Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the Canada Revenue Agency – Annual Report 2022-2023

1. Introduction

The Canada Revenue Agency's (CRA) 2022–2023 Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EEDI) Annual Report provides an update on the progress made toward reaching our goals and objectives in support of the legislative requirements set out in the Employment Equity (EE) Act.

Guided by our 2021–2025 Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, the report also highlights the specific measures the CRA has taken over the past fiscal year to make progress on our commitment to create an equitable, representative and inclusive workplace for all equity-deserving groups, reflective of today's Canada. In addition, the report shares insights into the areas requiring attention and provides an overview of the steps the Agency is currently taking to embed the values of equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism into the fabric of our corporate culture.

During the past year, the CRA has continued our journey to make meaningful progress on strengthening diversity and fostering a culture of inclusion. We have remained steadfast in our areas of focus by:

• Taking a holistic approach to the enhancement of programs and initiatives in order to attract, recruit, and retain a diverse and representative talent pool;
• Developing strategies and initiatives that provide members of equity-deserving groups with opportunities for professional growth and career advancement;
• Enabling culture change by engaging with and listening to our employees;
• Providing our employees with occasions and resources to learn about and support equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and anti-racism; and
• Strengthening our leadership team by increasing their diversity and supporting them in gaining the knowledge and skills to lead inclusively.

For the second year in a row, the CRA has been selected as one of Canada's best diversity employers in recognition of our inclusive, respectful and welcoming workplace culture. We thank all of our employees, our leadership team and our many internal partners who have created the conditions to make the CRA an employer of choice.

That said, employment equity representation gaps remain at various levels across the Agency, and the CRA's Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) results indicate that demonstrable efforts must be made to address employees' diverse concerns. The CRA is committed to continuously improving our programs, policies and practices in order to further equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and anti-racism for the benefit of all equity-deserving groups as well as our organization as a whole.

2. Executive summary

At the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), equity, diversity and inclusion are aligned with our principle of putting people first and our values of professionalism, integrity, respect and collaboration. The CRA's EEDI Annual Report details the progress the CRA has made to deliver upon the commitments outlined in our evergreen 2021 to 2025 Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (EEDIAP).

More recently, on May 9, 2023, the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet (CPCSC) reaffirmed the Government of Canada's commitment to addressing systemic racism and eliminating barriers while providing more direction for the road ahead. In support of federal leadership, the CRA remains resolute in our commitment to achieving and maintaining representation of equity-deserving groups and eliminating barriers to everyone's full participation in the workplace.

What the data tells us

The participation rate of employees who completed the CRA's voluntary Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) self-identification questionnaire, known as the Workforce Profile Questionnaire (WPQ), continued to climb for the fourth consecutive year, reaching 91.4%.

Over the past year, the CRA has continued to make steady progress towards achieving our goal of closing all national-level gaps in representation for the four Employment Equity (EE) designated groups (Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and women) by 2024.

Some of our most notable findings include:

• Persons with disabilities, visible minorities and women are currently fully represented at the national level for both the CRA workforce and executive groups;
• At the executive level, progress was made towards increasing diversity; more specifically, the representation of visible minorities reached 17.8%, surpassing the Labour Market Availability (LMA)^{Footnote 1} rate of 16.4%. Indigenous representation also improved, reaching 2.6%, below the LMA rate of 2.8%;
• Indigenous employees also remain underrepresented at the CRA workforce level at 3.2%, below the LMA rate of 3.6% and unchanged for the fourth consecutive year; and
• When examining the breakdown of CRA's workforce at the EE occupational group levels (grouping of similar jobs), areas of underrepresentation remain for each of the EE groups, except for visible minorities, presenting opportunities for action in the year ahead.

The results from the 2022 Public Service Employee Survey showed high overall employee engagement and provided the CRA with feedback about its culture of inclusion. While results for equity-deserving group members were largely comparable with the overall findings for non-equity deserving groups, there was a notably lower level of satisfaction amongst employees with disabilities. The results also highlighted a need for continued efforts around anti-racism, discrimination and harassment in order to create an inclusive organization for all employees.

What has been done

Over the past fiscal year, we have made important headway on the majority of the commitments established, including:

• The implementation of the CRA's Strategy for the Recruitment, Onboarding and Retention of Persons with Disabilities in the Fall of 2022;
• The deployment of the CRA's Accessibility Action Plan in December of 2022;
• The launch of the CRA's approach to Engagement on Anti-racism and Bias;
• The completion of the CRA's Employment Systems Review;
• The completion of the Canadian Human Rights Commission's Horizontal Audit on the Employment of Racialized People in Executive and Management Positions in the Public Sector and consequent development of a response plan;
• The creation of guidelines to support the use of Special Programs, such as implementing initiatives to address disadvantages experienced by an EE subgroup, stemming from the Canadian Human Rights Act;
• The continuous modernization of the Workforce Profile Questionnaire (WPQ) by providing members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community the option to self-identify; and
• The development and publication of preliminary Agency-level disaggregated data, pertaining to Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities.

What we are working on

Over the next fiscal year, the CRA will focus our EDI efforts on:

• Implementing and monitoring our approach to Engagement on Anti-racism and Bias;
• Reviewing our EDI governance model to ensure that our structures, systems, and policies enable us to achieve our EDI objectives;
• Supporting the recruitment, retention and advancement of persons with disabilities;
• Advancing reconciliation by supporting the Agency's Indigenous Portfolio Action Plan 2021–2022 to 2023–2024;
• Undertaking a GBA+ analysis of the CRA's hybrid model of work;
• Implementing the harmonized Public Service-wide modernized WPQ; and
• Expanding the measurement of diversity and inclusion indicators and the analysis of disaggregated data.

3. What the data tells us

Over the past year, the CRA has continued to make steady progress towards achieving our goal of closing all national-level gaps in representation for the four Employment Equity (EE) designated groups (Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and women) by 2024.

The CRA's overall workforce

The numbers in (parenthesis) represent the change in internal representation over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

When compared to labour market availability (LMA), 3 out of 4 employment equity designated groups are fully represented in both the CRA's workforce and the Executive Cadre.

CRA workforce internal representation compared to the LMA

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

CRA executive internal representation compared to the LMA

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Representation of the 4 EE groups by Employment Equity occupational groups (EEOGs)

CRA's total workforce population by province

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in population over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Salary distribution by employment equity group

Image description – Bar graph depicting the Agency's salary distribution by employment equity goup

Salary distribution by employment equity group

–	CRA employees (%)	Indigenous peoples (%)	Persons with disabilities (%)	Visible minorities (%)	Women (%)
Under 50,000	2%	4%	3%	1%	3%
50,000 to 79,999	65%	72%	68%	68%	68%
80,000 to 99,999	17%	14%	18%	16%	16%
100,000 to 114,999	7%	5%	6%	7%	6%
115,000 and over	8%	5%	6%	7%	7%

The data indicates the majority of employees fall within the $50,000 to $79,999 salary range, while the fewest fall within the under $50,000 range.

CRA student population by employment equity group

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Self-identification participation rate

Observations

Over a one-year period, the CRA's total workforce^{Footnote 2} increased by 7.5%, surpassing 60,000 employees. The four EE groups grew accordingly, collectively accounting for 80% of the CRA's total workforce.

Overall, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and women are fully represented at both the executive and CRA workforce^{Footnote 3} levels. Indigenous employees, however, remain underrepresented at both the executive and workforce levels.

Some important takeaways include:

• The representation of visible minorities at the executive level reached 17.8%, surpassing the LMA rate of 16.4%;
• Indigenous employee representation also improved at the executive level, reaching 2.6%, slightly below the LMA rate of 2.8%;
• At the workforce level, women are fully represented at 59.5%, exceeding the LMA rate of 59.4%; and
• At the workforce level, Indigenous employee representation remains at 3.2%, below the LMA rate of 3.6%, unchanged for the fourth consecutive year.

The CRA's total workforce is grouped into six main occupational groups, namely Executives, Middle and other managers, Professionals, Supervisors, Administrative and senior clerical group and Clerical personnel. The Administrative and senior clerical group and Professionals group make up over 75% of the workforce. Both have gaps in representation for Indigenous peoples. In addition, women remain underrepresented in the Administrative and senior clerical group and persons with disabilities remain underrepresented in the Professionals and Supervisors groups.

The CRA analyzes a number of different factors to identify potential systemic barriers impacting EE groups. A snapshot of CRA's total workforce, compared to EE groups by salary range, resulted in a number of observations. The proportion of Indigenous peoples is higher in the salary ranges below $80,000, when compared to the CRA employee population and each of the three remaining EE groups. Moreover, the proportions of all four EE groups earning $100,000 and over are lower than the CRA employee population as a whole. Other factors that influence salary, such as job classification and level, age and years of service require additional analysis in order to explain these observations.

The CRA continues to prioritize student recruitment as a way to introduce new talent into the Agency. By utilizing the CRA's Indigenous Student Employment Program and the Federal Student Work Experience Program's Indigenous Student Employment Opportunity (ISEO) program, the CRA has been able to increase the number of Indigenous students hired and ultimately bridged into the workforce by 1.7 percentage points, with student bridging rising to 5.7% in 2023. An increase was also seen for visible minority students, reaching 34.5% of new hires, a 10.9 percentage point increase over one year.

Indigenous peoples

The numbers in (parenthesis) represent the change in internal representation over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Representation of Indigenous peoples by Employment Equity occupational groups (EEOGs)

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Internal representation (IR) of Indigenous peoples by province

The number and percentage indicate the internal representation of the EE group as of March 31, 2023.

Percentage of Indigenous peoples by staffing type

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Intersectionality: Indigenous peoples

Representation of Indigenous peoples by subgroup

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

In 2022–2023, the representation of Indigenous employees increased in the Executive group, reaching 2.6%, compared to the LMA rate of 2.8%. At the workforce level, however, Indigenous representation remained unchanged at 3.2%, below the LMA rate of 3.6%.

Markedly, within the EE occupational group levels, the Middle and other managers and Supervisors groups remained fully represented and continued to trend upward. That said, we noted a representation gap in the Professionals group and a decline in representation within the Administrative and senior clerical group. Although a gap remains for the Clerical group, the rate of representation increased over the past fiscal year.

A new hire rate of 1.9% (below LMA rate of 3.6%), combined with a rising separation rate of 3.3%, (above representation of 3.2%), contributed to the internal representation (IR) rate remaining stagnant and below LMA.

Among the 3.2% of the workforce who self-identifies as Indigenous, 24.8% were employees with a disability and 69.2% were women. Rates are higher for both groups than the corresponding EE groups' representation.

Persons with disabilities

The numbers in (parenthesis) represent the change in internal representation over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Representation of persons with disabilities by Employment Equity occupational groups (EEOGs)

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Internal representation (IR) of persons with disabilities by province

The number and percentage indicate the internal representation of the EE group as of March 31, 2023.

Percentage of persons with disabilities by staffing type

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Intersectionality: Persons with disabilities

Representation of persons with disabilities by subgroup

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

The representation of employees who self-identified as a person with a disability has increased steadily over four years, reaching 12.1% of the workforce, higher than the LMA rate of 9.8%. The representation of executive employees living with a disability, at 11.3%, also remained above the LMA rate of 5%. Within all six EE occupational groups, representation rates increased as well, narrowing the gaps which remain in the Professionals and Supervisory-group levels.

Across the 10 provinces and the National Capital Region, where the CRA's workforce is located, rates of representation increased positively. Both the new hire and promotion rates of employees with disabilities show positive trends. The new hire rate, of 7.1%, increased by 1.5 percentage points compared to the 2021–2022 fiscal year, and the promotion rate, of 12.4%, surpassed the representation rate of 12.1%. Separations remained below representation.

Of employees self-identifying as having a disability, those living with mental health conditions and chronic illness experienced the largest year over year percentage point increase. Employees who identify as a person with a disability due to mental health conditions make up 5% of all employees, a rate which has more than doubled over the past four years. Additionally, employees who identify as having a learning disability have increased during this period by more than half, from 8.1% to 13.2%. Efforts to increase understanding of non-apparent disabilities and the availability of workplace accommodations might have contributed to this change. Remaining subgroups have fluctuated less markedly.

Among the 12.1% of the workforce who self-identify as a person with a disability, 6.5% were Indigenous peoples (above IR), 18.5% members of visible minorities (below IR) and 64.9% were women (above IR), all having increased over the previous period.

Visible minorities

The numbers in (parenthesis) represent the change in internal representation over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Representation of visible minorities by Employment Equity occupational groups (EEOGs)

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Internal representation (IR) of visible minorities by province

The number and percentage indicate the internal representation of the EE group as of March 31, 2023.

Percentage of visible minorities by staffing type

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Intersectionality: Visible minorities

Representation of visible minorities by subgroup

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

The representation of employees who self-identified as members of visible minorities has increased steadily over four years, reaching 37.6% of the workforce, above the LMA rate of 22.5%. In the executive population, the rate reached 17.8%, surpassing the LMA rate of 16.4%, for the first time. Across the six EE occupational groups, representation rates for the visible minorities group increased and remained fully represented.

Movement indicators for the visible minorities group continued to trend positively. In the case of new hires, rates surpassed LMA, promotion rates exceeded internal representation and separations were below.

Of employees who identified as members of visible minorities, South Asian/East Indian and Black employees are the two most prevalent subgroups, representing 29.8% and 21.9% of the visible minorities group, and 11.2% and 8.2% of the workforce, respectively. By contrast, of the visible minority subgroups, the largest decline was noted in employees identifying as Chinese, dropping from 25.9% in 2019 to 17.6% in 2023.

Among the 37.6% of employees who self-identified as members of visible minorities, 6% were employees living with a disability (below IR) and 55.8% were women (below IR).

Women

The numbers in (parenthesis) represent the change in internal representation over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Representation of women by Employment Equity occupational groups (EEOGs)

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Internal representation (IR) of women by province

The number and percentage indicate the internal representation of the EE group as of March 31, 2023.

Percentage of women by staffing type

The numbers in [brackets] represent the change in percentage points over a one-year period, since March 31, 2022.

Intersectionality: Women

Women are fully represented at both the Executive and CRA workforce levels, holding 52% of Executive positions and 59.5% of the CRA workforce. For the first time in four years, the representation of women in CRA's workforce exceeds the LMA rate of 59.4%. Representation rates continued to increase in five of the six EE occupational groups. As such, the gaps in representation decreased for the Administrative and senior clerical group and remained stable for the Clerical group.

All provinces saw an increase in the number of women employed. However, women remained underrepresented in more than half of the provinces, when compared to LMA. Movement indicators for the women's group were, nonetheless, positive. New hire rates for women surpassed their LMA, promotion rates met internal representation and separations were below.

Among the 59.5% of employees who are women, 3.7% self-identify as Indigenous (above IR), 13.2% are employees living with a disability (above IR) and 35.2% identify as  members of visible minorities (below IR). Of note, women who have intersecting identities, such as those who are also Indigenous or live with a disability, are represented at higher rates than males. Women who identify as members of the visible minorities group, however, are represented at lower rates than males.

4. What has been done

Improving opportunities for equity-deserving groups

At the CRA, we recognize that it is essential to take a holistic and deliberate approach to enhancing programs and initiatives to attract, hire, develop and retain a diverse and representative workforce. Over the past year, we have maintained our focus on improving opportunities for equity-deserving groups throughout each phase of the employment journey by taking action to increase diversity in recruitment and improving professional development opportunities for members of equity-deserving groups.

Increasing diversity in recruitment

Building upon consultation efforts with equity-deserving group members, the CRA developed and implemented two new recruitment strategies to strengthen access to employment opportunities for equity-deserving groups. The first, entitled the “2022–2025 CRA Recruitment Strategy,” outlines the steps the Agency is taking to support external recruitment and address skills gaps and to ensure a representative workforce. The second, “The Strategy for the Recruitment, Onboarding and Retention of Persons with Disabilities 2022 to 2025,” proposes solutions to enhance the employment experience of persons living with disabilities by addressing the barriers they face in gaining access to employment, being accommodated and establishing meaningful careers within the CRA. This employment-focused strategy supports the CRA's commitment to the Accessible Canada Act's goal of enabling everyone to participate fully in society. 

To increase the hiring of persons living with disabilities and Indigenous students, we leveraged recruitment initiatives such as the Federal Internship Program for Canadians with Disabilities (FIPCD), the Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP) and the CRA's Indigenous Student Employment Program (ISEP). In collaboration with Indigenous students and hiring managers, we refreshed the ISEP by reviewing the full employment journey with a keen focus on ensuring students feel supported, valued and safe in the workplace. Additional features of the ISEP include learning, networking and developmental opportunities as well as Indigenous-led support services for students and resources for hiring managers.

The CRA's branches and regions continue to strengthen the Agency's recruitment and outreach efforts to members of equity-deserving groups by leveraging their relationships and partnerships such as with LiveWorkPlay, WorldSkills, the Employment Accessibility Resource Network, Indigenous Friendship Centres and post-secondary institutions. Our diverse CRA brand ambassadors represent the Agency at various recruitment events across the country. The relationships built with our many partner organizations have allowed us to collaborate on outreach opportunities, such as the Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion's (CCDI) virtual career fair, the Mi'kmaw Summer Games in Potlotek, N.S. and the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) Atlantic Job Fair in Halifax.

To contribute to the CRA's goal of closing gaps in representation for each of the four EE groups, we implemented targeted recruitment initiatives, such as staffing processes for members of equity-deserving groups. In collaboration with the Persons with disabilities network and the Regroupement des organismes spécialisés pour l'emploi des personnes handicapées (ROSEPH), the CRA piloted a new approach, tailored to attract, recruit and onboard persons with disabilities. Since January of 2022, following the implementation of the National Employment Equity Staffing Strategy for non-executive positions, EE was used as the first appointment criteria for more than 50% of all appointments of qualified candidates where there was an EE gap. When EE was not used as the first appointment criteria, the most common reason was because there were no qualified EE candidates in the pool, which highlights the need for further analysis.

Supporting professional growth and career advancement

Considering EDI at each stage of the recruitment process is essential, however, once in the organization, it is also critical for all employees to be able to gain the skills and knowledge needed for professional growth. To support equal access to career opportunities for equity-deserving groups who have been and, in some cases, continue to be underrepresented, we have tailored solutions by leveraging proven mentoring and development programs as well as by introducing new initiatives.

To address professional barriers experienced by Indigenous peoples, the CRA sponsors two Indigenous-focused career development and retention initiatives: the Indigenous Mentoring Initiative (IMI) and the Connecting Pathways Program. In the past year, the IMI has paired 26 Indigenous employees with non-Indigenous professional mentors for the mutual sharing of knowledge and insight. The Connecting Pathways Program introduces newly hired Indigenous students to existing Indigenous employees, with the goal of fostering belonging and inclusion throughout the onboarding process.

The Agency's Leadership Development Program, established to develop the middle management stream for senior and executive roles, has been leveraged to increase diversity within the CRA's leadership pipeline. For the second consecutive year, the CRA surpassed its objective of achieving a 70% participation rate from members of equity-deserving groups. Similarly, the CRA's SponsorMe program, put in place in response to the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet's Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service, is entering its second year, having created 48 matches between sponsors and protégés since its launch in 2021. This program aims to contribute to increasing the representation of members of underrepresented groups (Indigenous peoples and visible minorities) in the Executive cadre by supporting leadership development in aspiring executives.

To facilitate access to professional mentors by members of equity-deserving groups, we updated the CRA's online mentoring platform, known as MentorMe, with additional search functions that allow mentees to find mentors with whom they have things in common. Based on feedback received, mentees often feel more comfortable choosing mentors who share certain identity factors, such as the same first language or shared ethnic heritage. The new parameters for the Second Official Language Training (SOLT) program, implemented as part of the Directive on Learning and the Official Languages Reform, also support prioritized access for employees who have self-identified as a member of an EE group(s).

Fostering an inclusive workplace culture

The CRA is committed to harnessing the rich knowledge and lived experiences of our diverse workforce through mindful inclusion efforts. By listening to our employees and fostering an intersectional understanding of workplace inequities, we can co-create safe spaces, where employees feel comfortable expressing themselves and addressing racism and other forms of discrimination. To contribute to this goal, throughout the year, we involved employees and their networks in consultations, developed resources and launched several important initiatives.

Listening to our employees

The CRA continues to consult management, employees, their representatives and employee networks in order to ensure that our workforce's diverse perspectives, needs and concerns are heard, understood and acted-upon.

The CRA's National Employment Equity and Diversity Committee (NEEDC) is comprised of branch and regional executive champions, national employee network leads and union representatives. The NEEDC serves as a national platform to gather and share information and diverse perspectives from across the country on EDI-related topics. For instance, NEEDC members amassed and shared feedback from across the CRA, to support the Agency's recommended changes to the EE Act, submitted to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer. NEEDC also participated in a formal Employment Systems Review (ESR) to identify employment barriers experienced by equity-deserving groups and continues to table items requiring the Agency's attention.

The EDI employee networks aim to build communities and foster safe spaces for employees with shared identities, interests and faiths within CRA. Throughout the year, the networks actively participated in consultations, supported initiatives and hosted thought-provoking discussions on topics such as anti-racism, reconciliation, accessibility and gender-inclusive language. The following are notable examples of the work they have accomplished over the past year:

• The Indigenous Employee Network developed a podcast to teach employees about the importance of land acknowledgements, an essential contribution to reconciliation;
• The Visible Minority Network held an event hosted by Erica Tao, the Regional Director General at the Department of Canadian Heritage, who spoke about systemic racism in the workplace;
• The Persons with Disabilities Network led a virtual event entitled “Not All Disabilities Are Visible” to raise awareness about non-apparent disabilities;
• The Pride Network formed a working group on pronouns, which created tools and communications to assist employees with the voluntary sharing of their preferred pronouns; and
• The Women's Collaborative Network (WCN) marked International Women's Day by hosting an event to celebrate women's achievements in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) as well as to spread awareness of STEM-related internal career opportunities.

To learn more about its employees' various needs, the CRA engages employees through a number of feedback mechanisms, such as focus groups, targeted interviews and pulse surveys. For example, through consultations, the CRA learned that the hybrid work model must be flexible enough to account for the diverse needs of individuals with specific accessibility concerns. This insight informed the development of questions concerning accommodations in the CRA's latest Employee Worksite Experience Survey, conducted in the fall of 2022.

The CRA takes part in the biennial Public Service Employee Survey (PSES), a comprehensive survey for employees in the federal public service. The results provide the CRA with important insights, based on employee satisfaction levels, about current matters in the workplace related to topics, such as, engagement, leadership, diversity and inclusion. The overall results from the survey showed a high level of engagement with 84% of CRA employees expressing a sense of satisfaction from their work. Results for equity-deserving group members were largely comparable with the overall findings. However, persons with disabilities reported a higher degree of dissatisfaction than CRA respondents who did not identify as a person with a disability. Notably, we also received the following feedback about CRA's culture of inclusion:

• 87% felt that the CRA implemented activities and practices that support a diverse workplace;
• 82% think that the CRA respects individual differences (e.g., culture, work styles, ideas);
• 57% of CRA respondents agreed that the Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion had a positive impact in the Agency, while nearly 36% of CRA respondents indicated they don't know; and
• 52% of employees who experienced discrimination and 31% of employees who experienced harassment took no action, mostly for fear of reprisal and/or not believing it would make a difference.

Increasing awareness and understanding

In order to foster an inclusive workplace, we must all be aware of how our values, attitudes and behaviours impact our workplace and the lives of others. To encourage employee development with regards to intercultural awareness and social competence, we have designed an internal EDI learning platform called Inclusion+. This platform will serve as a central repository for EDI learning, including self-assessment and self-reflection tools to help employees identify their personal assumptions, biases and stereotypes and consequently develop strategies and tangible measures that they can employ to overcome their own prejudice and help build an inclusive workplace.

Throughout the year, the CRA has developed relevant training, communications material and EDI-focused plans to build greater awareness and understanding of equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism. In December of 2022, the Agency published our first-ever Accessibility Plan 2023–2025, developed in consultation with persons with disabilities, which outlines concrete actions that the CRA will take to identify, address and prevent accessibility barriers and ensure policies, initiatives, products and services are accessible to all CRA employees. For instance, the CRA continues to look for opportunities to streamline the accommodation process.

As an important step in expanding our actions to combat racism in the workplace, we launched our Engagement on Anti-racism and Bias (EARB) initiative with the goal of fostering intercultural awareness and ongoing dialogue on matters related to anti-racism, diversity and inclusion. This approach builds upon initiatives and resources developed and put in place to help employees learn and engage in inclusive practices and counter systemic racism, such as mandatory training on unconscious bias for members of executive and management staffing boards as well as new learning products on topics like micro-aggressions, code-switching, accent bias and gender-inclusive language. Over 6,600 people have been provided unconscious bias training since a newly developed workshop was launched in 2021.

To equip our senior leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to support diversity, foster inclusion and actively counter incivility and racism, diversity and inclusion was a key topic addressed at the 2022 Executive Forum. A keynote speaker addressed the role leaders play in the recognition and acknowledgment of micro-inequities in the workplace and explored how to effectively handle and respond to micro-inequalities, an essential skill for inclusive leadership. To further increase awareness and to allow time for reflection, senior management also participated in an off-site interactive and engaging session on the topic of “Overcoming Obstacles to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion” to ensure that ongoing conversations continue, at all levels, to advance efforts on anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion.

Finally, to increase objectivity and inclusion in recruitment, the CRA continued to provide recruitment-oriented training to outreach teams and hiring managers on matters such as planning accessible recruitment events, developing targeted recruitment campaigns, and putting in place diverse staffing boards.

During the year, the CRA's regions, branches and networks supported the continuous learning of employees across the organization by communicating timely information on new events and initiatives, touching upon diverse themes. For example, in collaboration with our partners, the CRA:

• Developed an awareness presentation and accompanying communication on the LGBT Purge and the resulting LGBT Purge Fund;
• Supported facilitator training at the Indigenous Knowledge Centre in order to ultimately enable the Agency to provide greater access to Sharing and Learning Circle sessions;
• Hosted a series of speed mentoring sessions, where network members served as mentors to managers and executives;
• Updated CRA's commemorative dates to include additional national days and observances that shed light upon our diverse identities and distinct realities;
• Promoted the youth, manager and EDI employee networks early in the employee's online onboarding experience as well as in virtual orientation events;
• Organized regional EDI conferences, such as an event titled “Roots of Hatred and Intolerance,” which was presented by The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies.

Changing the way we do business

Over the past year, we have continued to drive change and accountability by questioning the status quo. In so doing, the CRA has taken action to identify opportunities to strengthen our systems and practices and to address systemic barriers that could hinder our efforts to advance equity, diversity and inclusion in our organization.

Enhancing our programs and practices

The CRA completed two independent EDI-related audits during the year. First, an Employment Systems Review, led by an independent third party, assessed our formal and informal HR policies, practices, and systems to identify systemic issues faced by equity-deserving groups. Secondly, we were selected to take part in the Canadian Human Rights Commission's Horizontal Audit on the Employment of Racialized People in Executive and Management Positions in the Public Sector. The final reports and associated recommendations, like including mandatory core training for all senior leaders and management team members on diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, harassment and accommodation, will be used to inform EDI priorities, programs and strategies.

The CRA also continued to make progress developing the Agency's Pay Equity Plan through its Pay Equity Committee (PEC), in accordance with our obligations under the Pay Equity Act. The PEC will follow the steps outlined in the Act to ensure that the CRA identifies and addresses any systemic gender-based discrimination in compensation practices and systems, thereby ensuring equal pay for work of equal value.

Over the last fiscal year, the CRA also developed guidelines to support the implementation of special programs, enabled under the Canadian Human Rights Act, to identify, redress and prevent professional disadvantages experienced by equity-deserving groups. These guidelines extend beyond the scope of the Employment Equity Act and support the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet's Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service.

With that in mind, the CRA has integrated mandatory targeted performance measures on anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion in managerial and executive performance agreements to enable leadership accountability for making sustained and tangible progress in advancing EDI objectives.

Strengthening data and measurement

The CRA recently implemented two important initiatives to contribute towards overcoming the limitations of existing EDI data. First, we made improvements to our Workforce Profile Questionnaire (WPQ) by providing members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community with the option to self-identify, supporting a better understanding of an additional equity-deserving group. Secondly, we began generating, analyzing and publishing Agency-level disaggregated data, for Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities to obtain additional insights regarding barriers and challenges that might be otherwise be hidden in the overarching EE group data.

This past year, the CRA also completed the Maturity Model of Diversity and Inclusion (MMDI), a federal public sector self-assessment tool designed to provide organizations with a comprehensive and holistic picture of their level of maturity with respect to EDI. The MMDI measures five dimensions: culture of inclusion, leadership and accountability, representation, barriers and discrimination, and talent. Results from the MMDI reinforced the need to strengthen leadership accountability, support and engage with our employee networks, and implement programs to improve the retention of employees from equity-deserving groups. Like the PSES, the MMDI is an example of the steps we are taking to integrate new measures to assess our progress on diversity and inclusion, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of the inequities experienced by members of equity-deserving groups.

5. What we are working on

The momentum of the past year has demonstrated the CRA's commitment to building a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace culture. In an effort to strengthen our foundations and accelerate progress made on our EDI journey, we have implemented several multi-year strategies and action plans as well as initiatives. Collectively, we hope they will have meaningful, long-term impacts by influencing culture change, eliminating barriers and improving opportunities for equity-deserving groups throughout each phase of the employment journey.

Our environment, however, is changing at an unrelenting pace, emphasizing the urgency for proactive leadership. The status quo can never be an option if we wish to be an attractive employer for all Canadians and support the citizens we serve. To strengthen our EDI vision, we will continue to enable the implementation of the many important ongoing initiatives that we have put in place to embed the values of equity, diversity and inclusion into the fabric of our corporate culture. We will be pursuing a few key directions in the coming fiscal year, which include:

• Moving the cultural dial forward from a focus on equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion to one that also deliberately focuses on anti-racism and leadership accountability, which supports the Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet's Call to Action and forward direction to deputies on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion in the Federal Public Service;
• Challenging our EDI governance model and making the changes needed to ensure that our enabling structures, systems, and policies are fully aligned, and our partners engaged and equipped to support the CRA's EDI vision;
• Supporting the implementation of the Recruitment, Retention and Onboarding Strategy for persons with disabilities and the Accessibility Plan, which collectively aim to realize a barrier-free Canada by 2040 while contributing to the Public Service of Canada's commitment to hire 5,000 persons with disabilities by 2025;
• Continuing to advance reconciliation, by supporting the CRA's Indigenous Portfolio Action Plan 2021–22 to 2023–24, aimed at addressing the needs of Indigenous peoples from both an internal and external perspective;
• Undertaking a GBA+ analysis on CRA's hybrid model of work to ensure that the impacts for diverse groups of employees have been understood and, where possible, steps are taken to adapt the implementation and effectively address the findings;
• Implementing the modernized self-identification questionnaire (in alignment with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's model) to increase the accuracy, depth and breadth of data collection by offering an expanded set of self-identification options to ensure accessibility and inclusion; and
• Expanding the measurement of diversity and inclusion indicators and the analysis of the data in order to gain a more holistic understanding of the diversity and experience of our workforce, to evaluate progress and to inform meaningful actions in support of EDI in the CRA's organizational context.

Appendices

Appendix A: CRA employment equity statistics

A1 Representation of designated groups in the CRA's total workforce as of March 31, 2023

Data source for tables 1.1 to 1.5: Corporate Administrative Systems as of March 31, 2023

A2 Distribution of employees by designated group and employment equity occupational group (EEOG) as of March 31, 2023

Data source: Corporate Administrative Systems as of March 31, 2023.

Data source for tables 2.2 to 2.5: Corporate Administrative Systems, as of March 31, 2023

A3 Distribution of employees by designated group and salary range as of March 31, 2023

Data source for tables 3.1 to 3.4: Corporate Administrative Systems, as of March 31, 2023.

A4 Distribution of employees by designated group and age groups as of March 31, 2023

Data Source for tables 4.1 to 4.2: Corporate Administrative Systems, as of March 31, 2023

A5 Hiring, separation and promotion rates of designated group members

Data source: Corporate Administrative Systems from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2023

Appendix B: Commemorative dates

February

• February 1–28: Black History Month

March

• March 1–31: The Rendez-vous de la Francophonie
• March 4–08: International Women's Day & Week
• March 20: The Journée Internationale de la Francophonie (available in French only)
• March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
• March 31: Transgender Day of Visibility
• March 31: National Indigenous Languages Day

April

• April 12: International Day of Pink
• April 23: English Language Day

May

• May 1–31: Jewish Heritage Month
• May 1–31: Asian Heritage Month
• May 5: Red Dress Day / Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
• May 11: Moose Hide Campaign
• May 17: International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia
• May 18: Global Accessibility Awareness Day
• May 22–26: Indigenous Awareness Week
• May 28 – June 3: National AccessAbility Week

June

• June 1–30: Pride Season
• June 1–30: National Indigenous History Month
• June 21: National Indigenous Peoples Day
• June 27: Canadian Multiculturalism Day

July

• July 11: Accessible Canada Act

August

• August 1: Emancipation Day
• August 23–27: Public Service Pride Week

September

• September 14: Official Languages Day
• September 21: Gender Equality Week
• September 23–30: NDTR National Truth and Reconciliation Week
• September 30: NDTR National Truth and Reconciliation Day / Orange Shirt Day

October

• October 1–31: Women's History Month
• October 1–31: LGBTQ2+ History Month
• October 1–31: Disability Employment Awareness Month
• October 1–31: Latin American Heritage Month
• October 4: National Day of Action for MMIWG & 2SLGBTQ+ People
• October 11: International Day of the Girl
• October 11: Coming Out Day
• October 18: Person's Day
• October 19: International Pronouns Day

November

• November 8: Indigenous Veterans Day
• November 13–20: Transgender Awareness Week
• November 20: Transgender Day of Remembrance
• November 25: International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women
• November 25 – December 10: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence

December

• December 3: International Day of Persons with Disability
• December 6: National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
• December 10: Human Rights Day

Appendix C: Technical notes

1. Period under review

This report covers the April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, fiscal year.

2. Workforce covered by the report and the source of data

The report is based on the objectives and key activities of the CRA Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan 2021–2022 to 2024–2025. This report presents the statistical profile of designated groups at the end of the fiscal year. It compares their internal representation rates with their LMA rates. Employment and Social Development Canada provided the LMA rates for each designated group. The LMA rates of Indigenous peoples, visible minorities and women comes from the 2016 Census of Canada. The LMA rate of persons with disabilities comes from the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability. In both cases, they represent the most recent official LMA numbers.

This report uses information on permanent employees and term employees of three months or more. It takes into account active and temporarily inactive employees, such as employees on maternity leave and people on leave for the care and nurturing of preschool children. It does not include data on students or term employees of less than three months.

The data in this report comes from the CRA's Corporate Administrative Systems (CAS).

The self-identification information (obtained through voluntary disclosure) of employees who are Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and visible minorities is confidential and kept secure. Only authorized employees in the HRB and CRA employees responsible for maintaining and supporting CAS employment equity data have access to the data. The data on women comes from employee files.

3. Weighting method

The CRA received the new LMA data in 2019 and applied it for the first time to the March 31, 2019, workforce analysis. Therefore, previous years comparisons are not available, and the March 31, 2019, data will serve as a baseline for the next five years. The March 31, 2023, data in this report shows the CRA's year 5 progress using the new LMA benchmarks. Unless indicated otherwise, the data in this report comes from the CAS as of March 31, 2023.

The CRA workforce analysis uses the national occupational classification system, which Employment and Social Development Canada developed with Statistics Canada. This system classifies occupation using two criteria: type of skills (type of occupation or field of work) and level of skills (time and length of training). The CRA workforce analysis measures how designated group members are represented internally and compares it with their LMA.

Appendix D: Definitions

Employment equity occupational group

The unit group of occupations from the National Occupational Classification that is used by Statistics Canada and regrouped into 14 employment equity occupational groups to reflect the occupational structure within an organization under Schedule V of the Finance Administration Act.

Equity-deserving groups

Equity-deserving groups are the groups designated under the Employment Equity Act, their subgroups and 2SLGBTQI+ communities.

Hiring

The staffing action to hire an employee (permanent employee or term employee of three months or more) at the CRA during the fiscal year covered by this report. The figures show the number of employees hired and may include more than one staffing action.

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples means the same as Aboriginal peoples. As stated in the EE Act, “Aboriginal peoples means persons who are Indians, Inuit or Métis”.

Permanent employees

An employee appointed to the CRA for an unspecified time.

Promotion

A permanent appointment to a new position where the maximum rate of pay is greater than that of the employee's substantive position by one of the following:

• an amount equal to the lowest increase in the new position
• an amount equal to a maximum rate of 4% of the new position

Separation

A permanent employee or a term employee of three months or more who leaves the CRA during the fiscal year covered by this report.

The figures in this report reflect the number of employees who left the CRA and may include more than one staffing action for term employees. The number of separations includes people who retired or resigned and those whose term employment ended. People on leave without pay are not included in the separation data because their leave is temporary.

Workforce availability

The CRA workforce availability includes the distribution of persons in the designated groups as a percentage of the entire Canadian workforce. This includes data for Canadian citizens and landed immigrants, according to the organization's staffing directives. Workforce availability for employees is based on the figures for the total Canadian workforce (in keeping with the Census of Canada definition) who held employment in the Canadian labour market corresponding to occupations at the CRA.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of National Revenue, 2024.
You can copy this publication without permission for internal use, as long as you acknowledge the source. However, making many copies of parts or all of this publication to sell or redistribute requires written permission from the Minister of National Revenue. You can write to the Minister at Ottawa, ON K1A 0L5.

La version française de cette publication est intitulée Équité en matière d’emploi, diversité et inclusion à l’Agence du revenu du Canada – Rapport annuel 2022-2023.