Racism in Canadian recruitment. Have employers demonstrated racism in recruitment? It seems so according to a study published February 22 2006 by the Canadian Labour Congress. The author, Leslie Cheung, is a third year student in public policy at Simon Fraser University.
“Lower incomes, higher unemployment and precarious work status are prevalent for visible minorities as a whole, and not just recent immigrants. In fact, it is the non-immigrant racialized population, more highly educated than average, which has the most difficulty finding steady employment at decent wages. The fact that Canadian born workers of colour are doing badly cannot be explained away by lack of Canadian credentials and experience.”
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“Despite their higher educational outcomes, workers of colour still achieve poorer results in the job market. They have a strong presence in jobs which require less education and are accompanied by lower wages, less security and fewer benefits.”
The author believes that it is reasonable to believe that racial discrimination constitutes a significant factor in recruitment. “The reality of racism must be confronted from all sectors of society rather than denied” concludes Leslie Cheung.
Source: Canadian Labour Congress, Racial status and employment outcomes, Research paper #34, October 2005, 39 pages