York University has launched a revised version of its Employee Self-Identification Survey, which aims to provide a greater understanding of the University community and an up-to-date picture of its workforce demographics. The survey is now available in HR Self Serve.
“The Employment Equity Self-Identification Survey allows York to identify gaps in employee representation and plays a crucial role in understanding our representation rates. This then factors into several processes, including our recruitment efforts and the thresholds identified in our collective agreements,” said Laina Bay-Cheng, vice-president equity, people and culture. “Data collection has been identified as an integral element of the DEDI Strategy, which calls for monitoring our proportion of equity-deserving groups to ensure representation in employment at all levels within the institution.”
Employees have recently received an email with instructions on how to complete the survey.
“With the survey now available through HR Self Serve, employees can easily update their self-identification responses at any time, in the same way they update any of their other personal details, like their address or emergency contacts,” added Bay-Cheng. “I encourage everyone to complete the survey and would like to assure the community that great care is taken to ensure confidentiality and that no individual can be identified in reporting, as all reporting is done on an aggregated basis. This is an important improvement to University systems. It’s an opportunity for employees to ensure they and their identities are fully and accurately represented.”
The findings of the survey are reported on in the Annual Employment Equity Reports, and past ones can be viewed online.