Op-Ed: How Capitalism & Systemic Discrimination in Employment are Linked
Racialized Canadians are more likely to be seeking work or working as seen by higher rates of labour market participation compared to their counterpart (non-racialized Canadians). However, racialized Canadians report greater unemployment leading to higher rates of labour market participation.
In a study conducted by the Environics Institute for Survey Research in 2019, it was observed that because of the 40% of those Canadians discriminated against were affected at work, Canadian workplaces were found to be one of the most common places/institutions for Canadians to experience discrimination. Given how much of our lives are spent at work or spent at school trying to prepare and enter the workforce, Canadians are at risk of constant stress due to racism they are exposed to in the workplace.
An Overview of Systemic Racism in Employment
Racialized persons earn less in all occupational groups compared to non-racialized Canadians. While labour market outcomes typically vary by the country of origin for newcomers, immigrants in general make up a disproportionate percentage of lower paying occupations and are overrepresented in lower paying sectors.
In 2018, the pay gap for racialized workers in Canada was documented in several studies concluding that POC in Canada earn 81 cents for every dollar that their white counterparts do — this means that racialized Canadians are losing 19 cents on average for every dollar they earn, which is money they are unable to put back into the economy or invest into improving society or their own circumstances.
Immigrant Women & Integrating Into the Labour Market
The most marginalized group with the highest barriers to employment are racialized women who experience higher barriers than both racialized men and non-racialized Canadian women and the poorest of labour market outcomes overall. Immigrant women globally find themselves in vulnerable positions, with neither the rights of immigrant men, nor natural-born women, especially in the workforce.
In 2017, the employment rate for Canadian-born women was 82% while for immigrant women, it was 72%. Canada, among many countries in the Western world, has an issue of immigrant women facing greater barriers to employment than their male counterparts and Canadian-born women, despite having such a huge immigrant population. This can be partially attributed to the increased focus on economic development over human rights and social development.
A Deeper Look at the Issue
Last fall, I interviewed professionals from Achēv, a local non-profit community-based organization delivering newcomer, language, employment, and youth services. A series of interviews allowed me to gain contextual information on the problem, specifically the social, political, and occupational barriers that immigrant women face integrating into Ontario’s labour market. Interviewing a worker in newcomer services and a settlement worker, I was able to learn that a missing factor in the integration process is the aspect of female empowerment.
Many of the social barriers that immigrants face can be rooted from the cultural differences in Canada compared to many other countries where traditional expectations of women are imposed. We must teach these women these traditional expectations do not limit what they can realistically achieve with the number of resources available career-wise. Another major topic we discussed was the political barriers in light of many of the budget cuts that the provincial government enforced earlier in 2020 and how this indirectly impacts immigrant women.
In order for immigrant women to integrate in the labour market they must first settle in Canadian society, helping their family adjust. The settlement worker shared how cuts made to Legal Aid Ontario leave many immigrant women lost regarding family law or refugee aid. This change put pressure on front-line workers in social services — they cannot offer the help they need, and thus many immigrant women are unable to begin looking for a job without settling any familial issues first.
From an employment coordinator, I was able to learn that many occupational barriers stem from Ontario workplaces being hesitant to hire newcomer women under the assumption that they may wish to start a family soon and require maternity leave.
Barriers to Labour Market Entry & Capitalism
The interviews also revealed some flaws of the current provincial agenda. I was able to relate these similarities to capitalistic approaches in hiring/training immigrant women. Through a Marxist lens, this heavy focus on capitalist agendas from workplaces and the government fails to achieve sustainable development as it does not balance social development and economic development. By failing to prioritize the social needs of immigrant women, capitalism is unable to maximize the potential and ability of these women, discouraging many with the high barriers to labour market entry.
This activity encouraged me to be more critical and analytical when it came to deciding on how much legitimacy Canada and Ontario receives for being “immigrant-friendly”. I related this issue back to the autonomy and capacity of Canada as this issue is an example of one of the basic institutions Canada unsuccessfully provides its residents. As Ontario focuses more on economic development and saving money, it displaces human rights protection and social development. By focusing so heavily on economic efficiency and not providing the necessary resources to immigrant women, Canada fails to prove itself to be a high capacity state.
Concluding Thoughts
Systemic racism in employment is just another foundational aspect to a Canadian society that is underlyingly based on white male supremacy and more capitalistic approaches. By limiting the opportunities of BIPOC, a certain status quo is maintained with white males in positions of power and dominance (in the workplace and outside of it) and BIPOC consistently being seen as inferior and of less value in both the economy and in society.
Without equal representation in the Canadian workforce, we will never reach a place where we have an equal and just Canadian society as all voices will not be heard or valued the same in decision-making, in businesses, in politics, and subsequently society as a whole.
