CDN Aviator said:
It may be fine, to you, but it exists and it is an important difference. If we had quotas, we would be turning away some people in order to keep spots open for others. The CF is not doing that.
Given the distinction/difference you've indicated, no there is not a quota system.
We are doing exactly that (although the recruiting forum here eposes some of our deficiencies on a daily basis). However, if you have not noticed, "white guys" is not the most growing demographic in Canada. It doesn't hurt recruiting to have people of various backgrounds in the CF, since if we keep counting on "white guys", there wont be anyone in the CF in a generation or 2.
I guess what irks me is the idea of "we don't have enough Xs" or "we don't have enough Os". If not as many "insert group being targetted" are applying to the CF as someone thinks should be, maybe they just aren't interested. Not everyone wants the military lifestyle, being away alot, deployed to ops all over the place, etc. There is a significant loss of what most people see as 'freedom' with military service. Then there are those in Canada who just don't care about giving anything to this country, period.
Some of the statements in the article make me shake my head, such as....
But NDP MP and military procurement critic Matthew Kellway said the data masks an even more troubling trend. Women mostly serve in traditional roles in the military, and constant conflict between aboriginal groups and the federal government has thwarted efforts to attract more aboriginals to serve.
"If the Canadian Forces wants the support of the Canadian population, it's imperative that they reflect the diversity of the population," said Kellway.
WTF. So, based on this line of thinking, I should go to the firehall where I live and see how "diverse" they are. If they don't have 23.4% of this group, and 14.7% of that group, they should not expect my support. I am more inclined to judge them on 'can they do the job, or not'.
Walter Dorn, a professor of defence studies at the Royal Military College of Canada, said the military is doing much work to improve the numbers – but still needs to do more to change the "culture."
What "culture" is he referring to exactly? "Improve the numbers"...this is the stuff that irks me. We take any applicants that qualify, merit list them, and offer TOS to the ones who are the best amongst their fellow applicants. I fail to see how that system is failing.
"Despite the best efforts, there's still a tendency for the white males to dominate in the Canadian Forces, and that's only natural. By being themselves they're going to have tendencies and biases that aren't shared by other communities," he said. "A lot of that is nuanced and subtle, but it's definitely there."
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I think the best applicants should get the job, full stop. The CF can do all the 'targetted recruiting' in the world, but if those targetted groups (1) aren't interested and don't apply (2) aren't the best applicants/don't merit higher than others and/or (3) wash out in Basic or Initial Occ/Classification training, then I fail to see what more can be done. Then again, someone will start quoting #s and % of this group and that group (like in the article) and people will wag their fingers and say "tsk tsk, the CF needs to do more, these percentages are WAY off".
I have no doubt if the CF does some really bang-on targetted recruiting to say, Aboriginal groups, and a whole bunch of them join, then we will see a CBC article with some critic yabbering on about how the CF is *targetting* aboriginal youth to military service, but in the negative context. :
Target the best Canadians from all walks of life and backgrounds (which we do), select the best of the applicants (which we do) and hold them to the standards in the Trg System as they go thru (which we do).
So I am not seing what is broke and why there is a need to try to fix it (outside of concerns that fall under the PC umbrella). :2c: