The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) is launching the Workplace Interventions on Sexual Harassment (WISH) Project to tackle the gendered issue of workplace harassment, which disproportionately affects newcomer and immigrant racialized women.

Research reveals that many Canadian Muslim women are unaware of their legal rights and available resources, while employers face challenges accessing the knowledge and tools they require to support employees effectively. The WISH Project aims to enhance legal awareness and access to practical strategies for both employees and small and medium-sized employers to promote safer, more inclusive work environments. For more information, please click here.

We are inviting small to medium sized employers (those with 1 employee to 500 employees) to complete the survey below to help us better understand existing supports, challenges, and opportunities to improve workplace practices. We are asking anyone with supervisory, managerial, employment, or human resources authority over employees in organizations to fill out this survey.

This survey does not ask any questions about your or your employees' personal experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace. It focuses on general organizational policies, training, and support systems.

Please note the following important information before you begin:

Anonymity: Your responses are anonymous. No personal information will be collected or linked to your answers, and you will not be asked to identify your organization. Please answer honestly and candidly—your input will help us better understand employer needs and priorities. The goal is to develop resources that are relevant and practical for employers. This is not an evaluation of your organization.

Voluntary: Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary.

Skip questions: You can skip questions you are not comfortable answering.

Exit at any time: You can stop the survey at any point. You are not required to finish it.

Completion time: The survey takes about 30 minutes to complete.

Gift card: At the end of the survey, you can enter for a chance to win one of two $50 gift cards.

If you need help to complete the survey or have any questions or concerns, please contact: sania.chaudhry@ccmw.com.

We can also arrange for translation of the survey.

This national initiative is supported by the Department of Justice Canada under the Justice Partnership and Innovation Program.

This survey is for small to medium sized employers (those with 1 to 500 employees).

Workplace Characteristics

1.What is your role within your company or organization? Check all that apply.

Human resources

Operations

Finance

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Other (please specify)

2.What is your level of responsibility within the company or organization.

Mid-management

Senior management

Board member

Staff member

Human resources staff

Officer

Intern

Other (please specify)

3.Do you identify with any of the following demographic categories? This information helps ensure that we are hearing from a diversity of employer representatives with this survey. Please check all that apply

Woman

Gender diverse, trans, non-binary

Muslim

Born outside Canada

Racialized or visible minority (not Caucasian)

4.Where does your organization operate ? Please indicate the specific province or territory, or whether you operate across multiple provinces, nationally, or internationally.

Our organization operates nationally across Canada

Our organization operates internationally in different parts of the world

Multiple provinces

Alberta

British Columbia

Manitoba

New Brunswick

Newfoundland and Labrador

Northwest Territories

Nova Scotia

Nunavut

Ontario

Prince Edward Island

Quebec

Saskatchewan

Yukon

5.What is the size of your company or organization:

Micro enterprise (up to 10 employees)

Small-sized enterprise (11 to 99 employees)

Medium-sized enterprise (100-499 employees)

Large-sized enterprise (500 + employees)

6.How many employees does your company/organization have?

1–9 employees

10–49 employees

50–99 employees

100–499 employees

500 or more employees

Not sure

7.Describe what type of industry your organization is in.

GovernmentPrivate sectorNonprofitAcademicOther (please specify)

8.Please indicate what type of services your organization (or department/ministry) offers.

Accommodation and Food ServicesAdministrative and Support ServicesAgriculture, Forestry, FishingArts, Entertainment, and RecreationAutomotiveChildcare ServicesConstructionEducationEnvironmentFinance and InsuranceFundraising and DevelopmentHealth Care and Social AssistanceHuman rights and developmentInformation and Cultural IndustriesManufacturingMiningOil and GasProfessional, Legal, Scientific, and Technical ServicesReal EstateRetailTechnologyTelecommunicationsTourismTransportation and WarehousingWholesale TradeOther (please specify)

9.Are any of your employees Muslim?

Yes

No

I don't know

10.Approximately what proportion of your employees identify as Muslim women?

0% (None)

Less than 10%

10% to 24%

25% to 49%

50% to 74%

75% to 100%

I know we have Muslim women employees, but don’t know how many

Don’t know if we have Muslim women on staff, we do not track this information

11.Approximately what proportion of your workplace’s management and executive team identify as Muslim women that you are aware of?

Percentage

Middle management

-- Select an option --0% (none)Less than 10%10% to 24%25% to 49%50% to 74%75% to 100%Don’t know, we do not track this information

Senior management

-- Select an option --0% (none)Less than 10%10% to 24%25% to 49%50% to 74%75% to 100%Don’t know, we do not track this information

Executive team

-- Select an option --0% (none)Less than 10%10% to 24%25% to 49%50% to 74%75% to 100%Don’t know, we do not track this information

12.What percentage of your employees are racialized? Racialized people are those non-Caucasian in race or non‑white in colour.

0% (none)

Less than 10%

10% to 24%

25% to 49%

50% to 74%

75% to 100%

Don’t know, we do not track this information

13.Does your organization...

Yes

No

I don't know

have a respectful workplace, bullying, harassment, discrimination, and/or sexual harassment policy?

Yes

No

I don't know

have a process for employees to report bullying, harassment, discrimination, or sexual harassment?

Yes

No

I don't know

have a process to investigate bullying, harassment, discrimination, or sexual harassment?

Yes

No

I don't know

14.If you answered No to any of the above, please share why. Please check all that apply.

We are too small of an employer

We don’t have that many employees

We are not legally required to

We don’t know of this policy

We have no problems in our workplace

Other (please specify)

15.How confident do you feel in your organization’s ability to respond appropriately to a complaint of sexual harassment?

Very confident

Somewhat confident

Not very confident

Not at all confident

16.In your organization, what is your process for employees to report bullying, harassment, discrimination, or sexual harassment? Please check all that apply.

Email a specific person with their report

Phone a specific person with their report

Call an anonymous hotline with their report

Fill out a form available online with their report

All of the above

We do not have a process for reporting

Not sure of our process

Other (please specify)

17.What is your process to investigate sexual harassment? Please check all that apply.

An internal HR person acts as the investigator

An external investigator can be hired to investigate

The process is confidential

Employees are told that they cannot be retaliated against for participating in an investigation

Employees are required to participate in investigations

Employees are given a confidential space for interviews

Employees are given paid time off for interviews

There is an informal resolution process before investigating

There is the possibility of informal resolution during the investigation

There is a complaint withdrawal process

All of the above

None of the above

There is no formal or defined process to investigate sexual harassment

18.What are your procedures for investigators to follow during a sexual harassment investigation? Please check all that apply.

The investigator interviews the person who made the complaint, the person who the complaint is against, and witnesses

There is a workplace restoration process after the investigation is complete

The investigation report is disclosed to the person who made the complaint

The investigation report is disclosed to the person who the complaint is against

Only a summary of the investigation findings is disclosed to the person who made the complaint

Only a summary of investigation findings is disclosed to the person who the complaint is against

There is a process for administrative suspension during an investigation for serious reports

There is a process for interim measures to keep the persons involved apart for serious reports

Employees participating in the investigation interviews are allowed to have a support person present

All of the above

None of the above

There are no defined procedures for investigators

19.Have you informed your employees of your discrimination and harassment policy and reporting process?

Yes

No

Not sure

20.If you answered "Yes" to Question 19, how did you inform your employees? Please check all that apply.

The employees have access to the policy and can read it on their own

Posting the policy in the lunchroom

Posting the policy on the employee website

Sending the policy to employees

Explaining the policy to employees

Providing managers training on the policy

Providing all employees training about the policy

Other (please specify)

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