Chapter 2 What the Numbers Show: 2007–2008

This chapter provides highlights and describes employment equity performance by designated group in the Public Service for the 2007–2008 fiscal year.

Women

Gender/Representation

• In 2007–2008, the overall representation of women in the Public Service increased to 54.4 percent, an increase of 0.5 percent from 2006–2007.

Occupational Category

• The representation of women in the Executive category has increased slightly from 40.4 percent in 2006–2007 to 41.7 percent in 2007–2008 but still remains below workforce availability estimates for that category.
• The representation of women in the Scientific and Professional category (45.3 percent) increased slightly from 2006–2007.

Age

• The percentage of women in the Public Service under the age of 35 increased to 23 percent; 21 percent of all employees are under the age of 35.
• The percentage of female employees between the ages of 35 and 49 increased slightly to 46 percent; 45 percent of all employees are within this age bracket.
• Of female employees, 31 percent are 50 and older; this compares to 34 percent of all employees.

Distribution among Departments and Agencies

• Of the large departments and agencies with more than 1,000 employees, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Civilian Staff) continues to employ the highest proportion of women (79.3 percent) followed closely by Veterans Affairs Canada (71.9 percent). Of these same large departments, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and National Defence have the lowest proportion of women at 32.4  percent and 39.4 percent respectively.

Tenure

• The percentage of indeterminate employees who are women increased slightly in 2007–2008 to 54.2 percent.
• Women still comprise approximately 6 of 10 term employees.

Geography

• Just over 4 in 10 women in the Public Service work in the National Capital Region (a proportion similar to that for all employees).
• Close to 4 in 10 of all employees working outside of Canada are women; this is consistent with previous years.

Salary

The percentage of women at or below the salary level identified are as follows:

• 50 percent earn less than $55,000 annually compared to 41 percent of all employees
• 75 percent earn less than $70,000 annually compared to 69 percent of all employees
• 95 percent earn less than $95,000 annually compared to 92 percent of all employees

Hiring

• Women represented 58.0 percent of all hiring into the Public Service.
• Women continue to constitute the majority of individuals hired into the Scientific and Professional category at 54.4 percent.
• However, women represented only 45 percent of those hired into the Executive category (49 of 109).

Promotions

• Women account for 61.6 percent of all promotions in the Public Service.

Separations

• Women account for 51.8 percent of all separations from the Public Service.

Aboriginal Peoples

Representation

• The representation of Aboriginal peoples in the Public Service is 4.4 percent. This increase of 0.2 percent is the first increase in representation since March 2005. The workforce availability estimates for Aboriginal peoples, as derived from the 2001 Census, is 2.5 percent.

Gender

• Female Aboriginal employees continue to make up 61.2 percent of Aboriginal employees.

Occupational Category

• Aboriginal peoples continue to represent 3.4 percent of all employees in the Executive category; this is unchanged from previous years and compares to workforce availability estimates for that category of 3.5  percent.
• The highest proportion of Aboriginal employees work in the Administrative and Foreign Service category at 50.3 percent, which is roughly comparable to the percentage for all employees.

Age

The distribution of Aboriginal employees by age is as follows:

• 21 percent of Aboriginal employees are younger than 35
• 51 percent are between the ages of 35 and 49
• 28 percent are over 50 years of age

Distribution among Departments and Agencies

• Of all Aboriginal employees, 15 percent work at Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, a department that represents only 2  percent of the total Public Service employee population.
• A total of 41 percent of Aboriginal employees work in just three departments: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Correctional Service Canada and Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Combined, these three departments represent 22 percent of the total Public Service population.
• Six of 26 departments with more than 1,000 employees have not matched employment of Aboriginal peoples with the overall workforce availability estimate of 2.5 percent as derived from the 2001 Census.

Tenure

• Of all newly recruited Aboriginal peoples, 48 percent were hired as indeterminate employees.

Geography

• Just over 32 percent of Aboriginal peoples work in the National Capital Region (NCR), while 38.5 percent work west of the NCR. The proportion of Aboriginal peoples working west of the NCR has fallen steadily from 44.1 percent five years ago.

Salary

The percentage of Aboriginal employees at or below the salary level identified are as follows:

• 46 percent earn less than $55,000 annually compared with only 41 percent of all employees
• 77 percent earn less than $70,000 annually compared with only 69 percent of all employees
• 96  percent earn less than $95,000 annually compared to 92 percent of all employees

Hiring

• The hiring rate of Aboriginal peoples continued to decline in 2007–2008. Aboriginal peoples represented 3.4 percent of all new hires, down from 4.5 percent in 2002–2003.
• Aboriginal peoples continue to enter the Public Service mainly through the Administrative and Foreign Service category at 34 percent.

Promotions

• Similar to the rate in 2006–2007, Aboriginal peoples received 4.3 percent of all promotions.
• Close to two thirds (64.5 percent) of all promotions for Aboriginal peoples were in the Administrative and Foreign Service category, which is consistent with last year.

Separations

• Aboriginal peoples accounted for 4.2  percent of all separations; this is up slightly from a year ago.

Persons with Disabilities

Representation

• Overall, the representation of persons with disabilities in the Public Service increased to 5.9 percent after dropping for the first time in 2006–2007 from 5.8 to 5.7 percent.
• This representation remains considerably higher than the workforce availability estimate of 3.6 percent, as derived from the 2001 post-censal Participation and Limitations Survey (PALS).

Gender

• Employees with disabilities are the only employment equity group in which there is a 50/50 representation of women and men. Employees who are Aboriginal peoples or visible minorities have considerably higher female representation.

Occupational Category

• The highest proportion of persons with disabilities work in the Administrative and Foreign Service and the Administrative Support categories at 50 percent and 19.0 percent respectively.

Age

The distribution of persons with disabilities by age is as follows:

• only 9 percent of employees with disabilities are under the age of 35
• 40 percent are between the ages of 35 and 49
• 51 percent are over the age of 50

Distribution among Departments and Agencies

• Of the large departments with more than 1,000 employees, Veterans Affairs Canada and Human Resources and Social Development Canada continue to have the highest proportion of persons with disabilities at 8.6  percent and 8.1 percent respectively.
• The representation of persons with disabilities, in all but one department with over 1,000 employees, meets or exceeds the workforce availability estimate of 3.6 percent as derived from the 2001 post-censal PALS.
• Of small and medium-sized departments, the Canadian Human Rights Commission and the Agency have the highest proportion of employees who are persons with disabilities at 14.18 percent and 12.5 percent respectively.

Tenure

• The percentage of indeterminate employees who are persons with disabilities is 6.1 percent, an increase of 0.2 percent from 2006–2007.
• More men than women with disabilities have indeterminate tenure.

Geography

• Approximately 4 in 10 employees with disabilities work in the National Capital Region (a proportion similar to that for all employees).

Salary

The percentage of persons with disabilities at or below the salary level identified are as follows:

• 46 percent earn less than $55,000 annually compared with only 41 percent of all employees
• 71 percent earn less than $75,000 annually compared to 69 percent of all employees
• 92 percent earn less than $95,000 annually, the same percentage as for all employees

Hiring

• Approximately half of persons with disabilities recruited into the Public Service in 2007–2008 were hired into indeterminate positions.
• The Administrative and Foreign Service and Administrative Support categories continue to be the main points of entry for persons with disabilities at 37.2 percent and 32.4 percent respectively.
• Persons with disabilities represent 2.5  percent of all new hires into the Public Service, a decrease of 0.3 percent from 2006–2007. This share of new hires has been below workforce availability estimates, as determined by the 2001 post-censal PALS, for the last six years.

Promotions

• Persons with disabilities received 5.3  percent of all promotions in the Public Service, an increase of 0.3 percent from last year.

Separations

• The rate of separation for employees with disabilities decreased from 7.0 percent in 2006–2007 to 6.7 percent in 2007–2008.

Members of Visible Minority Groups

Representation

• Members of visible minority groups made up 9.2 percent of the Public Service workforce in 2007–2008, up from 8.8 percent in the previous year, but still well below the workforce availability estimate of 10.4 percent derived from the 2001 Census.
• Representation of visible minorities in the Executive category was at 6.7 percent in 2007–2008, up from 6.2 percent in 2006–2007. This exceeds the workforce availability estimate for this category.

Gender

• Female members of visible minority groups represent 55.1 percent of all employees who are members of visible minority groups.

Occupational Category

• Half (50 percent) of employees belonging to a visible minority group work in the Administrative and Foreign Service category.
• Another 21 percent work in positions in the Scientific and Professional category.

Age

The population of employees from visible minority groups is generally younger than the employee population of other employment equity groups:

• 29 percent of employees belonging to a visible minority group are under the age of 35
• 45 percent are between the ages of 35 and 49
• 26 percent are over the age of 50

Distribution among Departments and Agencies

• Of all large departments, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Health Canada continue to have the highest representation of employees belonging to visible minority groups, at 17.0 percent and 14.0 percent respectively.
• Of the 26 departments with more than 1,000 employees, 8 have not matched employment of visible minorities with the workforce availability estimate of 10.4 percent as derived from the 2001 Census.

Tenure

• The proportion of employees belonging to a visible minority group who have indeterminate status increased slightly to 92.0 percent in 2007–2008. An increase has been experienced in each of the last six years.

Geography

• Of all employees who are visible minorities, 80 percent work in three regions—the National Capital Region (NCR), Ontario and British Columbia—where 64 percent of all Public Service positions are located.
• Of all employees who are visible minorities, 47 percent work in the NCR where 42 percent of all Public Service positions are located.
• Another 18 percent work in the Ontario region, with 15 percent in the British Columbia region.

Salary

The percentage of members of visible minority groups at or below the salary level identified are as follows:

• 40 percent earn less than $55,000 annually compared with only 41 percent of all employees
• 68 percent earn less than $75,000 annually compared to 69 percent of all employees
• 93 percent earn less than $95,000 annually compared to 92 percent of all employees

Hiring

• Of all new hires into the Public Service, 9.2 percent were members of visible minority groups, a 0.5 percent increase from 2006–2007.
• Similar to hiring for all employees, members of visible minority groups continue to enter the Public Service primarily through the Administrative and Foreign Service and Administrative Support categories at 36.5 percent and 32.5 percent respectively.

Promotions

• Of all promotions in the Public Service, 10.6 percent were to members of visible minority groups. Of all promotions for members of visible minority groups, 15.5 percent were in the Scientific and Professional category.

Separations

• Visible minorities accounted for 6.8  percent of all separations from the Public Service; this is a decrease of 0.3 percent from 2006–2007.

Comparisons and Highlights among Designated Groups

Representation

• Three of the four designated groups remain well represented when compared with workforce availability estimates. Women account for 54.4 percent of Public Service employees, Aboriginal peoples for 4.4 percent, and persons with disabilities for 5.9 percent compared to workforce availability estimates of 52.2 percent, 2.5 percent and 3.6 percent respectively.
• The representation of visible minorities in the Public Service was 9.2 percent in 2007–2008, an increase of 0.4 percent in comparison to last year. Although the representation of visible minorities continues to increase, there still remains a gap compared with their workforce availability estimate of 10.4 percent.

Gender

• In 2007–2008, the number of women in the Public Service increased by 4,773 employees to represent 54.4 percent of the Public Service population.
• The proportion of women in the designated groups has remained relatively consistent with levels of five years ago. Women now account for 61.2 percent of Aboriginal peoples, 50.9 percent of persons with disabilities and 55.1 percent of visible minorities.
• In comparison to 2006–2007, term employment of visible minority women has decreased from 10.9 percent to 10.6 percent of women who are term employees. However, in the case of Aboriginal women and women with disabilities, their share of term employment by women has increased to 4.6 percent and 3.1 percent respectively.

Occupational Category

• Two of the designated groups showed an increased share of the Executive category in 2007–2008 compared with the previous year. Women’s share increased from 40.4 percent to 41.7 percent, the share of Aboriginal peoples remained the same at 3.4 percent, the share for persons with disabilities decreased from 5.8 percent to 5.7 percent, and that for visible minorities increased from 6.2 percent to 6.7 percent.
• The Administrative and Foreign Service category continued to employ the largest number of employees of any occupational category (48.3 percent of the total Public Service population), including designated groups as follows:
  • 61.8 percent of women (up from 61.4 percent the previous year)
  • 4.6 percent of Aboriginal peoples (up from 4.4 percent the previous year)
  • 6.2 percent of persons with disabilities (up from 6.1 percent the previous year)
  • 9.5 percent of visible minorities (up from 9.0 percent the previous year)
• As in previous years, the Scientific and Professional category continues to employ the highest concentration of visible minorities. Visible minorities account for 13.4 percent of all employees in this category. This number has been increasing over the last six years, but at a slowing rate.

Age

• Persons with disabilities continue to have the highest proportion of employees over the age of 45 at 70.8 percent. The other three groups showed much lower proportions for employees over the age of 45 at 49.9 percent for women, 46.4 percent for Aboriginal peoples and 40.4 percent for visible minorities.
• Over half (51 percent) of women executives are under the age of 50.
• The average age for employees in the Public Service is 44.8 years. Among designated groups overall, visible minorities are the youngest (average 42.8 years) and persons with disabilities are the oldest (average 48.6 years).

Distribution among Departments and Agencies

• As in previous years, Human Resources and Social Development Canada continued to employ the highest number of women (15,697) within the Public Service and had the second highest proportion of women employees at 70.5 percent.
• Almost 80 percent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Civilian Staff) are women.
• Of all Aboriginal employees, 41 percent work in just three departments: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Correctional Service Canada, and Human Resources and Social Development Canada. Combined, these three departments represent 22 percent of the total Public Service population.
• Approximately 30 percent of all persons with disabilities in the Public Service are employed by National Defence (1,934 employees) and Human Resources and Social Development Canada (1,807 employees). This is consistent with the 2006–2007 data.
• Just over 41 percent of all visible minorities in the Public Service work in five departments: Human Resources and Social Development Canada (2,123); National Defence (1,475); the Canada Border Services Agency (1,433); Health Canada (1,248); and Public Works and Government Services Canada (1,011).
• Of the 26 departments with more than 1,000 employees, 13 departments representing just 40 percent of the Public Service workforce employed a higher percentage of visible minorities than the 10.4 percent workforce availability estimate:
  • Citizenship and Immigration Canada (17.0  percent)
  • Passport Canada (15.0 percent)
  • Health Canada (14.0 percent)
  • Public Health Agency of Canada (13.1  percent)
  • Statistics Canada (12.7 percent)
  • Department of Justice Canada (11.7 percent)
  • Environment Canada (11.6 percent)
  • Industry Canada (11.5 percent)
  • Canada Border Services Agency (11.2 percent)
  • Canadian International Development Agency (11.1 percent)
  • Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (10.7 percent)
  • Natural Resources Canada (10.6 percent)
  • Department of Finance Canada (10.6 percent)

Tenure

• As in previous years, indeterminate employees continue to represent the majority (92.5 percent) of the Public Service’s workforce. The proportion of indeterminate employees among the designated groups in 2007–2008 is as follows, and remains comparatively consistent with previous years:
  • 92.2 percent of women (up from 91.9 percent the previous year)
  • 92.8 percent of Aboriginal peoples (down slightly from 93.0 percent the previous year)
  • 95.2 percent of persons with disabilities (down slightly from 95.5 percent the previous year)
  • 92.0 percent of visible minorities (up from 91.2 percent the previous year)

Geography

• Of the total Public Service workforce, 42 percent work in the National Capital Region (NCR). This proportion is similar for visible minorities (45.7 percent), women (44.5 percent) and persons with disabilities (41.5 percent). In contrast, less than one third of Aboriginal peoples work in the NCR.
• British Columbia continues to have the highest representation of visible minorities, increasing its share to 15.2 percent in 2007–2008, followed by Ontario (excluding the NCR) at 12.8 percent.
• Prince Edward Island had the highest representation of women and persons with disabilities at 63.2 percent and 8.7 percent respectively; this is consistent with previous years.

Salary

• Approximately 70 percent of all employees in the Public Service earn $50,000 or more. The proportions have increased for designated groups and are now as follows:
  • women at 63.4 percent
  • Aboriginal peoples at 67 percent
  • persons with disabilities at 65.7 percent
  • visible minorities at 70.9 percent

Hiring

• The Public Service hired 4,150 more employees in 2007–2008 than in the previous year.
• The hiring of members of visible minority groups improved in comparison to last year. Persons in a visible minority group made up 9.2 percent of all new hires, a 0.5 percent increase from last year. The same can be said for women, who received a 58.0 percent share of new hires; this is a 2.3 percent increase from last year.
• Of the 671 new hires of Aboriginal peoples, 26.5 percent occured in the NCR, 13.7 percent in Manitoba and 12.1 percent in Saskatchewan.
• For the sixth year in a row, visible minorities’ share of new hires into the Executive category has increased and now sits at 9.2 percent.
• Each of the designated groups showed a year-over-year increase in their share of new indeterminate employee hires: women from 44.8 percent to 49.9 percent; Aboriginal peoples from 46.1 percent to 48.0  percent; persons with disabilities from 42.8 percent to 43.5 percent; and members of visible minority groups from 46.3 percent to 53.2 percent.

Promotions

• More than half of all promotions occurred in the NCR; this was also true for promotions of women, persons with disabilities and visible minorities. The share for Aboriginal peoples increased to 46.0 percent, up from 44.1 percent last year.
• Across the entire Public Service, indeterminate employees received 94.0 percent of all promotions. Indeterminate employees who are members of designated groups received similar rates of promotion: women at 95.4  percent; Aboriginal peoples at 95.0 percent; persons with disabilities at 95.4 percent; and visible minorities at 96.0 percent.
• While two of the four designated groups experienced an increase in the share of promotions in the Scientific and Professional category from last year, women and Aboriginal peoples each experienced a decrease of approximately 0.5 percent.
• Women continued to receive the majority of promotions in the Administrative and Foreign Service category, in which they also constitute the majority of employees. They received 70.2 percent of promotions, an increase of 1.1 percent from the previous year.

Separations

• In the Scientific and Professional category, visible minorities accounted for 13.4 percent of employees and 11.4 percent of separations. The latter figure represents an increase of 0.9 percent from last year.
• Women accounted for 51.8 percent of all separations from the Public Service.
• Of all separations from the Public Service, 70.5 percent were indeterminate employees. Of all separations involving members of designated groups, 70.4 percent were indeterminate employees.