The CBC, a self-described “industry leader” in equity hiring, has a less diverse workforce than the Department of Agriculture, according to Access To Information records. Managers disclosed most CBC employees are white, English-speaking men, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“CBC is an industry leader,” Brodie Fenlon, editor in chief, wrote in a 2021 mission statement entitled How CBC Is Diving Deeper When It Comes To Newsroom Diversity. Fenlon said the Crown broadcaster “is a good example of what is possible when a news organization like ours embraces the call for greater racial representation, equity and inclusion in everything it does at every level.”.Access To Information data show the CBC has a less diverse workforce than the agriculture department, the federal prison service, or most federal departments and agencies. Management had no explanation for this..The CBC said of its 7,740 employees at both English and French services 51% are English-speaking, 49% are women, 17% are visible minorities, 4% have disabilities and 2% are indigenous..The equity rates were far below federal averages. Across the Government of Canada, 56% of employees are women, 19% are visible minorities, 5% have disabilities and 5% are indigenous, according to a Treasury Board report Employment Equity In The Public Service Of Canada..In her last appearance at the House of Commons heritage committee in 2019, Catherine Tait, CEO of the CBC, claimed the network was aggressive in hiring women, indigenous people and other job applicants. “We will do more to reflect all the richness of contemporary Canada – multicultural, indigenous, urban, rural and regional,” testified Tait..“We’ll do this in the stories we share on our airwaves and through our digital services and very importantly through our hiring so that Canadians will see themselves in their public broadcaster,” said Tait. Treasury Board figures show the CBC in fact trails other federal employers in equity hiring..The Department of Agriculture employs more women (52%), people with disabilities (18%), people with disabilities (5%) and Indigenous people (4%) than the CBC. At the federal prison service, the Correctional Service of Canada, 11% of employees are Indigenous compared to 2% at the CBC..The CBC has fewer visible minorities (17%) than Statistics Canada (24%). The network also employs fewer women (49%) than the Department of Justice (68 %). The CBC has almost half the number of employees with disabilities (4%) as the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (7%)..The network in a mission statement claimed its employees “come from a multitude of backgrounds and cultures that reflect the changing demographics of our country” but did not previously detail actual figures on equity hiring. “We’ve come to embrace inclusion as a mindset,” said the statement Diversity And Inclusion At CBC/Radio-Canada.“We’ve deepened our thinking from focusing on numbers and compliance to something that is far more encompassing and that enables us to become even more relevant to more Canadians,” wrote management. “Our diversity and inclusion vision is to be the media leader in drawing on the wealth of unique Canadian perspectives to shape our content, workplace and workforce. We believe in celebrating human differences.”
