McGill University
PA-6: Support for Underrepresented Groups

McGill's policy on Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination: https://www.mcgill.ca/secretariat/files/secretariat/policy_on_harassment_sexual_harassment_and_discrimination_prohibited_by_law_2014.pdf "The University shall take measures aimed at creating and maintaining an environment free from Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prohibited by Law. The University shall take reasonable action to prevent Harassment, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Prohibited by Law, and, whenever it becomes aware of such behaviour, to put an end to it. Nothing in this Policy relieves administrators from the responsibility of addressing situations of inappropriate behaviour in accordance with good management practices, regardless of whether a specific Complaint under this Policy has been received. Nothing in this Policy relieves the University from its obligations under the Labour Standards Act of Quebec."

Report 2014-2015: https://www.mcgill.ca/harass/files/harass/harassment_policy_annual_report_14-15.pdf Section 3. Handling of Complaints 3. Handling of Complaints Harassment complaints are handled by 8 assessors, appointed by Senate (see Appendix 2 in linked report). The following tables provide statistical information on the handling of complaints under the Policy for the nine years since the Policy has been in operation. 3.1 Inquiries/Complaints In 2014-2015, there were 23 inquiries/complaints, below the average of 36 per year over nine years. Table 1 shows that, as in previous years, the largest number of inquiries and complaints concerned harassment, with a total of 16. Again, this is somewhat lower than the average of 21 per year over the nine years of the policy. 3.2 The Parties The parties involved as complainants and respondents are shown in Tables 2, 3 and 4 (see report linked above). While the greatest number of complaints (30%) was brought against academic staff, the percentage of complaints against academic staff in 2014-2015 decreased by 16% as compared with 2013-14. 3.3 Outcomes Possible outcomes of an inquiry or a complaint are as follows: i. complainant makes inquiry and decides to take no further action under the policy; ii. informal resolution, before or after an investigation; iii. formal resolution following an investigation. Outcomes of complaints are shown in Table 5. Of the total contacts made in 2014-15, 16 (70%) did not proceed beyond the enquiry stage and one case (4%) was withdrawn. Two cases (9%) were resolved informally, while four complaints (17%) went to formal resolution. Table 6 (see report link above) provides basic information with respect to decisions in those cases involving formal resolution, in particular as to whether the complaint was deemed to be founded or not founded, and the types of measures undertaken.

"McGill University is committed to fulfilling its mission within an institutional environment that embraces equity and diversity. The University seeks to be proactive in attracting suitably qualified representatives of certain designated groups, as identified by federal and provincial legislation, as well as McGill’s Employment Equity Policy. These groups include women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic and visible minorities, and persons of minority sexual orientation or gender identity. --- -Employment equity recruitment guidelines are to be followed by all units in the course of hiring ranked academic staff (tenure track and contract academic staff). -Your acknowledgment to applicants should contain the following paragraphs: McGill University is committed to diversity and equity in employment. To this end, I draw your attention to McGill's Equity & Diversity Survey. We invite you to complete this survey online. If you choose to complete the survey, please use the following reference number [insert reference number]. Please complete the survey by [insert date]. -Please provide job applicants with the employment equity reference number that relates to the position for which they have applied. For tenure-stream recruitments this number can be found at (https://www.mcgill.ca/apo/deans-and-chairs-guide/employment-equity/tt-equity-reference-number). This is particularly important in cases where a unit is conducting more than one job search in a given year. (For Contract Academic Staff recruitments, units are asked to create their own unique equity reference numbers for each position.) -Give applicants a deadline for completing the survey. -The hiring unit shall request from the Academic Personnel Office a summary of the survey data (in the form of an Excel spreadsheet) when it is ready to complete the Employment Equity Data Report. -Once a search committee has established its shortlist, it must confirm that at least one candidate on that list is a member of a designated equity group. This determination is to be made by consulting the equity data summary, which search committees obtained from Academic Personnel. -If the shortlist does not include a member of a designated equity group, search committees are required to reexamine their applicant pool to identify any candidate who is a known member of a designated group who ranks among the top ten of all applicants. Any such candidate(s) should be added to the shortlist. This addition would not require eliminating any candidates on the original shortlist. -Chairs of search committees will share their shortlists with the Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic), indicating whether the list includes at least one member of a designated equity group. If it does not, the chair of the search committee must provide assurance that no candidate in the top ten of the recruitment pool is a member of a designated group. Search committee chairs should send this documentation to the Academic Personnel Office as soon as possible after the shortlist is decided and the committee-level equity review is completed. -The Associate Provost (Policies, Procedures and Equity) will review documentation provided by search committees and will confirm to committee chairs that equity requirements have been met, or request that the shortlist be expanded to include additional candidates. -Subsequently in the recruitment process, the Dean’s recommendation for a new appointment must be accompanied by both the Employment Equity Data Report and a copy of the correspondence described above, including the initial submission by the search committee chair to the Academic Personnel Office regarding the composition of search committee shortlists and any subsequent exchanges between the chair and the Associate Provost. This information will be required before the Provost and Vice-Principal Academic will act upon a recommendation for a new hire." --- Full details of the process can be found at: https://www.mcgill.ca/apo/deans-and-chairs-guide/employment-equity The Equity and Diversity Report Form can be accessed here: https://www.mcgill.ca/apo/files/apo/eedr_09.pdf A training has been developed for faculty search committees that focuses on equitable hiring practices, including best practices in widening the applicant pool and addressing implicit bias in selection.

In addition to engagement of students, staff and faculty from underrepresented groups through the work of the Joint Board-Senate Committee on Equity (https://mcgill.ca/senate/committeesofsenate/standingcommittees/joint-board-senate-committee-equity/) and its subcommittees, the University has offices dedicated to supporting under-represented groups, including but not limited to the following: "The Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) Office is committed to fostering a fair and inclusive environment that respects the dignity of each member of the McGill Community. By actively educating, heightening awareness, and providing opportunities for dialogue about equity and diversity-related issues, we strive to strengthen the Community in our shared responsibility toward a truly equitable society." -Source: http://www.mcgill.ca/equity_diversity/welcome/ Family Care The Family Resources Coordinator at SEDE * brings together solutions to family care issues on campus through consultation with the community and planning * responds to questions about childcare, bringing family to Canada, housing, or anything else related to family responsibilities * provides one-on-one meetings for support and solutions * conducts orientation events and workshops throughout the year * facilitates support from fellow caregivers through a private Facebook group * aids in advocacy for discrimination because of one's role as a caregiver The McGill Family Resources project was created with help from SEDE, the Senate Subcommittee on Women and the Sustainability Projects Fund (SPF). This position provides resources and support to student and staff parents on campus. Staff members with family care responsibilities can contact the Family Resources Coordinator; McGill Faculty members in need of family care support can contact the McGill Faculty Relocation Advisor. -Source: https://www.mcgill.ca/equity_diversity/students/family-care Staff Mentoring "The Staff Mentoring initiative launched in April 2016, as a pilot project led by the My Workplace team. It connects mentors and mentees for at least a year, with the goal of: •Enrich new-employee experience/initiation •Improve employee engagement and retention •Foster community connections •Encourage employee learning and growth" Mentees sometimes request mentors who self-identify according to ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc. and are therefore invited to communicate any self-identification(s) in confidence, the information being used strictly to help mentees find the best mentors for them. Source: https://www.mcgill.ca/myworkplace/what-were-doing/projects/staff-mentoring "The First Peoples' House believes that innovative partnerships should exist between McGill University and Aboriginal communities. The First Peoples' House aims to provide Aboriginal students with a ""home away from home"" and envisions the following: * To increase the admission and retention rates of Aboriginal students studying at McGill. * To promote and increase the accessibility of student services of McGill to Aboriginal students. * To meet the concerns of Aboriginal communities, which include educational programming and policies that are culturally relevant to Aboriginal peoples. * To promote collaborative research and learning between McGill University and Aboriginal communities. * To raise awareness within the McGill University community regarding the past, present, and future aspirations of Aboriginal peoples through the promotion of activities that encourage personal, social, intellectual, and cultural interactions between Aboriginals and McGill students and staff. * To work on the creation of an Aboriginal Studies Program with the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada." -Source: http://www.mcgill.ca/fph/mission/ "The Office for Students with Disabilities provides reasonable academic accommodations and support to students with disabilities in order to facilitate their equal academic participation at McGill." -Source: http://www.mcgill.ca/osd/services/ "McGill is home to more than 6,000 international students, who make up nearly 19 per cent of our student population. International Student Services works hard to promote the growth, development and success of this burgeoning community, and ease their transition to McGill and Montreal." -Source: http://www.mcgill.ca/internationalstudents/issoffice/ The McGill University Mentor Program is committed to diversity. Students from under-represented groups or minorities may prefer to be matched with someone who has expressed an interest in mentoring such a participant. McGill Office for Religious and Spiritual Life (MORSL) is committed to "assisting individuals or groups in achieving spiritual growth and personal maturity within a university environment without proselytizing or coercion; respecting the integrity of different religious traditions and the encouragement of others to do likewise; respecting those without religion; working cooperatively to encourage an ethical approach to common concerns; working together with other student services; and promoting interfaith understanding."" -Source: http://www.mcgill.ca/students/chaplaincy/about/ The McGill Student Parents Network is an international, multi-generational community of parents, children, and student volunteers. We offer a number of support services for students and their families, including in-house babysitting, "Study Saturdays," and regular social events for fun and fellowship. The MSPN is coordinated by McGill Chaplaincy, but is not a faith-based initiative. -Source: http://www.mcgill.ca/students/chaplaincy/studentparents/ Peer Support and Mentoring network run out of Campus Life and Engagement "The Peer Programs Network (PPN) is comprised of McGill students, staff, and faculty involved in peer programs (students helping students). The Network recognizes that there is a social dimension to learning and that some of the most profound learning experiences occur in helping others. To that end, the Network supports peer programs across campus by providing training and resources, and the opportunity to share best practices, exchange ideas, and collaborate with other McGill community members. The Network actively facilitates skill-building and knowledge-sharing, and promotes student engagement and leadership as important components of individual success within a supportive campus environment" http://www.mcgill.ca/peerprograms/students-seeking-peer-support Peer Support and Mental Health (run by students out of Student Services - Mental Health/Counselling Services) Cousins, the Indigenous Student Mentorship Program "The program is designed to connect First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students who are unfamiliar with First Peoples' House and its services with Indigenous students at McGill who are more involved and acquainted with the House's resources and events. Established students provide guidance and support to current students in connecting with on and off-campus communities and assist newer students in navigating their first year at the university and in the city." https://www.mcgill.ca/fph/current-students/cousins-indigenous-student-mentorship-program There are innumerable student clubs where students of particular groups have self-organized into support/social networks (http://ssmu.mcgill.ca/?page_id=83).

Next year, the Social Equity and Diversity Education Office will be working on research fellowships in diversity and equity.