Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy for the BC Public Service
Where We All Belong is a 3-year equity, diversity and inclusion strategy for the BC Public Service. It ensures we are reflective of our province and inclusive of Indigenous peoples, minority communities, immigrants, persons with disabilities and the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
For more information, please visit our homepage – the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Resource Centre – which includes information about Indigenous Initiatives, Accessibility, Learning and Resources, Governance and Community.
On this page
Where We All Belong: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy
Printable version of Where We All Belong: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Strategy (PDF, 955KB).
Ensure the BC Public Service is reflective of our province and inclusive of Indigenous peoples, minority communities, immigrants, persons with disabilities and the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
The BC Public Service is an inclusive organization where all employees are supported to reach their full potential.
The BC Public Service has one overarching corporate value — Integrity — and 6 core corporate values:
- Curiosity
- Service
- Passion
- Teamwork
- Accountability
- Courage
- Support an increasingly diverse workforce
- Enhance inclusion in the workplace
- Build a strong foundation for lasting and meaningful reconciliation
- Remove barriers to accessibility in the workplace
Leadership and education
- Develop learning curriculum and learning pathways to improve intercultural fluency and mitigate unconscious bias
- Provide Corporate Executive and Senior Leadership with training and coaching in diversity and inclusion
- Review and revise corporate learning programs (such as Respectful Workplace, Coaching and Conflict Supports, Diversity and Inclusion) for unconscious bias and incorporation of antiracism/anti-hate commitments
- Implement diversity and inclusion training, including unconscious bias training, across the BC Public Service
- Ensure managers and supervisors are trained in inclusive hiring practices
- Increase senior leader participation in diversity and inclusion related activities and resource groups
- Incorporate diversity and inclusion learning in annual performance and career planning conversations and documentation
Structure and alignment
- Incorporate diversity and inclusion goals and deliverables into overall workforce planning efforts
- Establish oversight mechanisms, tools and supports to enable success
- Build a change and communication strategy in support of organizational and individual culture shift
- Develop a diversity and inclusion resource and reference toolkit for ministries, divisions, branches, teams and employee resource groups
- Initiate a Lean project with central BC Public Service Agency policy leads to improve and streamline policies, processes and supports
- Create and implement an evaluation framework to measure and report on outcomes and progress against deliverables
Recruitment and retention
- Provide the knowledge, tools and resources necessary to support hiring decisions that are equitable, transparent, merit-based and mitigate the impacts of unconscious bias
- Conduct a review of mid-level to senior-level positions and make recommendations to address under-representation of specified equity groups
- Continue to reduce regional restrictions on job postings
- Increase IBPOC (Indigenous, Black and People of Colour) representation within and across government
- Conduct a plain language review of job postings
Flexibility
- Identify positions which can be adapted to individual circumstances (such as part-time, job share, flexible work arrangements)
- Assess the viability of benefit plan enhancements to support an increasingly diverse workforce
- Diversity and inclusion competence is increased in the BC Public Service
- Related HR policies and legislation are clearly understood and complied with
- Individuals are treated equitably and ethically with dignity and respect
- Organizational performance is improved
- Better policy and service delivery outcomes
Historical timeline
November 2023
June 2023
May 2023
May 2022
April 2022
September 2020
February 2020
Diversity and Inclusion Essentials training for all employees launched
December 2019
Diversity and Inclusion Foundations for Executive training introduced
April 2019
October 2018
Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity appointed, GBA+ for policy development and decision-making introduced
June 2018
Federal Government Bill C-81: Accessible Canada Act proposed
May 2018
- Draft Principles that Guide the Province of British Columbia’s Relationship with Indigenous Peoples (PDF, 137KB) announced
-
Words Matter: Guidelines on Using Inclusive Language in the Workplace (PDF, 505KB) launched
-
B.C. proclaims May 27 to June 2 as AccessAbility Week
February 2018
Executive Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (ECDI) formed to support Diversity & Inclusion Action Plan
2017
2015
January 2015
Employee Accessibility Advisory Council formed
2014
December 2013 to March 2014
Public consultations on accessibility
2008
BC Public Service Values: What We Value (PDF, 533KB)
2006
Being the Best: Corporate Human Resource Plan (10-Year Vision)