The Winnipeg School Division (WSD) Board of Trustees has released results of the division's first ever Employment Equity Audit.
"On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to thank Turner Consulting Group for performing all work in connection with an Employment Equity Audit for WSD," said Betty Edel, Chair, WSD Board of Trustees. "The members of the Board would also like to thank all employees who participated in the round table discussions and provided feedback on the survey."
While there are a significant number of recommendations outlined in the audit report, many of the recommendations are standard across all education and business sectors. The Board of Trustees is pleased confirm that from the 82 recommendations, 58 have been identified and actioned upon by the administration and/or through applicable legislation.
"We understand it is important to students, employees and school communities for the division to continue to share the results of our progress on these recommendations," said Edel.
The remaining recommendations are under review and will be considered as the Board of Trustees begins the development of the new Strategic Plan and continues its consultation process on identifying areas of priorities.
In addition to the recommendations made by Turner Consulting Group, the Board of Trustees has also identified the following actions required to meet the needs of WSD students and employees:
- Continuing the consultation process and collecting feedback from all employees to increase the engagement level from six percent of its employees who participated in the audit to 50 percent by developing a comprehensive employee engagement strategy.
- Promoting additional leadership opportunities.
- Undertaking a review of the supports and resources required to accommodate, engage and inspire employees to achieve a work/life balance.
- Requesting the Province of Manitoba to provide funding to assist public bodies in meeting the obligations of accommodations under the new Accessibility Legislation and the Manitoba Human Rights Code.
- Strengthening partnerships with universities to provide course teachings and materials to students enrolled in the Education program in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Encouraging the Province of Manitoba to allocate resources to supporting programs and services for employees.
- Developing the new strategic plan based on improving employment equity.
The Board of Trustees will continue to seek input from employees as it strives to meet its goals to promote diversity, equity and inclusion for all.
