What are they?
Self-identification questionnaires are a series of socio-demographic questions that invite members to share information about their race, gender, disabilities, immigration status, and more. They can be in a stand-alone questionnaire or included as part of a survey on bargaining or another topic.
Why do we need them?
Collecting self-identification data is critical to advancing human rights and equity within a workplace or union.
The results of these questionnaires can help identify bargaining priorities among equity-deserving groups, and they help to serve four main goals:
- Recognizing and removing discriminatory practices and barriers.
- Increasing representation and diversity within the organization.
- Monitoring the organization’s employment equity plan and performance.
- Ensuring that human rights and equity are built into all levels of the organization which may require a change in workplace culture.
Common questions and concerns
Understandably, members may have some questions or concerns when being asked to answer surveys about how they self-identify. It’s important to build trust in the surveys by ensuring members know that their information is secure and that it will only be used to advance human rights and equity in the local. Some common questions include:
- Is this survey confidential?
- How will this information be used?
- Who owns the data? Where and how will the data be stored?
- How will this information be used to remove barriers to equity-deserving groups?
- How will the survey results be made relevant or meaningful?
Here is a sample privacy notice that addresses some of these questions:
Information collected from this survey is confidential and will be stored safely. This information will be used for statistical analysis, strategy development, and measurement of progress in advancing CUPE’s goals, including employment equity goals. Only authorized personnel will have access to the information you provide in accordance with the applicable [insert relevant privacy act legislation here]. All reports based on this information are aggregated so that no individual can be identified.
This information will not be used for purposes other than those noted above. If you have any questions, contact [add survey administrator contact info].
Your local can be proactive in addressing possible concerns by taking steps to increase representation of equity-deserving groups on the local executive, by reviewing privacy policies and ensuring that members have the information they need to feel confident completing these surveys. Based on the survey results, your local could consider creating diversity or equity seats on the local executive, creating a Racial Justice Committee or an Indigenous Council, adding bargaining clauses in collective agreements to meet the needs of equity-deserving groups or other steps to increase representation.
Tips to consider
- Include clear instructions on how to complete the survey.
- Consider your questions carefully. Having the same questions over multiple years allows your local to accurately compare answers over time. However, language and discourse on employment equity, human rights and anti-oppression evolves and changes over time and it’s good to update self-identification or socio-demographic questions to reflect those changes.
- Are your questions open ended? If not, consider how can they allow for nuance in diversity. For example, gender identification and disabilities don’t always fit into specific categories. Consider having blank spaces such as “Other” or “Please Specify” for members to write in how they specifically self-identify.
- A person’s identity can change over time. Give members the option to update their information if the way they self-identify changes after they’ve submitted their responses.
- Include two types of questions: 1) broader questions about demographic groups that can give you a broad overview, and 2) questions that ask more detail about members’ identities for a deeper understanding of your membership. For example, an answer to a broader question would be “I am a Black person.” Answers to more detailed questions could include Black, African, Black Caribbean, African American, or African Canadian.
- The five equity-deserving groups recognized by CUPE are: women, Black and racialized people, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. CUPE also has members with temporary immigration status. Your local may want to include questions about citizenship or immigration status to include these workers who are discriminated against on this basis.
Every member has a role to play in building an anti-racist CUPE. When Indigenous, Black and racialized members get together to connect, support each other, and organize, it strengthens our union.
Check out the other tip sheets in this toolkit and learn more about how you can get involved in our union’s Anti-Racism Strategy: cupe.ca/antiracism.
