The Federal Black Employee Caucus (FBEC) supports efforts at the national, regional, and local levels to address issues faced by Black federal public servants.
What we do
FBEC’s two objectives are to:
- Collect disaggregated employment equity data to better understand where Black federal public servants are employed and what’s happening to them.
- Support the mental health of Black employees by working together to reduce harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
How we do it
- Advocate for the collection and analysis of disaggregated data on hiring and promotion rates of black employees and recommend measures to increase the number of Black Canadians hired and promoted, especially at the senior levels.
- Collect data and research the experiences of harassment and discrimination of Black employees and work with the Federal Public Service, bargaining agents and the government to improve conditions that detrimentally impact the mental health of Black employees.
- Encourage Black employees to self-identify in surveys and employment processes to give FBEC and the government an accurate picture of Black representation and experiences in the public service.
- Empower Black employees to actively advocate for themselves when faced with discriminatory behaviour or practices and provide a network for peer support.
- Support the government in addressing the employment equity and diversity objectives of the federal public service in the spirit of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent.
- Establish linkages with provincial, territorial, regional and municipal Black employee groups to share best practices.
- Work with the responsible key central agencies and departments; workplace unions, and community organizations to advance key objectives.
- Call on the government to recognize the impact of systemic and individual acts of racism on stress and anxiety for persons of color, through:
- Provision of education and training better equip management to address all forms of racism including microaggressions in the workplace; and
- Collection and reporting of disaggregated data (e.g. number of self-identified persons of African descent using the Employee Assistance Program, sick leave etc.) to better understand uptake of mental health services and identify opportunities to enhance outreach.