Updated Oct. 23, 2023
At Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington (PVNC) Catholic District School Board, we are committed to building and sustaining a faith-filled, inclusive and equitable working and learning environment for all staff and students.
To support the Ensuring Equity and Valuing Relationships strategic priorities of the Board’s Multi-Year Strategic Plan, PVNC Catholic launched its first comprehensive identity-based staff census in November 2022. This work was informed by Ontario’s Education Equity Action Plan.
Purpose
We sincerely thank all PVNC Catholic staff who took time to complete the PVNC Catholic Staff Census. Your voice is so crucial to our goals.
For those staff members who did not feel comfortable participating in the staff census, we hope to build your trust as we use this data and build towards our next staff census in the future.
This data has given us a clearer picture of some of the obstacles and challenges facing our staff members for a variety of reasons including age, race, gender identity and accessibility.
The results from the staff survey have deepened PVNC Catholic’s commitment to creating inclusive work environments. The findings enable the Board to:
- better understand employees’ experiences based on varying levels of intersectional identities that may otherwise be hidden
- identify barriers and gaps to opportunities, services and underlying concerns that impact belonging
- develop actionable steps toward creating inclusive work environments and practices
- inform system policies, procedures, and programs and support institutional accountability
Results
Participants were asked a series of questions regarding their perceptions about inclusion at the Board. This was done to better understand how employees experience PVNC Catholic culture as it relates to parity in visibility, respect, support, and access for equity-seeking services in the workplace.
The overall purpose of these questions was to gain a better understanding of the demographic makeup of the Board.
Quick facts about the PVNC Catholic Census
- 1,331 respondents took part in the census, which represent about 61% of all board employees and 73% of permanent employees
- Of those respondents, 54% were educators, 36% were support staff, 4% were principals or vice-principals and 3% were non aligned, non union employees
- All questions were optional
- The average respondent took 14 minutes to complete the survey
- The Board received 1,200 answers to open responses
(The full report will be added here when it is completed in November 2023)
Key findings from the staff survey include:
- When asked to identify “barriers related to employee status,” 57% of respondents who answered the question cited “don’t feel valued,” 17% cited “no opportunity for advancement,” 11% cited “don’t feel part of staff,” 10% cited “lack of PD, training and information,” and 7% cited “lack of benefits, pension and pay.”
- When asked to identify “barriers related to age,” 59% of respondents who answered the question cited “knowledge/experience not valued,” 13% cited “demands of jobs are more challenging,” and 13% cited “younger people given preference for jobs/leadership.”
- When asked about gender identity, 74% of respondents who answered the question identified as a cis-woman (a person who identifies with the gender that was assigned to them at birth), 18% identified as a cis-man, 6% selected “I prefer not to answer,” and 1% identified as agender (someone who does not identify with any gender or does not see themselves as aligning with all or any masculine or feminine characteristics).
- When asked to identify “barriers related to gender identity,” 45% of respondents who answered the question cited “women’s opinions are less respected,” 21% cited “men given preference for jobs, leadership and promotions,” and 17% cited “students and parents show more respect to male educators.”
- When asked about sexual orientation, 79% of respondents who answered the question identified as heterosexual/straight, 11% selected “prefer not to answer,” 6% identified as asexual, 2% identified as bisexual and 1% identified as pansexual/polysexual.
- The biggest barrier associated with sexual orientation was “having to hide identity,” with 51% of respondents who answered the question identifying that barrier.
- When asked to identify “barriers related to disabilities,” 34% of respondents who answered the question cited “accommodations not provided,” 29% cited “aspects of role are changing,” and 14% cited “mental health concerns not taken seriously.”
- Based on the respondents who provided racial identification, the staff census suggests our board staff is not as diverse as our student population. For example, 92% of staff who answered questions about race identified as white vs 78% of our students who identify as white (source: Every Student Counts Student Survey 2021). Data suggests 6% of our students identify as black vs 1% of staff, 4% of students identify as southeast Asian vs less than 1% of staff and 3% of students identify as Indigenous vs 2% of staff.
Next Steps
As we build on the success of the 2022 staff survey, we will:
- Use the data from the staff census, student census and school climate surveys to inform the Board’s Equity Action Plan, which will undergo a consultation process in the fall of 2023 and be finalized by December 2023.
- Identify areas for improvement and allocate resources accordingly.
- Continue the development of Black employee affinity groups and initiate Indigenous employees affinity groups.
- Create opportunities to intentionally and purposefully foster and listen to Black and Indigenous student voices.
- Develop a workforce that is inclusive, diverse and reflective of the communities we serve through recruitment, hiring and promotion processes.