McGill University’s Employment Equity initiative is fundamental to creating the diverse and inclusive environment that makes the university an excellent employer, pursuant to the University’s mission.
In order to achieve these goals, we are collecting applicant data, something our tenure track and ranked Contract Academic Staff positions have been doing since 2012.
How to use the data:
- Evaluate the diversity of the applicant pool → Where the pool is insufficiently diverse, a department may decide to extend the application period or reset the search; if the hiring unit is not satisfied with the response rate of the survey, they may send applicants a reminder to complete it.
- Verify the composition of the shortlist → All shortlists should contain at least one designated group member.
- Select the candidate → Where candidates do not differ in merit, search committees are instructed to select the candidate from the group that is most underrepresented in their area.
- Report on the search → Data should be used to complete the Employment Equity Data Report, which should be submitted to the Employment Equity Advisor.
McGill has expanded this equity employment process to administrative and support staff in a pilot project. The pilot project will run for six months and include at least half of the job postings. Data will be available by request through the tynan.jarrett [at] mcgill.ca (Employment Equity Advisor) at the close of the search. Hiring units will have to provide feedback on their results and experiences at the end of the six-month period.