Our vision of diversity
- A professional environment that promotes openness and inclusivity to foster a healthy workplace.
- Valuing all talents and giving them the chance to shine, by encouraging collaboration and skill-sharing.
- Adaptating workstations to meet specific needs to enable each employee to thrive.
- We aspire to achieve an equitable representation of the diversity of Montréal’s population within our company, reflecting our commitment to a plural and egalitarian society.
Diversity at the STM as of December 31, 2022
Gender representation
Women : 23,4 %
Men : 76,6 %
Origin and culture representation
Caucasians : 61,8 %
Aboriginal peoples, isible minorities and Ethnic minorities : 38,2 %
Generational representation
Baby boomers : 14 %
X : 56,2 %
Y : 29,1 %
Z : 0,7 %
1 % of employees self-identified as people with disabilities.
Reports and statements
- Equal access to employment plan 2022 report (French only)
- Declaration for diversity and inclusion
- Declaration on systemic racism and discrimination (French only)
How our diversity works
A summary of our actions:
2022
- Leadership:
- The diversity, equity and inclusion team conducted several visits and meetings with employees at the end of 2022 to discuss and understand their experiences in different departments and develop tools and personalized activities for 2023.
- Based on the findings and an on-the-ground analysis, a comprehensive diversity, equity and inclusion plan was developed in December 2022 to promote a more inclusive culture and a more people-centred STM.
- Visibility and outreach:
- To gain exposure among different target groups, the STM participated in 24 visibility initiatives in 2022, including career days, job fairs and networking events with employability organizations and educational institutions.
- Internal culture development:
- To promote an inclusive culture at the STM, a new structure for multicultural events was implemented in late December 2022.
- Terms of reference were developed for a future diversity, equity and inclusion advisory committee at the STM so that the committee could start its activities in 2023 to support the achievement of diversity, equity and inclusion goals.
- Collaboration was strengthened through our joint diversity committees to work together on the various initiatives related to annual activities.
2021
- Leadership:
- Promoting, on an annual basis, outreach initiatives (internships and summer jobs) aimed at underrepresented target groups; renewing partnerships to promote internships for people with disabilities.
- Media outreach:
- Creating varied content that promotes our inclusive culture.
- Carrying out an annual action plan aimed at women in non-traditional fields (drivers, skilled trades).
- Internal culture development:
- Preserving, renewing and acquiring skills for an inclusive culture by developing various tools and activities.
- Engaging and equipping employees and managers in various activities aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion.
- Carrying out a comprehensive action plan to address systemic racism and discrimination.
2020
- Leadership
- Achieving Gold Parity Certification from the organization Women in Governance.
- Participating in a project led by the Quebec Rehabilitation Research Network (REPAR) studying work-related travel for people with disabilities: “Comment favoriser l’emploi des personnes en situation de handicap par l’accès au transport collectif ?”
- Engaging actively with First Nations communities to promote the actions planned to overcome the employability challenges faced by this group of candidates.
- Sharing best practices and addressing diversity issues with the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal.
- Media outreach:
- Assisting immigrant communities in their job search with the City of Montréal's Closed Door Day (Cercle montréalais des employeurs).
- Promoting engineering to young girls through a promotional video project initiated by Montréal Relève.
- Internal culture development:
- Adopting the Declaration on systemic racism and discrimination.
- Sharing Pride at work webinars with allies and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
For more information about our actions in 2020, see the Equal access to employment plan 2015-2020 (French only)
2019
- Leadership:
- Organize an informational event on the STM’s needs and selection process with 40 advisors from Greater Montréal employability organizations.
- Continue our partnerships with employability organizations and educational establishments.
- Share our practices with university students studying human resources.
- Media outreach:
- Exceed our communication and outreach action objectives with people from target groups.
- Internal culture development:
- Organize an event for the “S’inspirer pour mieux agir!” conference, attended by nearly 140 employees and managers from different industries, to promote behaviour that values diversity and inclusion within STM teams.
- Develop a discussion guide on the added value of diverse teams.
- Hold a workshop with our HR business partners on diversity and inclusion issues in various industries.
- Roll out our workshop, “How to take an action-oriented approach to diversity issues.”
- Launch a management campaign on promoting internships for disabled people.
- Launch a promotional campaign aiming to renew interest in our mentorship program among newcomers, young workers and women.
2018
- Leadership:
- Participate in a radio interview to speak about non-traditional career opportunities for women.
- Develop an internship to present to management that will help people with disabilities gain employability skills.
- Welcome a number of interns from target groups.
- Build new partnerships to facilitate recruitment and develop tools to help persons with disabilities integrate into their jobs.
- Media outreach:
- Exceed our communication and outreach action objectives among people from target groups.
- Internal and culture development:
- Develop and run a workshop on inclusive management practices called “Comment aborder une situation de diversité de façon mobilisante” (“How to take an action-oriented approach to diversity issues”).
- Release new career help videos to all employees called “Réussir un processus de sélection à la STM” (“Successfully making it through the STM selection process”).
- Meet with employees to answer questions about staffing processes.
- Standardize how candidates with disabilities are identified and how candidates’ adaptation requests are handled during staffing processes.
2017
- Leadership:
- Hold a workshop at the International Association of Public Transport Summit on practices for hiring women in non-traditional sectors.
- Participate in a television interview on MAtv.
- Share our practices with human resources university students and at the Congrès international sur la diversité, l’immigration, l’intégration et l’inclusion.
- Continue our partnerships with employment agencies and educational institutions.
- Media outreach:
- Exceed our communication and outreach action objectives among people from target groups.
- Internal culture development:
- Distribute a quiz to our employees on our equal employment opportunity practices.
- Promote inclusive teams in our workplaces.
- Develop a management tool for engagement in a context of diversity.
2016
- Leadership
- Sharing of experience and learning with various external bodies – Challenges in employability with Indigenous persons.
- Best practices and issues in diversity, in collaboration with the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
- Address by the ExecutiveDirector, Bus Services, to the members of the National Bank Women’s Leadership Network.
- Outreach in the media
- The STM is cited as an example in the Huffington Post article Il manque plus de 25 000 minorités visibles dans les organismes publics du Québec – January 21 (Over 25,000 visible minorities missing in Québec public bodies).
- Continuous presence on Facebook and LinkedIn to address diversity and mark International Women’s Day and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
- Reports in the Métro newspaper on the role of women in non-traditional trades at the STM.
- Development of the internal diversity culture
- 63 HR professionals attend training given by the Comité d’adaptation de la main-d’œuvre pour personnes handicapées (CAMO – PH) to increase its influential role.
- Workshop on management in a context of diversity.
- Awareness campaign on self-identification of a disability.
- Reports in the internal newspaper on the experience of integration of an intern in a disability situation and an employee from a target group on an inspiring path.
2015
- Sharing our positive experiences and learning in diversity and inclusion with other organizations - Interconnection Round Table during the Salon de l’immigration, Rendez-vous des Alliés and Les Affaires conference on mobilization in a context of diversity.
- Organizing the 4th Forum diversité (Diversity Forum), which addressed intergenerational issues in the work environment. This forum brought together 150 people.
- Establishing partnerships with different government bodies and universities - Emploi Nexus Montréal, Université de Montréal Chair in Management of Cultural and Religious Diversity.
- Organizing various events to publicize the STM’s employability practices for people with disabilities and other target groups - (Café rencontre –Carrefour jeunesse emploi centre-ville, Fondation ressources jeunesse, École Louis-Riel, Centre d’appui aux communautés immigrantes, Vie Autonome simulation d’entrevues, Centre des femmes, meeting with employment counsellors of various employability organizations for an immigrant clientele. In addition, organizing of a discussion group with employability organizations from the Montréal region concerning the issues of clients living with a disability.).
- Collaboration with the union partners and the STM’s association of managers and professionals on issues related to diversity - (Representatives of the four unions attended the Forum Diversité on intergenerational issues. In addition, conferences on diversity and prevention of harassment were organized jointly with Human Resources and CSN representatives).
- Deployment of the approach to support people with disabilities and keep them employed.
- Deployment of internal and external communication actions to publicize the STM’s commitments to the organization’s diversity and success - (Two tools for managers, 10 communications addressed to employees and 25 communications addressed to external audiences).
- Development of training intended for human resources professionals in collaboration with CAMO-PH.
2014
- Integration of diversity into a human resources diagnostic tool addressed to the management of the STM’s different sectors.
- Update of the “Jobs” page of the website, stating our commitments regarding diversity and inclusion.
- Holding of the workshop on discriminatory biases and the staffing process.
- Offer of work experiences via internships, summer jobs or summer internships to candidates with disabilities. All candidates who submitted a c.v. were interviewed.
- Integration of the concept of diversity into the leadership development program, Leaders à bord, intended for all managers.
2013
- A forum entitled Un univers de possibilités (a world of posibility) on our innovative ways of integrating disabled people into workplace.
- A seminar for human resources professionnals.
- Distribution of capsules on awareness to managers and employee teams.
- Setting up of a committeecomposed of representatives from human resources to ensure progress in equal access to employment.
- Participation int the radio program Des gens comme les autres on Radio Ville-Marie.
- Involvement with business partners such as Comité d'adaptation de main d'oeuvre pour personnes handicapées (committee for workplace adaptation for the disabled), Conférence régionales des élus de Montréal (regional conference of elected officials in Montréal), Mentorat QUébec, etc.
- Participation in the presentation of grants to entrepreneurs with a disability as part of the « Mon entreprise, Ma réussite » (My company, My Success).
- Participation in job fairs (career, immigration, aboriginal community) and presentations at educational establishments.
Inclusive since 1987
Ever since the draft of the first Equal Employment Opportunity Plan in 1987, actions in this field have multiplied. Today, the STM is an inclusive company, enriched by the talents of all employees, regardless of their horizon.
Diversity refers to the presence of a variety of human characteristics and attributes within a group or an organization. More concretely, we work for fair representation of the target groups stipulated in the law: women, visible and ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and Aboriginal peoples. Finally, we also include generational representation.
Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is a model of equal employment opportunity, and other transit corporations in Québec should be inspired by it to ensure better representation of women, Aboriginal peoples, and visible and ethnic minorities.”
Jacques Frémont, Chair of the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse du Québec (March 2016)
To learn more, go to:
The Declaration for diversity and inclusion
Awards and distinctions (2021 - 2022)
- 2022 - Silver certification for women's parity with Women in Governance.
- 2021 - Rights and Freedoms Award presented by the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (CDPDJ). The theme for 2021 was equal access to employment.