Background
The Implementation Team led the planning and initiated execution for the Provost Office’s Black Excellence and Indigenous Excellence faculty cluster hiring initiatives. The mandate of the Implementation Team has also been advanced through the significant work of the Employment Equity Working Group as their work aligns with what this Implementation Team seeks to uphold in its equitable recruitment and selection processes across campus.
Results
Cluster hiring
- In summer 2021, two cluster hiring initiatives were announced that will see the addition of 10 Black and 10 Indigenous faculty members14.
- An initial review of applications for the cluster hiring initiatives is underway following the October 18th, 2021, deadline for first review of applications. Applications will continue to be received until all positions are filled. The selection process will be supported by competency and capacity building resources and training sessions developed by the Offices of EDI-R and IR in collaboration with the Office of Research, The Faculty Association of the University of Waterloo (FAUW) Equity Committee and special faculty advisors.
Employment Equity Working Group (EEWG)
- Aligned with the Implementation Team’s mandate and responsibilities is the EEWG’s work that prioritizes equitable recruitment and selection, including these important elements:
- Revision of the Equity Statement to ensure consistency for staff and faculty job postings.
- Review by EDI-R of the institution’s hiring practices and, through subsequent analysis, the development of additional equity training including training for selection committee members.
- Establishment of priority and restricted language in job ads to ensure consistency across campus in postings, with legal support.
- Consideration of appropriate places to target job advertisements for diverse faculty and staff hires as an ongoing process, noting that such places have been utilized for the cluster hiring initiatives. EEWG is seeking to expand its network through diverse mediums such as LinkedIn.
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Development of a Special Justification Form (currently under review) to support hiring managers and ensure a consistent process for (and to support the need for) priority or restricted hires. This form provides information to senior leadership to make informed decisions surrounding restricted hires15.
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Development of a guidance resource with an embedded Equity lens for the cluster hiring initiatives by EDI-R.
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Environmental Scan of lived experience statements for job advertisements.
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In collaboration with the FAUW Equity Committee and with feedback from the EEWG, updated the Equitable Faculty Recruitment and Selection Training and Toolkit by EDI-R, and the development of a parallel training toolkit for staff hires.
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Exploration of gaps in policies and processes with regard hiring with the Secretariat. Specifically, Policy 18 (Staff Employment) and Policy 76 (Faculty Appointments).
14 The positions are open at the assistant professor/associate professor/professor levels, and for broad areas of research.
15 Those who are completing the form are required to review and attach objective data and evidence. Objective data can come from Waterloo’s Workforce Analysis and Achievement Report (Federal Contractors Program report), Institutional Analysis and Planning, and Statistics Canada. The data and evidence will need to be summarized within the form, including any comments on the degree of underrepresentation.
