Representation of visible minorities in the public service has been increasing at a faster rate than other populations as of March 2024, when the federal bureaucracy was at the height of its population growth.
The latest Employment Equity report offers new data on the public service, with breakdowns by visible minority and Indigenous groups, as well as gender. Coupled with previously reporting, the numbers offer a window into eight years of population changes among distinct groups of federal employees. It reveals that the proportion of women in the public service continues to rise across most visible minority and Indigenous groups. Meanwhile, the percentage of Indigenous Peoples has remained largely stable, with the exception of Inuit, which has experienced a slight decline.
The numbers suggest the government’s 2020 Throne Speech pledge to increase representation in hiring, appointments, and leadership development within the public service continues to be fulfilled.
However, the 2023-24 report is likely to be the last analysis occurring during a period of growth in the core public service, which grew by an average annual rate of 4.2 per cent, before decreasing by one per cent in 2025. This analysis aims to provide a baseline to assess the impact of expected job cuts on employment equity.
Representation of all groups exceeds their workforce availability, suggesting conscious efforts to improve representation. Based on the 2021 census data, the workforce availability for all women is 55.3 per cent (executives 42.2 per cent), visible minorities 22.7 per cent (executives 15.8 per cent), and Indigenous Peoples 4.1 per cent (executives 3.9 per cent).
Visible minorities
The 2024 gaps are most significant for South Asian, Chinese, and Filipino groups. Black public servants are slightly overrepresented along with other and multiple visible minorities. Representation has improved significantly for all groups compared to last year and 2016-17.
In terms of executives, all groups are underrepresented save for other and multiple visible minorities. Once again, underrepresentation is greatest for South Asian, Chinese, and Filipino executives. Underrepresentation is least for Arab/West Asian, and Southeast Asian populations. While there has been improvements for all groups compared to 2016-17, the number of Chinese, Filipino, and Korean bureaucrats at this level has declined since the previous year.
While overall, hiring rates for visible minorities are greater than non-visible minority and non-Indigenous (NVMIP) groups, overall hirings declined compared to 2022-23 given the likely impact of government restraint. The impact was greater for visible minorities than NVMIP. The greatest decrease was with respect to Chinese and Korean public servants, while Filipino and Southeast Asian women, along with both Japanese men and women, bucked the overall trend. Compared to 2016-17, hiring rates for all groups increased dramatically.
But there’s a flip side to hiring: separations, including retirement, leaving the public service for the private sector, or other reasons. Overall, separation rates are lower for visible minorities when compared to non-visible minorities and non-Indigenous public servants. Although not explicitly controlled in this data, age and length of employment are likely factors, given the younger demographics of most visible minority public servants. The gap between separation rates for women and men has decreased for most groups since 2016-17, given a significant decline in separations for women.
The promotion rates for most visible minority groups are higher than those for non-visible minority and non-Indigenous public servants. Interestingly, men who are visible minorities consistently had higher promotion rates compared to women in 2023-24, whereas a more mixed pattern characterized the years between 2016-17 and 2022-23 fiscal years. Black and South Asian women had consistently higher promotion rates compared to other groups. But these rates declined for all groups compared to the previous year, significantly so for women, who had particularly high promotion rates in 2022-23. Compared to 2016-17, promotion rates were significantly higher with the exception of West Asian, Chinese, and Filipino women.
Indigenous Peoples
Among Indigenous groups, the gaps are relatively small for all public servants, with Métis being over-represented and First Nations being under-represented. Representation has increased substantially from 2016-17 as well as compared to the previous year, with Inuit having increased the most. Representation is greater than workforce availability, based on 2021 census data, of 4.1 per cent for all Indigenous employees and 3.9 per cent for Indigenous executives.
Overall, the number of Indigenous people hired has been slightly lower than other populations with the exception of Inuit. Compared to 2016-17, First Nations representation has increased significantly, especially among women. More Inuit and Métis men were hired compared to First Nations men, while the opposite is true for First Nations women.
Interestingly, while Indigenous hiring rates have increased more than for other groups, so have Indigenous separation rates. There is considerable variation between Indigenous men and women separations, with Métis men having lower separation rates compared to women and the opposite for First Nations men. For most Indigenous groups, promotion rates largely track non-visible minority and non-Indigenous for the years covered.
Concluding observations
These results need to be seen in the context of a public service that expanded by an average of 4.2 per cent during 2017-23 and which subsequently started to decline by one per cent in 2024-25, with further cuts likely.
Overall, the data shows that the government has made significant progress in increasing overall representation of visible minorities, who were more likely to be hired and promoted than non-visible minorities and Indigenous peoples. Visible minorities also have lower separation rates, which may reflect the younger age in this group with 31 per cent under 35 years old, compared the overall public service at 25 per cent in this age range.
Compared to 2022-23, hiring rates increased the most for South Asian men and Filipino and Southeast Asian women, while Chinese and Korean men and women had the sharpest decrease. Promotion rates decreased the most for women in all groups save Black and South Asian, with large decreases for Latin American, Filipino and Korean men. Separation rates show fewer women leaving the public service than men, and fewer Latin American, Filipino and South Asian men leaving the public service than men from other groups.
Notably, Black public servants continue to have some of the strongest hiring and promotion rates over the past eight years, whereas Chinese bureaucrats have the weakest hiring rate among larger groups.
However, the results are more mixed for Indigenous Peoples. Overall, Indigenous women have greater hiring and promotion rates than Indigenous men. Inuit hiring rates are higher than other groups compared to 2022-23 but so is the percentage of Inuit leaving the public service.
Finally, as the government is expected to trim the public service given previous and questionable high growth, the gains in diversity and representation could be adversely affected by seniority considerations in any Work Force Adjustment Directive or equivalent. This year provides a baseline for future analysis of that impact.
Andrew Griffith is the author of ‘Because it’s 2015…’ Implementing Diversity and Inclusion, Multiculturalism in Canada: Evidence and Anecdote and Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias: Resetting Citizenship and Multiculturalism. He is a regular media commentator and writes on his blog, Multiculturalism Meanderings. He is the former director general for Citizenship and Multiculturalism, has worked for a variety of government departments in Canada and abroad, and is a fellow of the Environics Institute.
The Hill Times
Methodology: Data was provided by the Treasury Board Secretariat for visible minorities and Indigenous Peoples for fiscal years 2016-17 to 2023-24, by occupational group and gender. Analysis highlights hiring, separation, and promotion rates (percentage of hires, separations, promotions compared to the overall visible minority or Indigenous group population), comparing change over time by looking at 2017 and 2024 data. Change is by percentage change.