About Workforce Profiles

The BC Public Service recognizes that with diversity comes unique styles, perspectives, beliefs and creativity. Our workforce needs to be as diverse as the British Columbians we serve to better understand the people we work for. Employment equity in the BC Public Service means eliminating barriers to employment for four designated groups: women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

Equitable Treatment in the Workplace

The goal of employment equity is a discrimination-free workplace where current and prospective employees receive equitable treatment in hiring, training and promotion. Diversity encourages the BC Public Service to better utilize the talents, skills and innovation that a more diverse workforce can offer. The BC Public Service is focused on hiring the best person for the job—it attempts to include members from the four designated groups so that everyone has a fair chance for employment and or promotion.

Employment Equity Act

The first Employment Equity Act was passed by the Government of Canada in 1986, for the purpose of correcting the conditions of disadvantage in employment experienced by women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities. The Province of British Columbia began work on an employment equity tracking project in the early 1990s, and the Workforce Profile Survey began in 1994 with a census of all government employees—who were hired under the Public Service Act. Since the initial survey in 1994, BC Stats has surveyed all new hires to government through a monthly survey. This survey was administered up until March 2009.

Work Environment Survey

In April 2009 the four demographic questions required for employment equity reporting became part of the Work Environment Survey (WES)—which is now administered every other year. Since 2009, WES data has been used to inform the Workforce Profiles. As a result, new Workforce Profile reports are only created after a completed WES cycle.

Accessing Workforce Profiles Reports

The Workforce Profiles Reports provide important perspective on representation of equity groups within the BC Public Service and all of its ministries and organizations.

Workforce Profile results can be viewed in one of two ways. For results from 2015 or prior, please download the associated PDF report. For the latest numbers since 2018, please use the Workforce Profiles Dashboard to explore results.

Note: the Workforce Profile Dashboard is not compatible with older web browsers such as Internet Explorer 11. Please use an up-to-date browser when accessing the Dashboard for best results.

• Access Workforce Profile Dashboard for current results (2018 and onwards)
• View Workforce Profile of the BC Public Service for 2015 (PDF)
• View Workforce Profile of the BC Public Service for 2013 (PDF)
• View Workforce Profile of the BC Public Service for 2011 (PDF)
• Go to the Data BC Catalogue to view data used by the Workforce Profile Dashboard