Achieving diversity in the workplace: Canada's employment equity act and members of visible minorities

Abstract

The results of this longitudinal study suggest that the Employment Equity Act has had a small, positive effect on increasing the number of organizations that have a representative number of visible minority employees. In addition, occupational segregation appears to have reduced slightly since the introduction of the Act, especially in nonmanagement occupations. Finally, employment equity programs characteristics appear to be an important predictor of change in the representativeness of visible minority employees, suggesting that employment equity programs are an important mechanism by which the Employment Equity Act seems to work. Policy and managerial implications of the results are discussed.