Call for Papers
16th Equality, Diversity and Inclusion International Conference (EDI)
City, University of London, July 10-11, 2023
Submission Deadline: April 24, 2023
DEI in Public Sector Employment and Considerations for the Evolution of Public Service
Marguerite Cassin, Dalhousie University; Eddy Ng, Queen's University
The confidence in and the quality of the public service is critical to public and private life. Broadly defined, public services are what we hold in common as community. In the circumstances of the pandemic, it became clear that our participation as citizens in public service and the work of public servants is critical to collective and individual well being.
The public service in a large and complex institution and employer. The demographic diversity and composition of the public sector workforce is generally understood to be importance to governance, policy, and administration of public programs in liberal democracies. The selection and recruitment of public servants from all backgrounds, ethnicities, socioeconomic circumstances, and orientations including the equity seeking and deserving groups is an ongoing challenge and must be a priority. The public service also has a societal mandate to attract more diverse civil servants to mirror the population it serves. In this respect, how are we doing on broadening the demographic diversity and composition of the public service?
The significance of who is a public servant is not limited to equity and equality in employment, however important. The public service needs to have the confidence of and be reliable for citizens. As practitioners, public servants need to be committed to the public. As an organization, public service needs to be coherent, professional, skilled, and exemplary in commitment, collegiality, and ethic. One argument which has consistently been advanced is that broadening employment participation will improve public service policy and program delivery. Are we seeing improvement in the quality of the public service as a consequence of increasing diversity? What is needed to shape and advance the public service into an institution which is broadly inclusive in composition and employment and superb in performance? How can the diversity, equity, inclusion, and indigeneity and accessibility movement contribute to the discussion, practice, and strategy for better equality practicing public sector organizations?
This stream invites a broadening discussion of equity and equality and public service from the management disciplines. We encourage papers on both the demographic diversity and composition of the public service workforce and the quality, performance, and responsibility for service to the public and policy innovation in public programs.
We invite papers that address topics such as:
- Policies and tools that address equity legislation, affirmative action programs, and equal opportunities in public service (broadly defined) and all levels of government.
- Representation in public service and administration, including monitoring and evaluation of the public service workforce.
- Evidence of representative bureaucracy, including delivery of public service to diverse constituents and citizens.
- Building public service that is representative and creates policy and program delivery that serves the public and fosters commitment to community, place and cooperation.
- Fostering collegiality and creativity across difference and creating public service programs from that organizational space.
- Managing and mobilizing difference in reforming, restructuring and remaking public service and services.
- Political discourse and philosophy on the tension between meritocracy and inclusion in the recruitment and selection of public servants.
- Public policies that are colour or identity blind and contribute to adverse impact and unintentional discrimination in public service delivery.
- Individual, interactional, systemic, and structural discrimination in public sector employment and service delivery and how to remedy this to foster belonging, commitment to serve, and policy and program creativity.
- Intersectional approach to voice and participation in civil service and public administration for individuals experiencing multiple marginalized identities.
- Building leadership competencies and fostering diversity in the future of public service.
You need to register online before you can submit a paper at: https://www.edi-conference.org/user_details.php?join=join
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Eddy Ng
Queen's University
Kingston ON
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