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Equity Workshop

This workshop delves into understanding and advancing equity in academia, covering systemic discrimination, Canadian equity framework, key barriers for marginalized staff, privilege, intersectionality, employment equity myths, campus equity issues, and strategies for improvement.

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Equity Workshop

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  1. Equity Workshop Understanding and advancing equity OCUFA SWEC, 19 January 2017 Anver Salojee

  2. Territorial Acknowledgement • I would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Métis, and the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation.

  3. Equity: What do we mean? • Definitions and Key Concepts • Systemic discrimination in the academy and how to make change • Equity challenges in the academy and how to make change

  4. Equity: The Canadian approach and framework • Developed by 1984 Abella Commission, chaired by Justice Rosalie Abella • Enshrined by 1986 Employment Equity Act (federal employees); and 1995 Employment Equity Act (S.C. 1995, c. 44; general) • Also upheld (anti-discrimination) by Canadian Human Rights Act

  5. “The removal of barriers to full participation by all members of the academy, regardless of gender or gender identity, physical ability, or Aboriginal or racialized status (i.e., membership in equity-seeking groups).” • a commitment to full representation (the idea that the academy should look like the rest of society, with diverse groups and perspectives represented)

  6. Justice Rosalie Abella, 1984 • “Ignoring differences and refusing to accommodate them is a denial of equal access and opportunity. It is discrimination. To reduce discrimination, we must create and maintain barrier-free environments so that individuals can have genuine access free from arbitrary obstructions to demonstrate and exercise fully their potential.”

  7. Key barriers facing marginalized academic staff • In merit assessment, equity-seeking groups receive less merit • Experimental data show merit-system condition produces differential (discriminatory) pay

  8. Systemic discrimination • “the creation, perpetuation or reinforcement of persistent patterns of inequality among disadvantaged groups” • “usually the result of seemingly neutral legislation, policies, procedures, practices, or organizational structures” • creates “barriers to full participation in society,” including barriers to employment, benefits, and services, as well as barriers in the physical environment.” • Source: Canadian Human Rights Commission

  9. Privilege • McIntosh (1988), “White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences through Work in Women’s Studies” • “an invisible package of unearned assets” • Privilege denotes both obvious and less obvious passive advantages that people may not recognize they have, which distinguishes it from overt bias or prejudice.

  10. Intersectionality CRIAW Toolkit

  11. Underrepresentation Work to do for an intersectional approach to equity

  12. Employment equity myth-busting • “Employment equity and affirmative action are the same thing.” • “Employment equity means quotas.” • “Employment equity is reverse discrimination.” • “Employment equity means hiring less qualified people.”

  13. Key equity issues on campus: nationwide • Unconscious bias, incl. in faculty evaluation instruments: • reference letters (AAUW, 2010; Trix & Psenka, 2003; Dutt et al., 2016) • student surveys of teaching (MacNeil et al., 2014 and many more) • Wage inequality (and “snowballing penalty” [Woodhams et al., 2015 & 2016]) • Race/ism • Indigenization • Invisible labour, burnout of equity-seeking groups • Mental health and mental injuries • Harassment and sexual violence • Respectful workplace policies/civility codes • Childcare

  14. Key barriers facing marginalized academic staff • At hiring, hiring committees tend to reproduce themselves, using biased measures of excellence • “unconscious bias”

  15. Key barriers facing marginalized academic staff • At promotion, “unconscious bias” remains and equity-seeking groups are disadvantaged • Particular forms of knowledge production are valued and reproduced in pedagogy, publications, and all forms of knowledge practice • Members of equity-seeking groups may delay seeking promotion—awareness of discrimination

  16. Key barriers facing marginalized academic staff Mentoring and service burdens

  17. What can faculty associations do? • Examine the Academy through an equity lens • provide equity training • provide support and mentoring • reach out to established members • actively recruit • collect data or push administration to do so

  18. Bargaining for Equity • How can the collective agreement help eliminate discrimination in: • Appointments 2) tenure and promotion 3) workload 4) leaves 5) compensation • What information and data much be agreed upon to monitor progress?

  19. Grievance Handling for Equity Ex: WUFA filed a grievance alleging that the University had failed to follow through with the implementation of employment equity obligations.

  20. Activism for Equity • Alliance-building • Education and outreach • Campaigns

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