OSPE - COVID-19 Economic Recovery Recommendations - Federal Government - 22

OSPE has been an avid advocate of building a diverse and inclusive engineering sector across Canada. We have seen incremental progress
made across industry, academia, and government that is now being threatened by the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on labour force
participation. We can quantify the impact on women as this has historically been measured, however, the impact on other under-represented
groups with diversity dimensions including race, ethnicity, ability, and sexual orientation cannot be determined, as these trends have not been
widely analyzed and studied.
We urge the government to implement policies that encourage the participation of under-represented groups in the workplace by:
a. Addressing the wage gap.
OSPE's census analysis revealed that the wage gap between men and women working in engineering was 12% or $11,000 annually in Ontario alone.
While the Pay Equity Act requires employers to examine compensation practices to ensure men and women receive equal pay for equal work, it is
limiting as it only applies to federal regulated workplaces. Further, the wage gap for other under-represented groups should also be assessed and
mechanisms similar to those developed for gender, should be introduced. The government must work with the provinces to create accountable and
enforceable tools to truly address this issue.
b. Reducing the burden of unpaid care.
Research shows that caregivers continue to face the brunt of responsibilities in Canadian homes and has been cited as one reason for women leaving
the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since women's inclusion in the workforce began during the last century, caregiving responsibilities now
impacts all professionals regardless of gender - including engineering graduates and engineers - limiting career progression. Work with provinces to
improve access to affordable and quality childcare and eldercare to facilitate the participation, attachment, and retention of professionals in the labour
market. Specifically, as the population of senior citizens is expected to double to 4.5 million in Canada by 2041, it is important that the governments
implement programs to support all caregivers, perhaps through tax credits, that facilitate household outsourcing of child and elder care.
c. Investing in robust labour market analysis.
In a data driven economy it is imperative that the provincial government continue to make investments in data collection, analysis, and evaluation. For
the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) sectors, most data pertaining to the unique experiences of equity seeking groups in the
Canadian labour market focuses on gender. This remains consistent during the current crisis. It is therefore important to expand labour market analysis
to be more inclusive and to ensure that reliable data is available to inform both private and public sector responses to the barriers impacting all
underrepresented groups in engineering and other STEM professions. The federal government can facilitate this through funding departments to address data gaps.
d. Encouraging diverse and inclusive workplace practices.
Organizations must demonstrate a real commitment to diversity and inclusion through their workplace practices to access public funding. A revision
of current funding frameworks to include specific measurable requirements from organizations seeking to access public funding should be included to
ensure accountability. We encourage the government to look at workplace policies and practices, representation, commitment to inclusive design and/
or diverse supply chains when determining eligibility.

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OSPE - COVID-19 Economic Recovery Recommendations - Federal Government

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