What is the difference between employment equity programs and affirmative action?
Employment equity programs are used in Canada to promote equality in the workplace. They tend to focus on integrating four under-represented groups in Canadian society: women, visible minorities, aboriginals, and persons with disabilities. In order to determine whether an organization is properly using an employment equity program, it is important to look at the type of job and the physical or other skills that the particular job requires instead of focusing on the traditional gender of those who perform the job. Naturally, some jobs may tend to have more males or more females depending on the particular type of work or skills. Therefore, employment levels may not be representative of the population at large, and yet still be equitable under an employment equity program. The same analysis of employee demographics can be applied to the three other large minority groups in Canada. Employment equity in Canada differs greatly from American affirmative action programs, which are based on a
