Building a foundation of respect - Part 27 | BuildForce Canada

Building a foundation of respect - Part 27

Welcome to the BuildForce blog on Respectful Workplaces! Here we explore issues and provide advice, research, tools, and checklists – everything our industry needs to create respectful and inclusive workplaces where everyone can succeed. Who will benefit? Leaders, managers, HR staff, on-site workers and anyone who wants to understand how to create and support a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace.

Question of the month

(Each month our feature question explores the content and use of the BuildForce Canada Respectful Workplace Policy Framework and Implementation Guide. This tool is a free template designed to assist organizations in creating and implementing policies that support a respectful and inclusive workplace. This tool is one of three in the BuildForce Canada Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Toolkit.)

Did you know? The BuildForce Respectful Workplace Policy Framework and supporting Implementation Guide help organizations to protect employees against discrimination on the grounds of specific characteristics, as mandated by Canadian human rights legislation. [Image of covers of both documents.] Download at buildforce.ca/respect.Does your organization protect every employee from discrimination at work?

Human rights legislation across Canada protects every person in employment against discrimination on the grounds of specific characteristics.

Although federal, provincial, and territorial human rights codes vary in the grounds they protect, organizations must be aware of the grounds of discrimination covered in their relevant legislation.

Some of the protected grounds are age, ancestry, criminal charges or conviction, disability, gender expression or political beliefs, and more.

Legislation also permits organizations to collect data on the demographic characteristics of their workforce as a means of proactively identifying, preventing, and addressing discrimination.

The BuildForce Respectful Workplace Policy Framework and supporting Implementation Guide help organizations to meet this requirement by:

  • taking the position that a respectful workplace is also an inclusive workplace and that no employee should be excluded from activities or opportunities based on personal characteristics
  • recognizing that each person’s unique perspective enriches the workplace and contributes to the organization’s success
  • encouraging the gathering of workforce demographic data as a means of identifying gaps in demographic representation and determining inclusion issues and barriers to advancement
  • requiring implementation of a process of continuous improvement based on the workforce data by setting goals, establishing appropriate programs, and measuring results against those goals

For more info:

Join the conversation: Would you say that your organization values every person’s contribution equally, regardless of their personal characteristics?

Our next installment: Does your organization have fair practices in all areas to support a respectful and inclusive workplace?

Previous installment: Does your organization extend its Respectful Workplace Policy to all work interactions?

Read from the beginning. Click here to start at Part 1.

To meet the challenges of the 21st century, the Canadian construction and maintenance industry must be able to recruit and retain workers with a diversity of backgrounds such as Indigenous people, women, immigrants, and young workers. This means building respectful, safe and inclusive workplaces where all workers can succeed. Some of these challenges are: A quarter of a million skilled workers retiring over the next decade. Increased globalization demands more awareness of different cultures. The changing needs of a changing workforce. Increased demands for corporate social responsibility such as fairness and equity.

The BuildForce Canada Online Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Toolkit includes: The Respectful Workplace Online Self-Assessment Tool: to assist organization leadership in assessing their current situation and identifying where they may need to make changes; The Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Online Training Course: to train workers on how to create and support a respectful and inclusive workplace; and The Respectful Workplace Policy Framework and Implementation Guide: to assist organizations in creating and implementing a policy that supports a respectful and inclusive workplace. --- All the resources you need to create and support a respectful and inclusive workplace!

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This project has been funded by Status of Women Canada.