Research Reports

Author: Katherine Giscombe

Published: June 2008

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In the current globally competitive marketplace, organizations cannot afford to underutilize any segment of the talent pool. A growing proportion of Canada’s labour force consists of visible minorities, many of whom are immigrants, and these talented, hard-working women and men will be critical to the performance of Canadian companies and firms in the decades to come.

Impetus: This is the fourth report in Catalyst’s series on visible minorities. The series identifies factors in the work environments of Canadian business organizations that contribute to or impede the retention, development, and/or advancement of visible minorities. This report examines crucial aspects of career success—how well visible minorities felt they fit into the work environment, whether and how they perceived being stereotyped by others in the workplace, and how they felt others perceived them as potential leaders. We also present the perspectives of white/Caucasians.

Methodology: In total, 19 focus groups were conducted at companies and firms across Canada that participated in the study’s initial phase, a survey of more than 17,000 managers, professionals, and executives in corporate Canada. Focus group participants were female and male managers, professionals, and executives employed in Canadian business organizations who identified themselves as being part of the most predominant visible minority groupings according to the survey data—South Asian, East Asian, and black. A number of white/Caucasians also took part. The focus groups were conducted separately by ethnicity/race and by gender. Most of the data in this report were derived from these focus groups; however, additional analyses of data from the study’s initial survey have been included when relevant.

Findings:
Like organizations in other countries, Canadian businesses appear to be suffering from “imperfect execution” of diversity and inclusion policies. Visible minority managers, professionals, and executives appear to be at a disadvantage in terms of their career advancement in several regards:

• Some visible minorities said they experienced a lack of “fit” within their employing organizations because of their ethnic/racial and language background. Many respondents, particularly those of East Asian and South Asian heritage, said they felt a need to conform to a Canadian identity (“to Canadianize”) in order to succeed.
• There were reports of stereotyping among visible minority study participants. For example, some East Asians felt they were seen as “hard-working but not sociable,” while South Asian respondents reported being seen as “outsiders” even though many of them had been born in Canada.
• Black respondents reported being perceived as lacking in skill or motivation to work. In particular, black respondents reported feeling isolated within their organizations. Unlike respondents of Asian background, black respondents did not mention acculturation as a strategy for fitting into their organizations.
• Some visible minorities reported not being fully accepted by the white/Caucasian majority in their organizations.
• Certain norms in Canadian business organizations regarding communication, specifically politeness and “political correctness,” may make it difficult for organizations to address tensions in multicultural workplaces; this has the potential to impede career advancement for visible minorities.

Lead Sponsor: RBC
Participating Sponsors: Deloitte & Touche; IBM Canada
Supporting Sponsor: Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration