3.4.2.2 Unacceptable Employment Quantification Method

Two common methods often inadequately represent Indigenous employment: the Headcount Method and the Participation Method.

The Headcount Method refers to the practice of showcasing the number of Indigenous people employed in an organization as a percentage of total employees.

Example: In an organization, 200 out of 1,000, or 20%, of their employees identify as Indigenous. However, this method only provides a snapshot of Indigenous to non-Indigenous ratio and lacks meaningful context such as levels of participation, roles, duration and equitable pay.

The Participation Method, calculates the proportion of total work hours contributed by Indigenous individuals relative to the total employment base.

Example: In an organization where 200 out of 1,000 employees identify as Indigenous, but the Indigenous workers participated in only 250,000 hours out of the 2,500,000 total working hours for the entire workforce, this equates to just 10% of the total hours. Despite being a more accurate representation than the Headcount Method, this approach has its own shortcomings not including biases related to pay disparity.