indigenous_inclusion_in_engineering

Indigenous Advisory Committee, significantly from Connor Scheu, P.Eng., Denise Pothier, P.Eng., and Randy Herrmann, P.Eng. The amazing team at Big River Analytics, led by Rebecca Wortzman, developed the methodology and the survey, and analyzed the data. The data could not have been collected without the partnership and collaboration of Marcie Cochrane, P.Eng. and Ailene Lim from Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia, Elvia Torres-Morales, P.Eng., and Tina Maki P.Eng. from the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan, and Lisa Stepnuk, P.Eng., and Nicole Everett from Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba. The report was reviewed and developed with guidance from Yasemin Tanaçan-Blacklock, Shelley Ford, Jeanette Southwood, P.Eng., and Gerard McDonald, P.Eng. We would also like to thank Marie Claverie and Engineers Canada’s translators for their work on the French translation of this report. Terms and definitions Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS): APEGS is the licensing body that fulfils its regulatory mandate by ensuring high standards of engineering/geoscience practice in Saskatchewan, by setting high standards for admission into the professions, by disciplining engineers/geoscientists who fail to uphold the professions’ practice and ethical standards, and by preventing the misuse of the title 'engineer' or 'geoscientist' by individuals who are not licensed members of APEGS. Engineers and Geoscientists BC: Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia (BC) is the business name of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of the Province of British Columbia. Engineers and Geoscientists BC regulates and governs these professions under the authority of the Professional Governance Act. Engineers Canada: Engineers Canada upholds the honour, integrity, and interests of the engineering profession by supporting consistent high standards in the regulation of engineering, encouraging the growth of the profession in Canada, and inspiring public confidence. For over 80 years, Engineers Canada has worked on behalf of the provincial and territorial associations that regulate engineering and license the country’s more than 300,000 members of the engineering profession. Engineers Canada’s vision is: Advancing Canadian engineering through national collaboration Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba: Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba serves and protects the public interest by governing and advancing the practices of professional engineering and professional geoscience in accordance with The Engineering and Geoscientific Professions Act of Manitoba. Formative years : Years up to and including high school, prior to post-secondary education for engineering. Indigenous engineer (Indigenous professional engineer) : A professional engineer who self-identifies as Indigenous. In this report, we use the term Indigenous as a collective noun that refers to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit who are the original inhabitants of the land today commonly called Canada. We included the option for survey respondents to identify as an Indigenous person from outside of Canada, but, for the purposes of this report, we count these respondents as non-Indigenous. 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background In 2019, as part of Engineers Canada’s work on equity, diversity, and inclusion, Engineers Canada approved the Operational Imperative 9 sub-strategy on Indigenous access to engineering. This sub-strategy includes a goal of collecting data on Indigenous engineering students and professionals in Canada. To meet this goal, Engineers Canada has worked with Big River Analytics to design and undertake a survey of the member registrants of three regulators, Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba, Engineers and Geoscientists BC, and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS), who volunteered to participate in this pilot research project. The survey was designed to explore the characteristics and experiences of Indigenous professional engineers (Indigenous engineers) from their formative years, that is, their upbringing and early education, right through to their professional experiences. This report and project has been guided by the advice of Engineers Canada’s Indigenous Advisory Committee, and builds on a previous report analyzing secondary data: “Indigenous engineering in Canada: Analysis of secondary data to support Engineers Canada Operational Imperative 9 sub-strategy: Indigenous access to engineering” (2020). In Appendix A, we provide additional details on the methodology (A.1 – A.3) and a summary of the related research undertaken by Engineers Canada that contributed to identifying and planning for this project (A.4). 3

analyses. Regressions allow us to compare the salaries of engineer respondents while holding constant a set of factors we believe influence an individual’s pay. In regression analysis, explanatory variables are variables that measure other factors that could explain the primary relationship of interest, in our case the relationship between Indigenous identity and pay. For instance, age is a factor that can greatly influence the level of pay an individual receives, generally serving as a measure of an individual's experience. We include age as an explanatory variable in our regression models, which allows us to estimate the amount of the Indigenous pay gap that cannot be explained by age. There are many factors that cannot be easily measured, but are likely to influence an individual’s pay. For example, an individual’s “people skills” might determine whether they are more or less likely to get a promotion or raise. As such, regression analysis allows us to understand the correlation between factors (for instance, the correlation between gender and pay) rather than conclude if a given factor is causing an outcome. In our first type of regression analysis, we attempt to estimate whether there is an Indigenous pay gap, meaning, when holding other measurable factors constant, we still find that Indigenous engineers make less than their non-Indigenous counterparts. We do this by controlling for factors that are not related to being Indigenous; for example, age and gender. Once we add age and gender as explanatory variables, we estimate the Indigenous pay gap that cannot be explained by age and gender. A brief summary of our estimates are included in Table 2.2.2, with the full regression table, Table B.1, displayed in Appendix B. Table 2.2.2: Summary of Indigenous pay gap regressions Explanatory Variables Estimated Pay Gap None 6.3% Gender 5.5% Age 6.4% Age Binomial 5.8% Age Binomial and Gender 5.6% Source: Big River Analytics Indigenous Inclusion in Engineering Survey - (Engineers and Geoscientists BC/APEGS/Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba). Big River Analytics Regression Analysis. Number of Indigenous respondents: 49. Number of non-Indigenous respondents: 520. Note: Summary of OLS regressions and methodology used are included in Appendix A, with the regression table in Table B.1, Appendix B. None of the estimates shown are statistically significant using a confidence interval of 95 per cent. Age binomial indicates both age and age squared are included, allowing age to have a smaller effect as one gets older. 6

engineer respondents reporting one of those roles. Indigenous engineer respondents disproportionately report lower-level jobs, with 58 per cent of Indigenous engineers respondents in engineer roles, compared to only 37 per cent of non-Indigenous engineer respondents. Figure 2.2.2: Distribution of Indigenous and non- Indigenous engineer respondents by job type Source: Big River Analytics Indigenous Inclusion in Engineering Survey. Number of Indigenous respondents: 42. Number of non-Indigenous respondents: 440. Question: "What was your job title in 2020?" Note: The width of the figures correspond to the proportion of either Indigenous or non- Indigenous respondents with each given role. To better understand Indigenous respondents’ professional experiences and identify ways to make the profession more inclusive, we asked respondents if there was anything they wanted to share about their experience working as an engineer. The most common challenge that Indigenous engineer respondents identified pertaining to their professional experience as an engineer is low Indigenous and low Indigenous women representation in the field. Further, some respondents feel that they are passed over for positions for which they are qualified because they are a woman and/or Indigenous, or feel they have to hide their Indigenous identity to avoid discrimination. One respondent notes that anti-Indigenous racism is particularly bad in the mining industry. Relative to the proportion of respondents who experience discrimination and racism, a small proportion of respondents say that they have observed concerted efforts within the engineering industry to embrace Indigenous culture and be more inclusive of underrepresented groups. Another subset of respondents say that they had not faced discrimination due to their Indigenous identity. “Not having an engineer in my family or even knowing an engineer made it much more difficult to find summer employment and full-time employment when I graduated. The majority of my graduating class had connections to engineers, engineering companies, or corporations that made their transition to engineering much easier than mine.” — Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba Indigenous engineer Additional challenges that respondents identify are a lack of networking and mentorship opportunities without pre-existing connections, inadequate support from their regulator, a lack of Indigenous hiring policies in engineering, and difficulty managing a work-life balance. We also asked respondents to describe their experience with mentorship opportunities. Indigenous engineer respondents spoke most positively about their mentorship opportunities. Respondents also shared positive sentiments about the impact that formal mentorship programs had on their engineering careers, and one respondent specifically spoke about the strength of the Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba’s Women in Engineering and Geoscience Mentorship Program. The remaining respondents say that their mentorship experience has primarily been informal, on a project-to-project basis, or through peer networking. Of Indigenous engineer respondents, five per cent indicate they faced challenges in the licensing process, 9

together. Respondents were asked, in retrospect, which supports and services during their post-secondary experience, if any, would have contributed to this experience being more successful. Figure 2.3.2 presents those supports and services that Indigenous engineer respondents identified as possibly helpful throughout their post-secondary education. Here, respondents first identify monetary support (instead of working) (38 per cent), followed by tutoring and academic support (34 per cent), social connections (26 per cent), and courses to better reflect Indigenous worldviews (22 per cent). Other potential supports or beneficial factors suggested by Indigenous respondents include access to mentorship from women, more Indigenous peers, mentoring and guidance, outreach and lectures on engineering, a more welcoming political climate, health and fitness supports and services, and scholarship application assistance. Figure 2.3.2: Proportion of Indigenous engineer respondents who would have benefited from supports in post-secondar Source: Big River Analytics Indigenous Inclusion in Engineering Survey - (Engineers and Geoscientists BC/APEGS/Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba). Number of respondents: 58. Question: "What could have been different about your post-secondary experience that may have contributed to you being more successful during your post-secondary experience? Select all that apply." Note: Respondents could identify multiple supports. The supports do not sum together. To move beyond the supports described in Figure 2.3.2, we asked survey respondents to share anything more about their post-secondary experiences. We coded their responses by both topic and category. The most commonly identified challenge that respondents discussed in the open-ended question was in relation to either their Indigenous or gender identity. Some respondents experienced racism, whereas others felt a feeling of isolation due to low Indigenous representation at their school. Respondents who grew up in a rural setting found it difficult to adjust to the post-secondary and urban environment, and noted that the engineering culture and challenging academic content was at times isolating. Several respondents also noted the financial burden of becoming an engineer, and the negative impact that burden had on both their formative years and post-secondary experience, including preventing them from participating in extracurriculars or social groups. Finally, we asked Indigenous engineers who took part in an Indigenous engineering access program how they would describe the quality of the program. 4 There were 13 respondents who answered this open-ended question, all of whom described the program as excellent and instrumental in helping them become engineers. The following quote provides insight into the quality respondents attributed to Indigenous engineering access programs: “I was very impressed by [the program]. I was fortunate to not need many of the supports provided (I did not have to relocate, my high school offered the pre-req courses, etc); but from my observations, aside from the 12

Figure 2.4.1: Proportion of Indigenous engineer respondents who faced barriers to pursuing math and science in high school Source: Big River Analytics Indigenous Inclusion in Engineering Survey - (Engineers and Geoscientists BC/APEGS/Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba). Number of respondents: 62. Question: "If applicable, please specify the degree to which the following challenges made it more difficult for you to pursue science and math courses in high school." Note: Respondents could identify multiple challenges, therefore proportions should not sum to 100. Overall, almost half (45 per cent) of Indigenous engineer respondents identify the discriminatory behaviour of others as a significant or moderate challenge. This is the challenge that was identified by the most respondents, followed by a lack of awareness of engineering as a post-secondary option (40 per cent), and working outside of class (34 per cent). 5 Additional moderate challenges identified by respondents are lack of information resources available and anti-Indigenous sentiments in the media. “I faced many financial challenges to support my education; however, I continued on with my goal. Similarly, I also faced discriminatory behavior from others which was quite discouraging and hurtful.” —Indigenous engineer Respondents were asked, in retrospect, which supports and services during their formative years, if any, would have made it easier for them to pursue engineering and the associated pre-requisite courses. Figure 2.4.2 presents the proportion of Indigenous engineer respondents who would have benefited from specific support in high school. 15

3.0 Considerations Finally, we draw on findings from the survey to provide considerations for how best to support increased Indigenous inclusion in the profession, improve support, and reduce barriers to Indigenous engineers in their experiences in formative years and post-secondary education based on the findings from this pilot project. While further research and planning would be required to pursue these actions, this list acts as a starting place for exploring next steps for Engineers Canada and the regulators. Professional experiences 1. Training: Facilitate more cultural learning and anti-racism training for engineers to reduce racism and discrimination in the field as part of continuous professional development programs. Leverage existing resources developed by Indigenous organizations and/or other professional associations to support firms with resources to improve Indigenous recruitment and inclusion. 2. Networking : Provide more mentorship and networking opportunities for Indigenous engineers, and especially Indigenous women engineers, to ensure that opportunities are equally accessible to all engineers, not just those who have pre-existing networks. 3. Research : Post-secondary experiences 1. Training : Work with Engineers Canada’s Indigenous Advisory Committee to explore cultural learning and anti-racism training for engineering instructors, faculty, and staff to reduce racism and discrimination at universities and in the profession. 2. Increasing access and supports : 3. Research: Support research or organizations investigating the factors contributing to feelings of isolation and loneliness for post-secondary students, and explore opportunities to provide counselling and social support accordingly. Formative years 1. Training : Extensive and comprehensive anti-racism—specific to anti-Indigenous racism—training, curriculum, and policies for K-12 educators in all school divisions. Invest in Indigenous mentorship and training opportunities for high school students, including by working with guidance counsellors to encourage and support youth in their post-secondary applications. 2. Programming : Work with Indigenous education experts to facilitate more STEM outreach and tutoring programs. Offer more services tailored to students who come from rural settings, such as community- building and social connectivity programs. 3. Research : 4.0 Conclusion To meet its goal of collecting data on Indigenous engineering students and professionals in Canada, Engineers Canada has worked with Big River Analytics to design and undertake a pilot survey of the members of three regulators, Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba, Engineers and Geoscientists BC, and APEGS. Three broad research objectives guided this research project, and we identified findings for each. Our objective was to explore professional outcomes of Indigenous engineers, and how these compare to non- Indigenous engineers. Controlling for a number of demographic factors, we find that Indigenous engineers— particularly those who are not cisgender men—are underpaid relative to their non-Indigenous counterparts. We also find that non-Indigenous engineers are more frequently represented in positions of higher Further investigate why eligible individuals did not apply for their licence and reasons why qualified individuals cannot find employment in engineering. » Investigate experiences of broader training positions and roles such as Indigenous and non- Indigenous engineering students, Members-in-Training/Engineers-in-Training, and engineering technologists. » Provide more financial support to Indigenous students, particularly those who commute long distances or relocate to attend their program. » Work to actively share information and increase awareness of bridge programs and Indigenous engineering access programs for potential participants. » Research: Explore program participation requirements and identify whether there are additional accessibility barriers Indigenous students face. » Investigate pre-engineering course availability at schools run by Indigenous governments across jurisdictions. » Investigate sources of discrimination and anti-Indigenous racism in the public and high school levels. » 18

Indigenous. Xi is a vector of control variables. These variables are chosen in accordance with research by Wilson and Macdonald (2010) on the Indigenous pay gap, and with standard variables used in pay gap regressions (EDGE Certified Foundation, 2020). The controls include: Ci is a subset of control variables Xi , which we interact with Indigenousi . A.4 Summary of planning activities and related Engineers Canada project This project is related to additional initiatives, research, and planning activities contributing to Engineers Canada meeting their strategic objectives to enhance Indigenous access to Engineering. In order to explore the collection of data on Indigenous students and engineering professionals, Big River Analytics started by evaluating existing secondary data. Specifically, Big River Analytics evaluated the 2016 Census of Population, the Labour Force Survey, and the 2017 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) as secondary data sources to determine if they were well suited to providing information on Indigenous engineers. This phase of work culminated with the report “Indigenous engineering in Canada: Analysis of secondary data to support Engineer’s Canada Operational Imperative 9 sub-strategy: Indigenous access to engineering” (2020). Key findings concluded that: As a result of these findings and the limitations of secondary data analysis, Engineers Canada moved into a second phase of work focused on the collection of primary data. Working alongside the Indigenous Advisory Committee, Engineers Canada established as a first research priority the development and enumeration of a pilot survey that would collect data on the number of Indigenous engineers in three jurisdictions, and explore characteristics and experiences of this group. This report presents the results of the primary data collection and analysis project that ensued. Appendix B - Regression tables This appendix displays regression tables detailing the Indigenous pay gap analysis discussed in Section 2.3. The regressions shown are ordinary least squares estimates of the estimating equation discussed in Appendix A.3. First, we show Table B.1, a regression table of models used to identify whether or not there is an Indigenous pay gap. Second, we show Table B.2, which identifies the Indigenous pay gap separately for cisgender men and engineers who are not cisgender men. Finally, Table B.3 presents determinants of pay among engineers, and estimates the remaining unexplained Indigenous pay gap by gender. It is important to note that the dependent variable in these regressions has been log-transformed. Therefore, in order to interpret the coefficients, one must transform the coefficient into a percentage: Percent Effect = 100 ×(e β - 1) Not cis man, a binary variable that equals one if the respondent did not identify as a cisgender man; » Age, which equals the age of the respondent; » Senior Job, a binary variable that equals one if the respondent’s job title fits the role of Principal, Director, or Executive; » Advanced degree, a binary variable that equals one if the respondent has completed a master’s Degree or PhD; » Financial Barriers: a binary variable that equals one if the respondent identified having to work outside of class or financial challenges as either a moderate or very significant challenge in high school or post-secondary; and » Discrimination, a binary variable that equals one if the respondent identified discrimination as either a moderate or very significant challenge in high school or post-secondary. Note that non-Indigenous participants also had the option of identifying discrimination as a challenge, and discrimination does not solely mean discrimination on the basis of Indigeneity. » Indigenous people are underrepresented in engineering occupations relative to their representation in the population and labour force at the national and provincial and territorial levels. » Secondary data, like the 2016 Census of Population, cannot be used to estimate the number of professional engineers. » Other secondary data sources, like the 2017 Aboriginal Peoples Survey, are not suited to analyze the representation or experiences of Indigenous engineers. » There are large data gaps that limit our understanding of who Indigenous engineers are, what their experiences have been, and ultimately, how to make the profession more inclusive and representative of Indigenous peoples. » 21

where ± denotes the coefficient of interest. Table B.1: Indigenous pay gap analysis: regressions of log salary on Indigeneity Variable (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (Intercept) 11.642***(0.022) 11.683***(0.026) 11.195***(0.093) 9.808***(0.306) 9.863***(0.317) Indigenous -0.065(0.072) -0.057(0.070) -0.066(0.074) -0.060(0.072) -0.058(0.072) not cis man -0.126**(0.045) -0.054(0.038) age 0.010***(0.002) 0.072***(0.014) 0.070***(0.015) age × age -0.001***(0.000) -0.001***(0.000) Num.Obs. 601 601 569 569 569 R2 0.001 0.014 0.058 0.094 0.096 R2 Adj. 0.000 0.011 0.054 0.089 0.090 AIC 916.9 910.9 733.6 713.6 713.9 BIC 930.1 928.4 751.0 735.3 739.9 Log.Lik. -455.440 -451.427 -362.814 -351.795 -350.925 F 0.732 4.390 17.335 19.429 15.022 Note: Stars denote significance level: + p < 0.1, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. Robust standard errors are used. Table B.2: Indigenous pay gap analysis by gender: regressions of log salary on Indigeneity by gender Variable (1) (2) (Intercept) 11.680***(0.026) 9.866***(0.316) Indigenous -0.007(0.102) 0.001(0.103) not cis man -0.115*(0.048) -0.040(0.039) Indigenous × not cis man -0.126(0.135) -0.153(0.135) age 0.070***(0.015) age × age -0.001***(0.000) Num.Obs. 601 569 R2 0.016 0.098 R2 Adj. 0.011 0.090 AIC 912.2 714.6 BIC 934.2 745.0 Log.Lik. -451.098 -350.310 F 3.143 12.266 Note: Stars denote significance level: + p < 0.1, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. Robust standard errors are used. Table B.3: Determinants of Indigenous pay gap by gender: regressions of log salary on Indigeneity by gender Variable (1) (2) (3) (4) (Intercept) 9.865***(0.322) 9.857***(0.316) 10.027***(0.306) 9.994***(0.309) Indigenous 0.052(0.099) -0.001(0.103) -0.017(0.099) 0.037(0.095) not cis man 0.013(0.041) -0.038(0.040) -0.037(0.039) 0.030(0.043) Indigenous × not cis man -0.196(0.130) -0.157(0.136) -0.131(0.129) -0.193(0.126) discrimination -0.151**(0.051) -0.172***(0.051) Senior Job 0.263***(0.049) 0.260***(0.049) financial barriers 0.021(0.042) 0.073+(0.042) age 0.071***(0.015) 0.070***(0.015) 0.063***(0.014) 0.063***(0.014) age × age -0.001***(0.000) -0.001***(0.000) -0.001***(0.000) -0.001***(0.000) Num.Obs. 569 569 569 569 22

R2 0.115 0.099 0.130 0.150 R2 Adj. 0.106 0.089 0.120 0.138 AIC 706.0 716.3 696.4 687.0 BIC 740.7 751.1 731.1 730.4 Log.Lik. -344.984 -350.160 -340.195 -333.496 F 12.167 10.258 13.963 12.352 Note: Stars denote significance level: + p < 0.1, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001. Robust standard errors are used. 6.0 References Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS). 2020. “2020 Annual Report”. https://www.apegs.ca/assets/2020-apegs-annual-report.pdf EDGE Certified Foundation. 2020. “EDGE Unexplained Gender Pay Gap (UGPG) Analysis.” https://edge- cert.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/EDGE-GenderPayGap-Methodology_v1.1_1July2020.pdf Engineers Canada. 2019. “Engineers Canada Strategic Plan 2019-2021.” https://engineerscanada.ca/srv/drupal-engineerscanada-website/src/sites/default/files/board/engineers- canada-strategic-plan-2019-2021.pdf Engineers Canada. 2020. “About Diversity in Engineering.” Engineers Canada. https://engineerscanada.ca/diversity/about-diversity-in-engineering Engineers Canada. 2021. “Indigenous engineering in Canada.” Engineers Canada. https://engineerscanada.ca/indigenous-engineering-in-canada Engineers Geoscientists Manitoba. 2021. “Registrant Statistics”. http://www.enggeomb.ca/Statistics.html Statistics Canada, 2016 Census of Population, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-400-X2016357 and no. 98- 400-X2016266 Thompson, S.K. 2006. “Adaptive Web Sampling.” Biometrics , no. 62, 1224-1234. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1541-0420.2006.00576.x. United Nations. 2007. “United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” United Nations. https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp- content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf Wilson, Daniel and David Macdonald. 2010. “The Income Gap Between Aboriginal Peoples and the Rest of Canada.” Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives . http://www.policyalternatives.ca/srv/drupal- engineerscanada- website/src/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/reports/docs/Aboriginal%20Income%20Gap.pdf Endnotes [1] Excluding respondents who reported a salary over $3.6 million. Detailed methodology can be found in Appendix A. [2] The totals for genders in our basic regression are: 398 cisgender men, 161 cisgender women, four gender non-binary engineers, four engineers unsure of their gender identity, two Two-Spirit engineers, and one transmasculine engineer. [3] Source: Big River Analytics Indigenous Inclusion in Engineering Survey - (EGBC/APEGS/EGM). Number of Indigenous respondents: 58. Number of non-Indigenous respondents: 603. [4] Indigenous engineering access programs provide support for current and potential Indigenous students throughout their engineering post-secondary education. For example, the University of Manitoba’s Engineering Access Program (ENGAP). Services this program offers include: academic supports in both preparatory and university courses; personal and academic counselling; and, a limited amount of financial assistance in the form of a bursary may be available to some students who have no other means of funding, or who exemplify the greatest need. [5] The challenges “Lack of internet at home” or “Lack of internet at school” were not applicable for those whose formative years were pre-internet. Without an option for challenges to be non-applicable in the 23

survey, the proportion of Indigenous engineer respondents who face this challenge include both those with formative years pre-internet, and those who did not have access to internet when it was publically available. [6] Full questionnaire available upon request. 24