In 2022, 193 tech employers participated in the Diversity in Tech Dashboard survey, providing industry-wide data on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) policies and practices and employee representation. Now in its third year, participation in this year’s survey increased by 13%. This year, 40% of participating organizations reported having company-wide DE&I goals in place, with an additional 39% considering or currently working on goal-setting.
“Supporting a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion is at the heart of all of our government’s work to build a strong and resilient economy that works for everyone,” said Brenda Bailey, Parliamentary Secretary for Technology and Innovation. “As more employers recognize the benefits of taking part in the Diversity in Tech Dashboard survey, we have an even better understanding of how we can continue the essential work of including under-represented people across our tech sector.”
The dataset grew substantially in 2022 with additional employers joining the survey and others reporting significantly more data than in past years. In some categories the report’s dataset doubled and even tripled, helping companies to better understand and increase the diversity of their employees.
For the first time since measurement began three years ago, increases were seen in representation.
- Representation of women increased 2.6% from 33.2% to 35.8%.
- Representation of Indigenous peoples increased from 0.7% to 1.4%
- Representation of people identifying as 2SLGBTQQIA+ increased from 8.3% to 9.8%
- Representation of people with disabilities increased from 2.9% to 3.5%.
Despite the increase, representation of people identifying as women, as Indigenous, and as people with disabilities in Canada’s tech sector remains significantly lower than Canada’s population.
“Four years ago when we started this work, tech companies were very reluctant to measure diversity and now the sector is on a trajectory of real change. Almost one third of the companies in our survey now have diversity goals relating to employee demographics,” said Stephanie Hollingshead, CEO, TAP Network. “That’s a 10% increase from last year and it’s an important number to watch because this is where we see real change happening. The most significant examples we see of organizations successfully increasing employee diversity start with those companies setting measurable demographic diversity goals.”
The percentage of people in the sector identifying as a person of colour, visible minority or black remained static at 40.6%. This is significantly higher than Canada’s general population. With rising immigration levels, it has become imperative to our economy that all industries reduce underemployment of newcomers, and the tech sector is well positioned to share best practices for hiring visible minorities and newcomers to Canada into skilled positions.
With only 16.8% of software developers identifying as women, a tremendous gender gap remains in technical roles.
“The tech sector job market has softened these past few months and there are more candidates available. This presents an opportunity to set diversity hiring goals,” added Hollingshead. “It’s essential that we continue to invest in the recruitment and development of diverse perspectives to meet the needs of the sector. We now have a solid understanding of where our gaps are in terms of representation and TAP Network is committed to tracking year over year progress towards closing those gaps.”
The 2022 Diversity Dashboard report was made possible thanks to generous support from Innovate BC, Immigrant Employment Council of BC and Vancouver Economic Commission. The report showcases data from TAP Network’s 2022 Tech Salary Survey, which is produced in partnership with Mercer and includes data from over 30,000 incumbents at 184 Canadian tech employers. The Diversity Benchmarking Toolkit, available on TAP Network’s DE&I Resource HUB, is being refreshed thanks to the generous sponsorship of Focus Professional Services.
For more information and to explore TAP Network’s Diversity in Tech Dashboard, visit https://www.tapnetwork.ca/cpages/diversity-in-tech-dashboard.
About TAP Network
TAP Network is a non-profit association for People and Culture professionals in Canada's tech sector, providing members with access to tech sector data, industry experts and an inclusive peer community to drive innovation, collaboration and results. Through programs and events, TAP Network fosters peer-to-peer connections and collaboration that enable learning and knowledge sharing. The association’s 900+ members lead and influence the People and Culture practices at 250 tech companies spanning numerous subsectors, including ICT, VFX and animation, interactive and digital entertainment, cleantech, AI, life sciences and more.
