Seneca Polytechnic
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

“It is the Policy of Seneca Polytechnic that all employees and students have a right to work and study in an environment that asserts the personal worth and dignity of each individual.

To achieve this objective, Seneca Polytechnic will not tolerate any form of discrimination and/or harassment in its employment, educational, accommodation or business dealings. Every member of the community has the right to file a complaint of discrimination/harassment.”

- Board of Governors

The full non-discrimination statement can be read here: https://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/discrimination-and-harassment-policy.html

The Discrimination and Harassment Policy of Seneca Polytechnic aims to provide a safe and inclusive environment for all members of its community. The policy prohibits any form of discrimination or harassment based on protected grounds such as race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. The full details about the response protocol can be read in the 'Procedures' section here: http://www.senecapolytechnic.ca/about/policies/discrimination-and-harassment-policy.html

The policy encourages individuals who experience or witness discrimination or harassment to report the incident promptly to the appropriate authority. The complainant has the option to seek informal resolution, which involves discussing the matter with the individual(s) involved, or formal resolution, which includes filing a written complaint. The policy emphasizes that no retaliation will be tolerated against individuals who make a complaint in good faith.

The policy describes the procedure to be followed once a complaint is received. The complaint will be investigated promptly, impartially and confidentially. The individual designated to conduct the investigation will gather relevant information, interview involved parties and witnesses and review any supporting documents. The investigator will prepare a report summarizing the findings and make recommendations for appropriate action.

If the investigation concludes that discrimination or harassment has occurred, disciplinary measures will be taken against the responsible party. This may include warnings, counseling, training, or, in severe cases, termination of employment or expulsion from Seneca. Both parties involved in the complaint will be informed about the outcome of the investigation.

Seneca Polytechnic is committed to providing support and resources to individuals affected by discrimination or harassment. The policy encourages individuals to seek counseling, access educational programs, or utilize external resources to address the impact of such incidents. Seneca also regularly reviews and updates the policy to ensure its effectiveness in maintaining a respectful and inclusive environment.

HUMAN RESOURCES
Seneca has enhanced its Career portal and job-posting templates to express our unwavering commitment to enhancing EDI practices within recruitment, including:
• Commitment to EDI: Seneca’s diversity statement has been updated as follows: “We are proud to be building the equitable Seneca, and welcome applications from candidates who can contribute to the diversity of lived experiences, perspectives and approaches. Joining Seneca means being part of an inclusive community working hard to dismantle barriers to access, student success and employee potential. If you require accommodation during any part of the recruitment process, please contact jobs@senecapolytechnic.ca.”
• Commitment to Diversity: Our commitment to diversity is outlined in our Seneca’s new Strategic Plan-The NEXT-and in the Building an Equitable Seneca document. Both are shared with candidates through our careers portal and job postings.
• Equivalency Language: We know that marginalized individuals are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet all job requirements. To mitigate this, we added the following equivalency statement to all of our administrative job postings. "As part of our commitment to dismantling barriers to success and job opportunities for employees and candidates, Seneca may consider applicants with an equivalent combination of education and experience."
• Job Advertising: Advertising all external jobs on multiple job boards to reach, including niche job boards, or reach as many candidates as possible. A tip sheet consisting of Inclusive Job Advertising practices has been developed for the recruitment team for guidance when advertising jobs.

There have been many initiatives and ongoing recruitment campaigns for challenging-to-fill positions and selecting specific diversity groups (i.e., FNMI). Seneca continues to designate teaching roles to be filled exclusively by individuals from historically marginalized groups to ensure there is more diverse representation in our professors, and that students have an opportunity to learn from faculty members who have different perspectives. In 2022, Seneca’s Academic area designated and hired 4 professor positions in the School of English and Liberal Studies for individuals who self-identify as one or more of the following federally designated groups: Black or Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minorities and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. This hiring effort was completed in the Fall of 2022.

ADVERTISING, JOB FAIRS & PARTNERSHIPS
Seneca's approach for advertising positions externally is to reach the highest number of qualified candidates. For that reason, Seneca uses paid services from LinkedIn, Indeed and Eluta to ensure all Seneca's postings have been displayed on these sites as soon as they are activated externally and to reach a significant network of prospective candidates. In addition, Seneca uses Seneca's Social Media accounts on LinkedIn and Twitter to advertise many of its positions. These channels reach a wide range of individuals who are current and prospective students and domestic and international alums.

In late 2022, Seneca established advertising channels to aid in reaching a larger and more diverse candidate base. Seeneca now advertises all external support, faculty and administrative job opportunities on the following job boards:
• BIPOC Jobs
• Pride at Work (PAW)

Seneca has also compiled a list of professional organizations to use for advertising purposes. Some of the more frequently used are listed below and include general job boards as well as niche/specialized job boards:
· Academica
· Charity Village
· Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan)
· Job Bank Canada (HRDC)
· Times Higher Education
· OCASA College Administrator Network
· The Chronicle
· Canadian Association of College & University Student Services (CACUSS)
· Aviation Canada
· Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE)
· Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA)
· Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA)
· Health Force Ontario
· Educause
· Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
· University Affairs
· Black HR Professionals of Canada

The Talent Acquisition team has previously attended career fairs hosted by the Welcome Centre Immigrant Services to connect with newcomers to Canada and discuss job opportunities within our organization. Seneca has also invited a representative from Specialisterne to speak to Seneca's HR and other organization leaders to discuss their work in assisting individuals on the autism spectrum with employment opportunities. In 2022 Seneca attended a session at the Welcome Centre Immigrant Services for York and Durham Region to discuss our open positions and talk about Seneca’s hiring process.

HIRING PROCESS
Seneca's hiring process is designed to ensure the highest probability of fairness and equity and to reduce bias.
1.Interview panel selection – It is our practice to conduct interviews in a panel format for a range of perspectives, opinions and lived experience. We encourage participation from a diverse range of faculty and staff.
2.Interview Panel Guidelines – Developed guidelines for the interview committee to provide them with best practices for interviewing. The guidelines can be found here: Hiring Committee Guidelines
3.Standardized Questions and Candidate Evaluations – Each interview is conducted in a standardized format, with questions prepared in advance that address the core competencies of the position. Candidate evaluation is also carried out in a standardized way by assessing candidate responses through a standardized evaluation form for each candidate. The goal is to consider all candidates against the same criteria.
4.Candidate Evaluation - Each candidate's qualifications are assessed by the entire panel against a pre-determined set of criteria which is identified on the 'Candidate Interview Summary'.
5.Diversity as a core competency – Diversity is assessed for every candidate interviewed for a position at Seneca. It is a standard competency assessed at every interview.
6.Renewed Pre-employment Check Process – Seneca has recently updated its pre-employment process to help remove barriers to employment and ensure our pre-hire checks don’t pose unnecessary barriers or enable unconscious bias. We have created a more equitable candidate experience whereby candidates are evaluated based on employment history, qualifications and skills, rather than social connections or personal relationships.

In 2022 Seneca engaged an external party to review our recruitment process from an EDI lens and make recommendations for improvement. Seneca have used the review to enhance its recruitment practices and continue to do work on this front.

STUDENT RECRUITMENT
Seneca Polytechnic has a unique opportunity to help build an equitable world through the many roles we play in people’s lives. We teach, we employ and we are a community gathering space that embraces our responsibilities for reconciliation, diversity and inclusion. One of our responsibilities is to provide every student with the best possible student experience by committing to working with students who belong to our equity-deserving communities.

Seneca’s Student Recruitment team continuously develops and nurtures relationships with a number of organizations that focus on the needs of marginalized groups, including Black, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, newcomer and refugee communities. Through in-depth presentations, fairs, tailored on- and off-campus tours, Open House events and one-on-one advising sessions, the Recruitment Team educates community partners on why Seneca is their best choice. Often, these conversations also bring light the needs of prospective students, and require cross-team collaboration between student government, First Peoples@ Seneca and Student Life teams to provide individualized guidance and support. Here are a few examples of organizations we work with:

• Toronto Community Housing (True Vision)
• Afghan Women’s Organization
• Achev Employment Services
• LINC (including Jewish Immigrant Aid Services)
• Black Excellence Graduation Coaches (Peel and Toronto provincial boards)
• Riverdale Women’s Centre
• YMCA – Newcomer Information Centre
• Women’s Centre of York
• North York Women’s Centre
• Youth Alliance for Intersectional Justice (YAIJ)
• John Howard Society of Toronto
• Ontario Alliance of Black School Educators
• Various Ontario First Nations Pow Wows
• Islamic Schools Association of Canada
• New Circles Community Services

More importantly, these conversations with prospective students also hold us accountable and help us ensure that we keep our promise in granting our communities access to post-secondary education, without barriers.

2SLGBTQ+
Meet & Greet sessions are available to connect with other students and engage in activities in a fun and relaxed virtual space.

BLACK STUDENT SUPPORT
Seneca’s SMILE program matches first year students with upper year students based on identity and experiences. Students can join the SMILE program and be matched with a black identified upper year student who can help them navigate their transition to the postsecondary environment. They can share tips on how to make the most of the student experience and connect them to valuable resources. Once matched, a mentor will be available to help answer the students’ questions through email, text and/or virtual meetings.

FIRST PEOPLES@SENECA
A Place of Activity and Growth
People from all nations – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – are welcome to our events and to use its services. Services are offered to students in culturally appropriate ways to create genuine understandings and to learn more about Indigenous Peoples.

First Peoples@ Seneca offers advisement, counselling, study spaces, tutoring, cultural and social events, resources, clubs and more.

Support services and resources include but are not limited to:
· Academic, personal and career counselling encompassing cultural and traditional sensitivity
· Elder support, full moon teachings, class presentations, opening prayers/blessings for special events
· Drop-in counselling
· Assistance with band funding or sponsorship applications
· Community partner connections that offer support involving housing, bursaries, health services and youth groups
· Computer lab with updated software for most academic programs
· Comfortable and friendly environment to socialize or study

Tutoring Program: The Indigenous Student Services Peer Support Program offers academic support such as editing papers and reviewing assignments. Students are encouraged to ask for help when they need tutoring or require the motivation to get started on an assignment.

Student Navigators assist under-represented students, ensuring that they access and receive all support they need. The navigators also assist in supporting a student through a crisis, such as temporary homelessness, mental health crisis or world events that affect the student or their family.

EMPLOYEE RESOURCE GROUPS
In 2023, the EDI Office started employee resource groups (ERGs) for marginalized staff. The first one was for Black employees, established in March. The second one was for 2SLGBTQIA+ employees which started in May. The third will be for employees who identify as having a disability, starting in January 2024.