"Jarring and disappointing": New immigrants face racism and discrimination in Canada's workplaces, survey
Canada might pride itself in its diversity, with 96% of its population growth due to new immigrants in 2023. However, a new survey reveals that racism and discrimination are rampant in Canada’s workplaces.
The charity ComIT.org surveyed 500 new immigrants who arrived in the past three to five years about their experience working in Canada, and the results are eye-opening.
“While we know anecdotally that new immigrants suffer bias and discrimination in the Canadian workplace, it’s both jarring and disappointing to see that it happens so openly and frequently,” said Pablo Listingart, founder and executive director of ComIT.org.
Barriers in the workplace
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Workers who took part in the survey reported that they suffered racist incidents and a lack of support from HR and management. As much as 61.8% of immigrants said they’ve been passed over for promotions in favour of “a less qualified Caucasian candidate.”
A total of 63.2% of participants said they’ve lost out on a job opportunity or a promotion in favour of a “less qualified candidate” who’s a second or third-generation Canadian.
So perhaps it’s not surprising that 51.4% of participants said they report to a less qualified Caucasian manager, while 50.8% said they report to a less qualified second or third-generation Canadian.
Overall, 63% of workers agree that they struggle to advance in their careers due to systematic barriers.
Dealing with discrimination
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Immigrant workers are dealing with more than just losing out on a promotion.
A total of 60.8% of immigrants say they’ve experienced microaggressions or subtle forms of discrimination in the workplace, and a shocking 70.4% of immigrants have witnessed or experienced racist remarks from coworkers or superiors.
As a result, 50.8% report that they’ve “looked the other way” when an immigrant colleague experienced racism at work. Given that 31.4% report that they haven’t received enough support from HR or management, over a third of participants said they were “uncomfortable” about speaking up about instances of bias or discrimination at work.
To fit in, 57.8% said they’ve had to downplay their ethnicity. An alarming 74% said they felt “pressured to conform to cultural norms in the workplace that do not align with their own values or beliefs.” And nearly 70% said they’ve had their cultural traditions or practices misunderstood or ridiculed at work.
“Clearly, there is a new culture crisis in Canadian workplaces, and we all have to work together making sure racism and bias don’t become even more prevalent,” said Listingart. “It’s essential that management and HR create a trusted dialogue where new Canadians can speak freely and honestly when they experience any acts of racism… clearly Canadian workplaces are not making that happen.”
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