2021 Gender and Harassment Advisory Committee Annual Report - O Division

Background

  • Division Gender and Harassment Advisory Committee (OGHAC) membership is comprised of the Commanding Officer and eight (8) divisional employees. A new Diversity Coordinator position was created in January 2020 and the incumbent of the position has assumed the administrative support duties for the Committee.
  • In October 2020, the Committee welcomed two new members to replace one (1) transfer and one (1) deployment out of the Division.
  • OGHAC held two (2) meetings in 2020. The first meeting on May 20, 2020 and the second on October 19, 2020.
  • OGHAC continues to consult with relevant groups and subject matter resources, including: O Division Communications, Divisional Harassment Coordinator, a national harassment Subject Matter Expert, O Division Peer to Peer Advisors, O Division Training, and the National Survey Centre.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic presented some challenges in fulfilling some of the planned initiatives for 2020 yet the Committee continues to adapt and work towards meeting their objectives.

Objectives

The OGHAC identified, within its logic model, the following responsibilities, outputs, and outcomes:

Responsibilities:

  1. Maintain open, consistent, and collaborative communications with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEIC);
  2. Solicit feedback, concerns, and issues from Divisional employees;
  3. Discuss various items;
  4. Communicate processes for reporting harassment or gender inequality;
  5. Analyze trends in Divisional harassment complaints.

Outputs :

  1. Written annual reports;
  2. Records of Decision;
  3. Two-way communications with Divisional employees;
  4. Analysis and provision of solutions to issues raised.

Outcomes :

  1. Increased awareness of legislation, policies, and expectations of behaviours surrounding gender, sexual orientation, harassment, equity, and inclusivity;
  2. Increased awareness and confidence in reporting harassment and gender inequity;
  3. Decreased incidents and reports of incidents of harassment and discrimination in the workplace;
  4. Increased morale and confidence within the organization, specifically among those who identify as female or 2SLGBTQ+.

Current Status

Through the continued use of the logic model, OGHAC accomplished the following objectives:

  • Delivery of three (3) Transgender Awareness Presentations by Cpl. Reilly Knock from F Division in March 2020 in collaboration with O Division Training. The presentations were held in person at O Division London Headquarters (March 3), Toronto North Detachment (March 4), and National Headquarters (March 6). The London and NHQ presentations were also available via video conference to all O Division employees. In addition, O Division extended an invitation to NHQ employees to attend the presentation in Ottawa.
  • Provided feedback on the NHQ/National GHAC RCMP Guide to Supporting Transgender, NonBinary and Two-Spirit Employees prior to its release.
  • Ongoing updates of the OGHAC webpage with links to the Committee Terms of Reference and resources such as the RCMP Guide to Supporting Transgender, NonBinary and Two-Spirit Employees, and Canada.ca "Is it Harassment? A Tool to Guide Employees".
  • Identified some similarities in the objectives of both the OGHAC and the DEIC. The committees have agreed to collaborate on an updated divisional Diversity and Inclusion Questionnaire to gather feedback from employee on matters of gender, harassment, diversity, equity and inclusion. The data collected will provide insight on areas where the Division can take positive action. It will also serve as a baseline for future measurement of positive change.

Objectives affected by the COVID-19 pandemic:

  • Procurement of signage for gender neutral washrooms in the Division delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic procurement pressures.
  • Men Advocating for Real Change (MARC) training delivery delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Next Steps

  • Investigate potential virtual delivery option of Men Advocating for Real Change (MARC) training to be hosted by O Division in collaboration with National Headquarters (NHQ) AIM in lieu of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
  • Post interim temporary signage for gender neutral washrooms in the Division until the procurement completion of permanent signage.
  • Finalize the Diversity and Inclusion questionnaire and identify a launch date for optimal employee participation factoring potential limitations and restrictions caused by COVID-19.
  • Research opportunities and provide potential recommendations in relation to the application of a Gender Decoder tool to increase inclusive language within internal/external processes.
  • Completion and dissemination of a harassment information resource tool for supervisors/team leaders to discuss with employees.
  • Further discussion on the design and purchase of diversity and inclusion challenge coins for distribution as recognition gifts to speakers and employees for their contributions towards the advancement of diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
  • Continue research and promotion of various learning opportunities to advance diversity, equity and inclusion including those offered by the Canada School of Public Service and the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion.
  • Research and determine with guidance from NHQ the possibility of amalgamating the GHAC and DEIC into one committee.

Recommendations

  • None at this time.
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