- Diversity
Diversity
Our workplace policies and programs seek to create an open, honest, respectful workplace, where people's differences make all the difference. We value the contributions of all employees in making Bell a good place to work.
DIVERSITY/EMPLOYMENT EQUITY
Our belief is that having a diverse workforce that is representative of our customers makes good business sense, enabling us to gain better insight into our customers and for them to conduct business with us. A diverse workforce, in which culture, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education and experience are respected, also enables us to develop more meaningful working relationships with each other.
Employment Equity (EE) is an important aspect of Bell's diversity strategy. Focusing on the four designated groups under the federal Employment Equity Act - women, visible minorities, aboriginal peoples and persons with disabilities - Bell complies with EE requirements aimed at removing employment-related barriers in recruiting, retaining and promoting members of the designated groups.
More info on our Diversity/EE-related policies
WORKFORCE COMPOSITION VS. EXTERNAL AVAILABILITY*
| Women | Men | Persons with disabilities | Aboriginal Peoples | Members of visible minorities | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| w.c. | e.a. | w.c. | e.a. | w.c. | e.a. | w.c. | e.a. | w.c. | e.a. | |
| Bell Canada | 48.1% | 40.6% | 51.9% | 59.4% | 1.6% | 3.3% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 9.5% | 17.1% |
| Bell Mobility | 43.8% | 53.9% | 56.2% | 46.1% | 1.6% | 4.1% | 1.4% | 0.5% | 28.0% | 25.1% |
| Bell ExpressVu | 41.1% | 63.6% | 58.9% | 36.4% | 1.9% | 4.0% | 1.3% | 0.4% | 37.7% | 29.1% |
*The external availability percentages are unique to each subsidiary as a result of employee representation and geographic distribution. All figures are based on 2001 Census data released by Statistics Canada in December 2004.
SENIOR MANAGEMENT
| Senior Management Positions* | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | |
| Women | 24.0% | 25.0% | 22.5% |
| Aboriginal Peoples | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.0% |
| Persons with disabilities | 2.5% | 3.3% | 1.7% |
| Members of visible minorities | 4.1% | 3.3% | 1.7% |
* Bell Canada wireline business
Approximately 14.3% of people promoted to or within senior management positions in Bell Canada's wireline business in 2005 were women, compared to 13.3% in 2004. As at December 2004, 25.5%(1) of company executives were female compared to 20%(2) in the private sector.
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(1) Percentage of total executive population in Bell and BCE 2004
(2) Conference Board of Canada, June 2000
In 2005, two out of fifteen directors on BCE's Board of Directors were women.
Three Bell executives were listed among the top 100 most powerful women in Canada for 2005 by the Women's Executive Network, an organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of women executives in the workplace. The Bell executives were: Karen Sheriff, President-Small and Medium Business, Isabelle Courville, President-Enterprise, and Martine Turcotte, Chief Legal Officer.
DIVERSITY INTRANET SITE
Bell Canada's diversity intranet site is the primary source of information for employees on diversity, employment equity and human rights at Bell. It contains company policies, training opportunities, workforce composition, cross-cultural communication, information on religions across the cultures as well as the legal context and rights and responsibilities of employees and managers.
A multi-cultural calendar and a Religions in Canada document, used to promote diversity in the company, are posted on the diversity website.
In 2005, the Employment Equity web application for Bell Canada and Bell Mobility was enhanced to include hiring goals. Current information on the site includes return rates for the self-identification questionnaire as well as designated group representation rates to assist business unit leaders in tracking their EE progress. Statistics for Bell ExpressVu were also added to the web application.
DIVERSITY INITIATIVES
- Bell Canada continued to address Employment Equity issues raised by the CHRC on a routine compliance audit.
- Bell Canada employee participation in the EE self-identification questionnaire reached 80.9% in 2005, surpassing our target of 80%.
- Approximately 585 managers attended Diversity training (includes Bell Mobility and ExpressVu) in 2005, fewer than targeted due to cost containment and business prioritization issues.
- We created a Diversity Advisory Council (DAC) in Bell Canada to provide input and feedback on diversity initiatives. Members of the Council act as ambassadors for diversity within their business units.
- Bell Canada continues to partner with Equitek, an outreach network that assists companies to improve diversity in their workplace, and other agencies to increase the recruitment of designated groups.
- Bell Canada was represented at the following recruiting events in 2005:
- Abilities, Richmond Hill, Ontario
- New Canadian Job Fair, Toronto, Ontario
- University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.
- "Lunch & Learn" events were held in Montréal and Toronto to increase awareness of diversity issues for Bell recruitment staff and managers.
