Equitable Recruitment Policy

The Durham School Board (DDSB) is committed to fostering a qualified workforce with the knowledge, lived experiences, skills, and attributes to best serve DDSB students.

The DDSB is also committed to developing and implementing fair, consistent, inclusive and transparent recruitment and hiring procedures, practices, and decisions that comply with:

• The Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), and all other applicable legislation
• Ministry of Education Policy/Program Memoranda
• DDSB policies and procedures.

The DDSB adopts this policy to support these commitments, promote and uphold equitable recruitment, and to prevent and address discriminatory barriers in recruitment.

The DDSB demonstrates these commitments by critically and intentionally identifying, preventing, and addressing discriminatory biases and barriers in recruitment-related policies, procedures, and practices to support equitable recruitment and employment experiences and outcomes, where all candidates are treated with dignity and respect.

2.1 This policy is to be interpreted and applied in accordance with the DDSB’s commitment to promoting and upholding Indigenous rights, human rights, and accessibility in all of its learning and working environments. This includes anti-colonial, anti-discriminatory and anti-racist approaches, and actions to provide services and employment that are safe, welcoming, respectful, inclusive, equitable, accessible, and free from discrimination and harassment consistent with the DDSB’s Indigenous Education Policy, Human Rights, Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Racism Policy (the “Human Rights Policy”), the Safe and Respectful Workplace and Harassment Prevention Policy, the Accessibility Policy, and related procedures.

3.1 Employee: Any person included in the definition of “worker” under the OHSA including but not limited to regular, temporary, probationary employees, co-op students, contract employees and volunteers.

3.2 Candidate: an individual who is seeking employment, or applying for a position, service, or opportunity

Indigenous Rights, Human Rights, Accessibility and Anti-Oppression

4.1 The Director of Education shall implement and oversee the policy through appropriate procedures to further outline individual and shared system/organizational roles, responsibilities, and requirements to support compliance with this policy.

4.2 Throughout all steps in the recruitment process (including job descriptions, outreach, postings, selection criteria, interviews and other assessment tools, reference checks, hiring decisions, and onboarding processes), DDSB staff involved in recruitment processes will:

• Incorporate, apply, and reflect human rights, equity, anti-oppression and anti-racism principles, competencies, and approaches.
• Treat all candidates with dignity and respect.
• Promote the DDSB’s commitment to Indigenous rights, human rights, accessibility, and anti-oppression.
• Proactively offer accommodation. If an applicant requests accommodation, hiring staff will engage collaboratively with the applicant, consider their Human Rights Code related needs on an individual basis, and meet the legal duty to accommodate where required.
• Reflect on their own identities and biases, and not make assumptions or stereotypes about candidates’ identities, applications, qualifications, skills, or experiences.
• Consider individual, systemic, and unique factors and barriers for individuals and groups who are historically and currently discriminated against based on ancestry, race, ability, disability, neurodiversity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion/creed, and all other Human Rights Code protected grounds and intersecting grounds.
• Make every effort to identify, prevent, and address potential biases and discriminatory and inequitable recruitment-related practices, processes, barriers and outcomes.
• Implement recruitment processes and initiatives in ways that align with Indigenous and human rights and responsibilities and that assess and address potential discriminatory impacts.

5.1 This policy may be reviewed and updated as may be deemed necessary or appropriate, but it shall be reviewed at least every 5 years.

6.1 Policies

• Indigenous Education Policy
• Human Rights, Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Racism Policy
• Accessibility Policy
• Safe and Respectful Workplace Policy

6.2 Other Documents (Legislation, Provincial Regulations, Etc.)

• Ontario Human Rights Code
• Ministry of Education- Policy/Program Memorandum 165
• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act