To address under-representation, institutions can target job postings to specific groups and engage in cluster hiring to better increase representation of a minority group and to increase likelihood of retention.
All job postings should have an equity statement, which can be developed by the Joint Committee on Employment Equity and be regularly reviewed. The posting itself should emphasize abilities over experience. See the Canada Research Chairs Program Best Practices Guide for Recruitment, Hiring and Retention for advice about job advertisements.
Where to post:
In addition to University Affairs and CAUT’s Academic Work, the posting should be shared with professional societies and any relevant committees or caucuses they may have. It should also be circulated on social media, using relevant hashtags (for example #BlackinSTEM).
It should also be shared with community-based job boards and media. For example, if seeking Indigenous candidates, the advertisement could be posted on: Aboriginaljobboard.ca, Indigenous Link Careers and Windspeaker.com.
An example of a cluster hiring job advertisement:
An example of targeted job advertisement: