrier to visible minorities. The Government is conducting broader qualitative and quantitative studies to ensure that the presence of visible minorities in the public service reflects the Canadian reality.

Public Environment

Authors of various reports, articles, and editorials (Conference Board of Canada reports, Senator Oliver statements, etc.) have stated or implied that Canada’s official languages policy and employer practices make it especially difficult for visible minorities to join the Public Service of Canada or, when they have succeeded in joining, to move up the ladder within its ranks.

The Public Service of Canada, which is committed to equitable treatment and opportunities for all Canadians, has taken steps to learn whether this barrier really exists and, if it does, what can be done to eliminate it. What follows are the most up-to-date facts on the question.

Context

• The Official Languages and Employment Equity programs flow from common values of equality, fairness, respect and inclusiveness.
• The federal government is committed to achieving a Public Service that reflects and is responsive to the Canadian public; this commitment is expressed in Part VI of the Official Languages Act (OLA) and in the Employment Equity Act (EEA).
• In the 35 years since the first OLA was enacted, the Public Service has achieved a participation of Anglophones and Francophones that tends to reflect the Canadian population;
• The participation of three employment equity groups reflects their presence in the population: women, Aboriginal people and persons with a disability.
• Visible minorities are not present in the same proportions that they are in the Canadian workforce (10.4% in the workforce; 7.8% in the public service).
• Concerns have been raised about the impact of language requirements of positions on the career possibilities of equity groups, especially visible minorities.
• The government has therefore taken a number of actions to investigate and address these concerns.

Research

The Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada (PSHRMAC):

• Conducted a qualitative study (focus groups discussions) with members of visible minority groups to identify issues related to official languages that may affect their careers;
• Commissioned a literature review on actual and perceived barriers to learning official languages, with special consideration of designated groups;
• Analyzed demographics of the Public Service to better understand factors affecting visible minority groups vis à vis official language requirements of positions.

Preliminary Results of Studies

Demographic data

• Public service positions are mainly concentrated in the National Capital Region: 41% of all positions and 71% of senior executives positions are in the NCR.
• The population of the National Capital Region is 14% visible minority.
• Half of Public Service positions require knowledge of English only, 39% require knowledge of both official languages, and 5% require knowledge of French only. The remainder have no specific language requirements.
• Most EX positions require knowledge of both official languages (94% in the NCR, and 45% elsewhere in Canada).
• EXs account for 2.3% of all Public Service positions (3770 out of 163,287).
• The visible minority population of Canada increased significantly in the last decade and a half: from 6.3% of the population in the 1986 Census to 13.4% in 2001. Respective workforce changes were from 5.9% to 10.4%
• Visible minorities are concentrated in large urban centres: 43% live in Toronto, 18% in Vancouver, and 11.5% in Montreal.
• 93% of visible minorities in Canada identify English as their first official language. Within the Public Service, 86% of visible minority employees identify English as their first official language.
• Within the Public Service, visible minorities are best represented in Scientific and Professional employment categories (11%) and least represented in Operational jobs (3.6%). They account for 4% of EXs.
• Among the top ten feeder groups to the EX category, visible minorities account for 5.4% of employees.
• Within the Public Service, 28% of visible minority employees occupy bilingual positions. Overall, 20% of Anglophones occupy bilingual positions.
• Visible minority employees identify lack of access to language training as a barrier to career advancement more than other employees: 20% of visible minorities compared to 16% of all employees (PSES survey, 2002)

Qualitative data

• Focus group participants did not identify systemic issues specifically related to official languages as a barrier to career advancement. They did identify language issues of concern to recent immigrants: impatience with slow or accented speech, and underestimation of real skills and aptitudes.
• Visible minorities, as a group, face obstacles to professional mobility, but these are related more to the organizational culture and colleagues' attitudes than to official languages policies as such.
• Concerns of visible minorities may be amplified by perceptions of racism and discrimination and their impact on career advancement in general.
• The literature review found little evidence that visible minorities have more difficulty learning a second official language than other people. However, factors such as mother tongue and cultural background may influence capacity.
• A survey of public servants' perceptions and attitudes toward official languages found that, although public servants support the goal of providing service in the public's language of choice, other elements of official language policies are poorly understood. Most public servants believe that requirements are more demanding than they actually are.

Actions Taken

• Adoption of the Public Service Modernization Act (2003) will allow managers greater flexibility in hiring. The PSMA places greater emphasis on good human resources planning. It will allow managers to factor in EE when planning staffing activities and take steps to meet the goals set out in the Embracing Change Action Plan
• Major review of language training and testing, including a working group specifically tasked with examining issues with designated groups. Results of this study will determine how language training is delivered in future.
• Revised official languages policies on human resources management took into account that feeder groups to the EX category are less bilingual than needed to maintain equitable participation: non-imperative staffing can be used for external recruitment and for entry-level EX positions (EX 1) and pro-active language training is to be provided for career development.

Development Programs

• The Accelerated Executive Development Program (AEXDP) has an employment equity program to increase the representation of members of visible minority groups to 20%. Participation reached 25% in March 2004.
• The Career Assignment Program (CAP) has dedicated intakes for members of visible minority groups. In March 2004, 34% were members of a visible minority group.
• The Management Training Program (MTP) aims to develop future managers for the Public Service. Between 1999 and 2004, 13% of MTP graduates were members of a visible minority group.
• Language training is provided to unilingual participants in these programs.

Future Orientation

• There is no fundamental contradiction between official languages and employment equity programs: no clash of interests or objectives, and no systemic barriers have been identified as yet.
• Special efforts, however, will still be required.
• Visible minorities are less present in the Public Service than in the Canadian population; this overall situation aggravates challenges related to official languages for these groups.
• The largest pools of visible minority candidates (Vancouver, Toronto) are not where most jobs, especially senior jobs, are located. This constitutes an additional complication to overcome.
• Government will continue to follow issues and to adapt language training and testing models to ensure that they are free of bias and culturally appropriate for all students.
• Institutions will be encouraged to provide language training to all employees for career development, and to develop targeted programs for designated groups. Access must be improved, including that in the regions.
• Government will continue to monitor participation of designated groups, and seek to identify and eliminate obstacles to hiring and promotion.

For more information please visit the following site: http://publiservice.hrma-agrh.gc.ca/ollo/or-ar/study-%E9tude/index_e.asp

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