EDI Survey

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Survey

Recently, UNB employees all received a letter from President Paul Mazerolle regarding an upcoming Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Survey. As the survey dates draw closer, you may find yourself with some questions that need answers. We encourage you to read through the frequently asked questions to familiarize yourselves with the survey itself and the process of completing it.

We would like to take this opportunity to encourage all UNB employees to complete the survey. The information collected will help us better understand the diversity of our workforce, our experiences of inclusion and will help us develop or improve specific programs, policies and practices that will support the UNB community& going forward.

Our goal is to ensure that UNB is a welcoming and safe place to study and work, We believe that the results, and recommendations, from this survey will be instructive and guide us, together, to a more inclusive and diverse UNB. Thank you, everyone, for your time and participation.

The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion survey will help us better understand the needs of our staff and will ensure an accessible, fair, equitable and respectful environment for all employees.

Frequently asked questions

The UNB Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 2020 Survey is a tool used to measures the level of diversity and inclusion in the UNB workforce.


UNB has partnered with an external organization, the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI), CCDI will be administering the survey process using the Data Collection Tool ©, an online tool that collects the data. UNB selected CCDI based on their expertise in diversity and inclusion, their experience in implementing a survey that collects sensitive information and their strong data protection and privacy protocols.


All full-time and part-time continuing employees and, all full time and part time term employees will be sent an email by the CCDI’s Data Collection Tool © with a secure unique link to access the online survey. Emails will come from census@ccdi.ca.


Approx. 15 minutes.


This survey will help us better understand and support our employees and help pinpoint areas where we can make the biggest improvements. The outcome of this survey will provide a snapshot of our workforce through demographic representation, feelings of inclusion and additional comments. All this data will provide CCDI with robust information to evaluate and help us identify next steps and inform our EDI action plan.

The online survey will be available to complete starting on Nov. 5, 2020. You will have the opportunity to participate until Nov. 27, 2020. CCDI will provide a report and recommendations in late February to early March 2021.


Yes.

The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Survey is completely confidential and anonymous. UNB and CCDI take this very seriously and have ensured compliance with privacy laws and UNBs Policy for the Protection of Personal Information and Privacy.

All information you provide will be analyzed by CCDI, compiled and returned to UNB as aggregated data. This means that your responses will be combined with other employees’ responses and only collective results will be shared with UNB.

You are the only person who can see your individual responses to the EDI online survey. At no time will any person from UNB be able to see how any one individual has responded to questions.

To further ensure the protection of personal information, a baseline for reporting has been set at a minimum of fifteen users (sample size). If the sample size is less than fifteen users, the data will not be analyzed or displayed in reporting.

Questions about privacy: If you have any questions about privacy and the protection of personal information at UNB, please contact the UNB Records Management & Privacy Office at rtippa@unb.ca or (506) 453-4710.


CCDI will provide UNB with a final report and recommendations based on the combined employee responses. We anticipate receiving that report from CCDI in late February or early March 2021. We will use their report and recommendations in further developing our EDI action plan. Develop or improve specific programs, policies and practices that support all members of UNB particularly groups that are under-served and/or under-represented.

No, the survey is fully voluntary, but we really hope that you do participate because your voice matters. We sincerely hope that everyone will participate because, in doing so, you help us get a fuller picture of the diversity of our workforce, assisting us in determining if new programs, policies and practices need to be implemented.

Every question has a “prefer not to answer” option. We encourage you to answer every question frankly but, if there is something you do not wish to respond to, you can select “prefer not to answer” and continue on to complete the rest of the survey. Click “submit” at the end to complete the survey.

Be aware that UNB, as a member of the Federal Contractors Program, is required by law to administer an employment equity survey every 3 years to fulfill the requirements of the Employment Equity Act. If we achieve a minimum of 80% participation on Section I of this Equity, Diversity and Inclusion survey, we will have satisfied the requirements of the Federal Contractors Program. Failure to fulfill these requirements could mean that the University will lose opportunities to compete for future contracts and another survey will need to be done.


An answer must be provided for each question, even if that answer is “prefer not to answer.” You MUST click "submit” at the very end of the survey to be complete.

The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Survey has 3 sections:

Section 1 captures information required by the employment equity act and asks if you identify within the 4 federally designated equity seeking groups: Women, Indigenous Peoples, Persons with Disabilities and/or Racialized Persons.

Section 2 asks you to provide further information about your identity (for example, your religion, age or if you provide care for anyone and asks questions about the role you play within UNB and your educational background.

Section 3 asks you about your feelings of inclusion in your organization (for example, “At UNB I am treated fairly and with respect.”)

By collecting data from these distinct areas, we will not only obtain an accurate picture of how diverse we are, but also better understand which groups feel more included than others.


We know that our people are made up of many different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, abilities and genders. In our society, people experience discrimination on these and other grounds. However, the combined results will be communicated broadly and serve as a quality tool for improvements.

Understanding the scope of our diversity will allow us to continue to ensure a work environment that is inclusive for all. If there are any questions you do not want to answer, simply fill in as much as you can or select the ‘prefer not to answer’ option. Remember that all your answers are confidential and anonymous.


This project is being co-led by the Human Rights and Positive Environment Office and Human Resources and Organizational Development Office. It is being supported by a bi-campus team of colleagues including the President's Office, the Office of VP Research, Office of the AVP Indigenous Engagement, AVP Teaching and Learning Environment, UNB Privacy Office, Office of Institutional Analysis, Campus Registrars, Campus Labour, ITS, and UNB Communications.

If you are looking for more information contact us at equity@unb.ca or humanrights@unb.ca.

Federal Contractor's Program

Along with the Diversity and Inclusion survey, UNB is also conducting the Employment Equity Workforce Survey. We last conducted this survey in 2018 and to maintain compliance with the Federal Contractor's Program the University of New Brunswick must fulfill the requirements of the Employment Equity Act. To do so we must maintain our data and continue to look at removing barriers to employment for Indigenous Persons, persons with disabilities, members of a racialized group, and women. Failure to fulfill these requirements could mean that the University will lose opportunities to compete for future contracts.

Why is this information collected?

This information is collected from new and current employees, in order to obtain a picture of the composition of our workforce. As a part of our commitment to Employment Equity and the Federal Contractors Program we must survey our workforce every 3 years to ensure that our data is up to date. It will help us in identifying the underrepresentation of designated group members at all occupational levels within our workforce and will be used for comparison purposes to monitor the success of the Employment Equity Program.

Is it necessary for me to fill out a new questionnaire if I have completed one in the past?

Yes, even if you have filled out a similar questionnaire or census in the past, you are asked to complete the questionnaire to ensure that you are counted in and counted correctly. Furthermore, by filling out this questionnaire you will ensure that our information is up to date.

Will my information be kept confidential?

Yes. The Employment Equity Act states that self-identification information can only be used for employment equity purposes. All reports based on the questionnaire information will be in summary form only, so that no individual can be identified. Only one member from UNB will have access to the 4 Employment Equity questions. No manager will see your responses and the questionnaire will not be part of your employee file. The questionnaire information will not be used for any other purpose.

How can I correct or change information about myself?

Employment Equity information can be corrected or changed at any time by sending an email to equity@unb.ca.


Learn more

More information on the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI) and the Federal Contractors Program