The FoMD workforce census is a mechanism for collection of demographic information on FoMD employees. Respondents are given the option to identify by gender, sexual orientation, Indigenous identity, ethno-racial identity, and disability. Respondents have the option to ‘prefer not to answer’ any category in the questionnaire and this is still considered a valid response.
The Census covers five dimensions: sex/gender identity, sexual orientation, Indigenous peoples, visible/racialized minority, disability (visible and invisible)
The University of Alberta meets the criteria for reporting under the Federal Contractor’s Program (FCP). This program is based on the Employment Equity Act, 1986. (amended in 1995)
The purpose is “to achieve equality in the workplace so that no person shall be denied employment opportunities or benefits for reasons unrelated to ability and, in the fulfillment of that goal, to correct the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by women, aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities” .
We believe that having faculty and staff who reflect the diversity of our students and the communities we serve makes us a better Faculty.
It is critical to FoMD’s success to remove barriers and promote the inclusion of all.
Your information will help us determine where we are now so we can set realistic goals and measure our progress. In turn, we will be able to create plans and strategies that improve the learning and work experience.
(Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure, web-based application designed for data collection and management in research studies. It allows researchers to build and manage online surveys and databases quickly and efficiently. REDCap is widely used in academic, non-profit, and healthcare settings to capture data for clinical trials, longitudinal studies, and various research projects.
https://www.project-redcap.org/
Security Features:
Data Encryption: REDCap ensures that all data is encrypted both in transit (using SSL/TLS protocols) and at rest, safeguarding sensitive information from unauthorized access.
User Authentication and Role-based Access: It offers multi-factor authentication and allows project administrators to assign specific roles and permissions, ensuring that users only have access to the data they need.
Audit Trails: REDCap keeps a detailed log of all user activity, including data modifications and access, providing a full audit trail for compliance and accountability.
Compliance: REDCap provides a number of features that are designed to protect the privacy of research participants and is considered to be compliant with Canadian legislation such as the HIA, FOIP, and TCPS2 as well as U.S privacy requirements such as HIPAA.
These security features make REDCap a reliable platform for collecting, managing, and protecting data.
https://www.project-redcap.org/
The 4 FCP groups are gender, disability, Indigeneity, and visible minority. The committee has added sexual orientation.
This information will not be used to establish any sort of diversity quotas in hiring.
The purpose of the workforce census is to better understand the diverse makeup of our FoMD community and to identify areas where we can create more inclusive policies and practices.
The census results will help us foster a community that aligns with the principles of psychological safety and where everyone feels they belong. We want to promote equity and improve the workplace environment for all, ensuring that everyone has equal access to opportunities based on their skills, experience, and qualifications. Our goal is to foster a culture of inclusion, where diversity is valued and celebrated, not mandated.
Language is constantly evolving. EDI language is a point-in-time, intended with respect.
The terminology is primarily based on the current standards used by Statistics Canada and wording is from federal legislation, including the Employment Equity Act and the Federal Contractors Program.
The workforce census working group also consulted with those with lived experience and experts to discuss best practices.
Individuals can and should identify with all groups that apply to them.
All FoMD employees and clinical faculty are asked to complete the voluntary online Census.
This is a voluntary Census. Respondents may choose to answer all, some, or none of the questions. If an individual is not comfortable identifying, we ask individuals to select the option “I choose not to answer the questions in this Census at this time."
The data gained from this Census will support evidence-based decision-making. The results will also allow us to identify employment trends and begin to address any barriers to participation that may impede an individual’s success in FoMD.
The Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS), uses an extensive peer evaluation process to evaluate medical schools’ compliance with accepted standards for educational quality. Developing a strategy to collect baseline data about our faculty diversity and ensuring those data are updated regularly are a significant part of our commitment to diversity in the FoMD and a demonstrating compliance with the CACMS standard about diversity.
The workforce census will be available for approximately 7 weeks from mid November until after the university winter closure.
The Census is anonymous. We will use REDCap, a secure web application for building and managing online surveys. The survey will not collect any identifying information (ccid, email address etc)
Data will be stored in secure, shared google drive accessible only to a restricted number of staff in the FoMD Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Only aggregate data will be shared on the FoMD EDI website.
The survey will not collect any personal information like name, email, ccid. The data will be aggregated and provided as a summary. Data is collected, used and disclosed in compliance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
Given the personal nature of the data, data suppression rules will be applied. In order to protect individuals and prevent potential identification, the following steps will be taken:
-Raw data will be collected and aggregated in order to provide a summary of results.
- Indicating that the number of people in a group is too low to report (for example less than 5 or 10), instead of providing the exact number;
- If reporting a value that meets the above threshold but may still endanger the identity of respondents, it will also be suppressed.
-NOT reporting data for individual departments
- All percentages are calculated based on the appropriate number of individuals that responded to the particular question. As respondents had the option to ‘prefer not to answer’, those responses are not included in the reported percentages.
- The number of respondents for each question will not be reported to prevent estimation of values.
The options listed (Asexual, Bisexual, Gay, Heterosexual, Lesbian, Pansexual, Queer, Two-Spirit) are based on the Alberta Human Rights Commission’s definition of sexual orientation
You do not need to identify with these groups. How you identify is personal.
We are not asking you to consider if you identify in these groups for any other purpose, or to label yourself with this terminology. The terminology in this Census was developed and has evolved with ongoing input from our diverse faculty and staff. Some terminology is used because it aligns with the Canadian Census, such as the list of racialized groups. This allows us to compare FoMD employee representation with the external community.
The Office of EDI welcomes your feedback on the survey to help keep language current. You may Email confidentially to: fomdedi@ualberta.ca
Assistant Dean EDI fomdedi@ualberta.ca or lpurdy@ualberta.ca