The term “positive discrimination” and the issue of access to employment for historically discriminated groups have occupied public debate lately. As an organization mandated to fight discrimination and promote equal access to employment, the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse wants to clarify the principles that guide access to employment programs. equality in employment.
Quebec adopted a fundamental law in 1975, the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, to ensure equality for all persons and protection against discrimination. Where are we today ? Are these noble objectives observable in tangible reality, particularly in the sphere of employment?
Let’s start with a brief reminder. In 1982, in order to take into account the systemic nature of the discrimination found against several groups of the population, a major amendment to the Quebec Charter was adopted by the legislator. This is section 86, which states: “The purpose of an equal access program is to correct the situation of persons belonging to groups that are victims of discrimination in employment, as well as in the sectors of education or health and in any other service ordinarily offered to the public. Such a program is deemed non-discriminatory if it is established in accordance with the Charter. »
The obligation to apply equal access employment programs within the Quebec public service will also be added to the Charter. At the time, women, one of the groups targeted, were under-represented in permanent positions, blue-collar jobs and in higher-level jobs. Moreover, they were generally behind in their salaries compared to male civil servants. People from other groups, such as Aboriginal people and ethnocultural minorities (as they were called at the time), were not very present.
A clear and persistent under-representation
Today, we can observe that the Quebec public service is more representative, particularly with regard to women, while recognizing that they still face significant obstacles in several environments, including traditionally male occupations, and in superior hierarchies. Sex and gender stereotypes are still at work and thus limit their access to certain jobs as well as their professional advancement (the glass ceiling phenomenon).
As for the situation of other historically discriminated against groups, the public service still shows a clear and persistent under-representation in its workforce, at all levels. Based on these observations, the Treasury Board website indicates: “The public service has set a hiring objective providing that 25% of employees recruited into the Quebec public service must be members of visible or ethnic minorities, disabilities, Anglophones or Aboriginals. Nonetheless, all applicants must meet the requirements set out in the job posting and follow the regular civil service recruitment process. This process is based on the principle of merit. »
Moreover, with regard to public bodies that are not part of the public service, such as universities, municipalities, hospitals and school boards, the National Assembly of Québec unanimously adopted the Act respecting access to Employment Equality in Public Organizations (LAEE) in 2000. This law establishes a specific framework to correct the situation of persons belonging to certain groups that have historically been discriminated against: women, Aboriginal people, ethnic minorities, visible minorities and persons with disabilities (added in 2005). The Commission is responsible for seeing to the implementation of the Act.
As part of this, each organization must determine, with respect to its workforce, representation objectives consistent with labor market availability for its various jobs. In order to meet these requirements, it must necessarily take temporary corrective measures, in particular by setting recruitment and promotion targets by type of job. In addition, the rules and practices of organizations must be reviewed to detect discriminatory prejudices, if any, in the management of human resources.
Merit and competence
Like the Treasury Board, the LAEE clearly indicates the principle of merit for the selection of candidates: “an equal access employment program cannot oblige an organization: to hire people who are not competent or give them a promotion; hiring or promoting people without regard to merit”.
The principles of merit and competence are intrinsic to any equal access employment program. A selection process that favors one or more categories of people does not constitute “positive discrimination”, an inappropriate term to explain equal access measures.
According to the data collected by the Commission concerning all the universities, equality is not achieved at all levels. For example, better representation of women remains to be done in certain senior positions or predominantly male departments. As for the situation of persons with disabilities, Aboriginal persons, visible minorities and ethnic minorities, a persistent under-representation is observable among professionals, professors and all higher-level jobs. Targeted measures for a given period are therefore necessary in order to rectify this situation.
To our initial question, we therefore conclude that despite the Quebec social consensus on the principle of equality for all, efforts must always be made to achieve this ideal and to make it a reality in the different spheres of society. .