the public service, primarily in Nova Scotia. Beginning in 1976, pilot hiring projects were initiated across ten federal departments to facilitate hiring for persons with disabilities, the success of which led to a TBS (1978) and later PSC (1980) policy for hiring persons with disabilities. These programs eventually evolved into a dedicated Affirmative Action Program, which saw the creation of new programs and resources for professional development and advancement for equity-seeking groups. In 1986, the Employment Equity Act was passed, and acts as the legislative bedrock for employment equity within the federal public service today. In particular, the EEA calls for the implementation of ‘positive measures’ to actively promote a more representative public service. Together with the Public Service Employment Act, and other equity-focused legislation such as the Canadian Human Rights Act, employment equity is a key consideration for deputy heads in federal organizations in all aspects of personnel management, including recruitment, professional development, and promotion. Recent efforts to advance employment equity have foregrounded increasing the representation of equity-seeking groups among executives within the public service, where significant gaps continue to persist. As of 2020, the EEA identifies four equity-seeking groups: Women Indigenous peoples Persons with disabilities Members of a visible minority See also Official bilingualism in the public service of Canada Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism Structure of the Canadian federal government References Further reading Bourgault, Jacques, and Stéphane Dion. "Governments come and go, but what of senior civil servants? Canadian Deputy Ministers and transitions in power (1867–1987)". Governance 2.2 (1989): 124-151. Bourgault, Jacques, and Stéphane Dion. "Canadian senior civil servants and transitions of government: the Whitehall model seen from Ottawa". International Review of Administrative Sciences 56.1 (1990): 149-169. Banoub, David. "The Patronage Effect: Civil Service Reforms, Job-Seeking, and State Formation in Victorian Canada". PhD, Carleton University (2013). online Dawson, R. MacGregor. The Civil Service of Canada (1929). Granatstein, Jack. The Ottawa Men: The Civil Service Mandarins, 1935-1957 (Oxford UP, 1982). Hodgetts, J.E. Pioneer Public Service: An Administrative History of United Canada, 1841-1867. (U of Toronto Press, 1955). Hodgetts, J.E. The Canadian Public Service: A Physiology of Government, 1867-1870 (U of Toronto Press, 1973). McDonald, Robert A.J. "The Quest for 'Modern Administration': British Columbia's Civil Service, 1870s to 1940s". BC Studies 161 (Spring 2009): 9-34. Pasolli, Lisa. "Bureaucratizing the Atlantic Revolution: The 'Saskatchewan Mafia' in the New Brunswick Civil Service, 1960-1970". Acadiensis (2009): 126-150. Piva, Michael J. "Getting