Minorities, women underrepresented in City of Kitchener workforce census

Women, visible minorities and Indigenous people are underrepresented among City of Kitchener employees, according to they city's newly released Workforce Census. 

Last year, the report asked city staff to self-report a number of measurable diversity factors such as place of birth, gender identity and race. 

On Wednesday the city released the results, which showed women, visible minorities and Indigenous people were under-represented among staff.

The report said 1.3 per cent of City of Kitchener staff were Indigenous (specifically First Nations, Inuit or Metis). That's lower than the three per cent number of Indigenous people in Kitchener's general population, according to 2016 census data.

Visible minorities were also under-represented. According to the city workforce census results, City of Kitchener staff were 89.5 per cent white, with just nine per cent identifying as members of a "racialized group." That compares to 22 per cent of Kitchener's general population.

Similarly, women were under-represented. According to internal human resources data, the city's workforce was 42 per cent female and 58 per cent male.

Among those who responded to the workforce census questions, 0.5 per cent identified as gender non-conforming, the report said.

The census had a response rate of about 80 per cent, with an average of 1,766 employees answering every question.

In a section named "next steps," the report said the findings were "in no way a statement about the quality of our current employees." 

The report said the city is also determined to take "meaningful action and make real improvements."

The report did not outline how the city intends to do that, but did say the Mayor's Task Force on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion will be looking at engaging the public on the numbers.