Hamilton school board to undertake equity audit to improve staff diversity

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Published March 11, 2020 at 8:30 pm

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) released the results of their first-of-its-kind staff census on Wednesday (March 11) and the results have the board rethinking their hiring and

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) released the results of their first-of-its-kind staff census on Wednesday (March 11) and the results have the board rethinking their hiring and promotion practices.

In April 2019, HWDSB invited all staff to participate in a voluntary, anonymous and confidential staff census to gather data and understand the makeup of its workforce, inform decision-making and foster workplace inclusion and equity, the board says in a press release.

An overwhelming majority of respondents (88 per cent) identify as white while 78.3 identify as being female but the number of women in senior leadership roles reduces substantially.

In total, 2,505 HWDSB staff participated in the staff census survey out of 7,619 employees (a 33 per cent response rate.

The resulting report found that compared to the local labour market, responses suggest that HWDSB’s workforce has a large female majority, approximately the same representation of Indigenous persons, fewer racialized persons and more individuals who report having a condition/disability.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the findings:

  • 78.3 per cent identified as female
  • 2.5 per cent secondary teachers and 1.5 per cent elementary teachers identify as Indigenous
  • 88 per cent of respondents identify as white
  • 14.7 per cent said they live with a condition or disability
  • 9 per cent of respondents self-identify as racialized, the highest for staff hired in the past year (16.4 per cent)
  • 2 per cent of respondents identify as asexual, 5.6 per cent identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning and others

Even though men make up only 20.5 per cent of the respondent population they are well represented in leadership roles: 44.9 per cent of principals, 32.4 per cent of vice-principals and 45.5 per cent of senior administrators identify as male.

Christianity was the most commonly reported religion at 57.6 per cent, followed by 31.3 per cent of respondents reporting that they don’t have a religion or spirituality.

“From what we have learned from this staff census, we have recognized that we need to learn more about our workforce, hiring and promotion practices,” the HWDSB says in the report summary.

As a result of the findings, the board says they have “embarked on conducting an equity audit of hiring and promotion practices,” to identify systemic barriers and biases.

“We need our students to see themselves reflected in our staff and today’s results suggest we can improve our hiring and promotion practices,” Director of Education Manny Figueiredo said about the We All Count: HWDSB Staff Census.

“The census will keep us accountable in meeting our equity goals.”

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