École de Technologie Supérieure
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

We are in the process of drafting a policy regarding equity, diversity and inclusion that will be adopted in 2022.
It will be posted on the Respect for Persons Office webpage, included in the policies that new employees must review, etc.

We have the HRP-EDI committee: harassment prevention, resolution, diversity equity and inclusion. The mandate of the HRP-EDI Committee is twofold:

1. To advise the Respect for Persons Office (BRP) in defining and implementing the necessary prevention and monitoring means to ensure a respectful work, study and living environment for the University Community, free of violence and harassment.

2. In the spirit of fostering a culture of respect and non-discrimination, the Advisory Committee adheres to the values of equity, diversity and inclusion. Therefore, it also has a mandate to inform and educate members of the university community about the principles and concerns of EDI.

The Respect for Persons Office (BRP) at ÉTS accompanies and supports complainants in situations of alleged discrimination or harassment. Its team is composed of its Director (social worker), a counselor (lawyer) and a technician. Anyone from the ÉTS community can contact the BRP and reports (which can later become a complaint) are treated confidentially.
Concrete actions that the BRP does: Support for the complainant, problem solving between the parties involved, finding solutions to remedy the situation, raising awareness throughout the community (and the offenders) and including a component on discrimination in all staff training.
Within 24 hours of the BRP being contacted, the complainant will be contacted, and within a few days (less than a week) the complainant will meet with the BRP. If intervention or accompaniment is required, the BRP will support the person through the next steps. If the situation negatively impacts the student's ability, for example, to attend or concentrate in class, Student Life Services will ensure that the course material (for example through note-taking) is accessible to the alleged victim. Thus, when an official complaint is filed, an investigation will be initiated. An analysis of the case will then be done and an external firm will be involved to assist the BRP in the processing of this complaint. The ÉTS will maintain contact with and support the complainant throughout this process.
The BRP will then decide whether or not it is a discriminatory situation and senior management will then be involved to decide on the sanction to be applied. Awareness measures will also be used by the BRP to educate the respondent.

Link to the BRP website: https://www.etsmtl.ca/ets/bureau-respect-personne#Services-offerts

Students:

Through the 2019-2022 Strategic Plan, ÉTS aims to promote and affirm the values of equity, diversity, and inclusion, particularly to significantly increase the number of women in academic programs. Recruitment of underrepresented students (mostly women):
Historically, the School has been a predominantly male educational environment. Thus, women are part of the underrepresented group for whom efforts are made for recruitment. Many actions are being taken to recruit this underrepresented group within ÉTS. In addition, the Objectif Féminin Pluriel campaign puts forward the School's ambition and desire to have a minimum of 30% women in its ranks by 2030.
To achieve this goal, incentives are used to attract women to ÉTS:
- A "Women in Engineering" entrance scholarship of $1,500 for the first term of study will be automatically awarded to female candidates who have an R (college) score between 27 and 31.49 in their admission DEC (https://www.etsmtl.ca/ets/bourses/bourses-femmes-en-genie).
- Actions of the G-Change program to encourage women to study STEM, aimed at high school and CEGEP students.


Academic Staff:

The EDI action plan aims in particular to diversify the recruitment pools and diversity within the teaching and research staff. Actions for the recruitment of underrepresented academic employees (faculty and researchers):
- Include individuals from the LGBTQ2+ community in our EDI initiatives;

- Expand the dissemination and sharing of job postings in places (associations, groups and professional organizations) where women, visible minorities, persons with disabilities,
visible minorities and Aboriginal peoples are more present;

- Display the flexibility measures proposed by the employer (work-family balance, daycare, access to the sports center, public transportation program, etc.) in order to showcase our resources and flexibility, especially for families, that may be useful for members of under-represented groups;

- Ensure that members of the broader EDI Committee are present at future negotiations of the Faculty Collective Agreement so that the negotiating committee considers the distinct needs of under-represented groups and that equitable measures in the allocation of resources are considered.
For more information: https://www.etsmtl.ca/docs/Recherche/Soutien-aux-chercheurs/Documents/plan-action-edi


Non-academic staff:

ÉTS subscribes to an equal employment opportunity program that aims to ensure equitable representation of persons from groups that are victims of discrimination in all types of employment in the organization and to correct human resources management rules and practices that could potentially have discriminatory effects. This program aims primarily to put in place measures in staffing (planning, recruitment and induction), compensation and staff training so that people from the targeted groups have better access to equal employment opportunities at ÉTS.

In August 2020, an internal Equal Employment Opportunity Program (EEOP) was designed, one of the goals of which is to ensure equitable representation of individuals from underrepresented groups. At the staffing level, ÉTS has implemented measures to change selection practices to promote equal opportunity and maintain equitable employment opportunities in the recruitment of underrepresented non-academic staff.

In addition, several measures that have been put in place, maintained and developed can be found in section 3 of the EEOP:
- 12 measures related to staffing and recruitment processes (e.g. Train those responsible for recruitment on the risks of discrimination against people from targeted groups);

- 11 staffing and selection measures (e.g. Verifying whether the wording of the questions asked in the interview really assesses the professional qualifications of individuals in relation to the requirements of the job and not their personal characteristics);

- 2 measures related to promotions that can be established in accordance with the protocols and collective agreements (e.g. Establish a mechanism to inform all staff when supervisory and management positions are opened);

- 6 measures related to employee training (e.g. Make training or development programs available to all staff, ensuring that they include members of the targeted groups.).

Also, measures for integration, evaluation, compensation and other conditions of employment are integrated into the program. Finally, ÉTS continues to make every effort to promote equal opportunity for underrepresented groups and will continue to develop the measures listed in the program.

For Student Life Services and International Recruitment Services: - Individual support for students with special needs or disabilities and for international students;
- Social groups for the integration of female engineering students at ÉTS (ingenieuses@ens.etsmtl.ca) and for peer outreach to the LGBTQ+ community (integrale@ens.etsmtl.ca);
- New Student Welcome is offered at the beginning of each term by Student Life Services and allows a better integration of all new students;
- Awareness campaign on issues such as homophobia, transphobia, racism, drug and alcohol abuse (Make a Difference Campaign);
- Workshops/webinars on psychological wellness, learning support, and healthy living;
-Video clips on positive mental health;
-Thematic programming of various activities before final exams week to relax students: zootherapy, chair massage, mindfulness workshops, yoga and relaxation session;
-Testimonial lectures on the destigmatization of mental health and learning disabilities;
-ÉTS Sentinel Program: 50 staff members spread proportionally in all services and departments are trained to welcome, listen and refer to a resource a student in distress. A sentinel is a staff member trained and available to listen and refer as needed to a student who seems fragile, who seems to need psychosocial support or who makes suicidal comments.
- Awareness videos on gender and sexual diversity;
- Language Café (https://interface.etsmtl.ca/le-cafe-linguistique-est-de-retour-en-presentiel/);
- Algo-Balado: a podcast on a variety of topics to help you live your student life better;
- NeuroFOCUS ATE070 program: a one-credit extracurricular course aimed at developing work methods for students with ADD/ADHD or who are at risk;
- ASD Discussion Group for ETS students with Autism Spectrum Disorder to share their realities and challenges""

Mentoring is offered to any new faculty member hired as a professor or master teacher. For faculty, the collective agreement provides that the selection committee identifies a person who can act as a mentor for the person hired. For faculty, the collective agreement provides that the selection committee shall identify a person who may act as a mentor for the person recruited.

Women in Engineering Program: designed to increase the pool of female applicants for research positions that prepare for faculty careers.
The program redesigned the way postings are designed and presented as well as experimenting with new ways to promote postings. The first edition achieved a 52% female application rate.