2020 Gender and Harassment Advisory Committee Annual Report - E Division
Background
- A joint meeting with the E Division Gender and Harassment Advisory Committee (GHAC), the E Division Diversity & Inclusion Council, and the E" Division Cultural Diversity & Inclusion Board was held. This was the last meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner Brenda Butterworth-Carr before her retirement.
- GHAC members provided an update on the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Branding project, one of the initiatives being the D&I Challenge Coin. Feedback was provided on the challenge coin design; the Committee will have further discussion to incorporate the feedback into the design. Key elements of the BC RCMP Declaration will be used to design the challenge coin as well as the D&I Branding project.
- GHAC members expressed their commitment to continue working on the Women and Recruiting initiative, the Positive Space initiative, and the Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) initiative.
Meetings with Committee members
- September 2019
- Individual meetings were held with the Committee members to introduce the new Diversity & Inclusion Analyst and to reconfirm that they would like to continue working on the initiatives identified in February.
- Second meeting - September 17, 2019
The E Division GHAC had its first meeting with new Commanding Officer Deputy Commissioner Jennifer Strachan. Deputy Commissioner Strachan was introduced to the GHAC members and was provided an overview of the initiatives that the GHAC were working on.
Chief Superintendent Marlene Bzdel, the Level III Conduct Authority for E Division, was in attendance via teleconference. Chief Superintendent Bzdel provided an update on the E Division practices on harassment investigations. Chief Superintendent Bzdel requested feedback on the process and was provided by GHAC members.
Objectives
- To increase the awareness and understanding of the diversity and inclusion vision amongst employees through a branding project
- To provide suggestions on how to increase the reach to recruit women
- To promote workplace inclusivity through the Positive Space initiative
- To explore options that would support the operationalization of GBA+ in the Division
Current status
- An E Division D&I challenge coin contest was held in November 2018 where employees submitted ideas on a graphical representation on what diversity and inclusion look like. Members of the E Division Diversity and Inclusion Council and the E Division GHAC decided on a winning design which would also be utilized as part of the branding project. The winning design will be used in the branding project, but the challenge coin is not being produced at this point due to financial constraints.
- A GHAC member is in conversation with E Division Pro-Active Recruiting to improve recruiting effort towards women. A recommendation for National Recruiting is also put forward.
- A proposal will be created for the recruitment of additional Positive Space Ambassadors throughout E Division.
- A GHAC member will provide input for consideration to develop a GBA+ check sheet and learning session.
- The BC RCMP Diversity & Inclusion (D&I Unit) Unit interviewed members from the E Division GHAC, the E Division Diversity & Inclusion Council, and the E Division Cultural Diversity & Inclusion Board to discuss gaps, issues and proposed solutions on diversity and inclusion in the BC RCMP. These interviews, along with research conducted by the D&I Unit, informed the development of diversity and inclusion initiatives for the BC RCMP.
Next step
The next E Division GHAC is scheduled to take place in February 2020.The Diversity and Inclusion Unit will be working closely with the GHAC on initiatives; Women and Recruiting, Branding the Declaration, GBA+, and Positive Space that they identified, with progress updates to be provided in the February meeting.
Recommendation
National Recruiting to consider changes to the recruiting section of the RCMP website to make the content more appealing, especially to women. This could include a simplified process to register for career presentations, a survey upon exit, an "Ask a Recruiter" section, and new content featuring short video profiles of women in policing in various roles and ranks.
- Date modified: