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In a country that is being built on diversity, why are visible
minorities still hitting their heads on that ol' glass ceiling?
When Deputy Chief Jim Chu was appointed as the Vancouver Police
Department's new chief — the first Chinese-Canadian to achieve that
post in any major Canadian city — it didn't really raise any eyebrows,
but attention was certainly focused on his ethnicity.
With the growing Chinese community in Vancouver, Chu, a 28-year-veteran
of the police department, could be seen as a very representative
choice. Chu says being Canada's first major city police chief of
Chinese origin is an honour, but insists he has always thought of
himself as a police officer first — he was one of just three Chinese-Canadian
officers when he signed up in 1979 — before aligning himself with
his ethnicity. True, he was just three years old when he and his
family moved to Vancouver from Shanghai, China, but what a person
feels and what other people see could be two entirely different
things, which is why so much of the media attention on his appointment,
which officially started this August, has been on his race.
Fortunately for Chu, the police board and Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan
saw him as the right candidate for the job regardless of his race.
Maybe they even saw his ethnicity as a benefit in the heavily Chinese
populated city of Vancouver.
Is Chu's appointment an indication that the glass ceiling for visible
minorities in the Canadian workplace is starting to rise? Would
a person of ethnicity have come close this top position a decade
or two ago?
Certainly, there are growing numbers of immigrants and visible
minorities in the labour market — by 2017, visible minorities are
expected to represent one in five people in the workforce and closer
to one in two in major cities — but what are the realities of visible
minorities in corner offices?
An important new study by Catalyst Canada and the Diversity Institute
in Management and Technology at Ryerson University in Toronto, looked
at this question and much more. Chu's professional success notwithstanding,
the study concluded that despite the growing importance of utilizing
visible minorities and immigrants to meet Canada's economic and
labour needs, the number of visible minorities in senior management
positions is stagnant, hovering around three per cent since the
1990s.
The Career Advancement in Corporate Canada: A Focus on Visible
Minorities surveyed 17,000 seasoned professionals, managers and
executives from both visible minority and Caucasian groups working
in some of Canada's biggest companies. It asked them about their
perceptions and experiences regarding organizational commitment,
career satisfaction, career advancement, relationships with managers
and colleagues, and the organization's commitment to diversity and
recognition of foreign credentials.
Surprise, surprise — the research found that visible minorities
(across all groups studied, including Chinese, South Asian, Black,
Arab, West Indian, Filipino, Southeast Asian, Latin American, Middle
Eastern, Japanese, Korean) experience lower levels of career satisfaction,
don't see enough commitment to diversity from senior managers and
are more likely to perceive workplace barriers to advancement. These
barriers include a perceived lack of fairness in career advancement
processes, an absence of role models, inequality in performance
standards and fewer high-visibility assignments.
One respondent noted, "Visible minorities have to work harder,
achieve more results, prove that 'I can do it, too' before they
get a chance for promotion. There is definitely a ceiling in my
career."
The survey found that almost identical amounts of visible minority
and Caucasian respondents had applied for development opportunities
in the previous three years, but fewer visible minorities (64 per
cent versus 73) had then actually received such opportunities. And
those born outside Canada are even less satisfied with their progress
on advancement, income and overall career goals than those born
in Canada, largely because they feel their foreign credentials are
being underutilized.
But any manager who understands effective hiring and retention
practices knows that companies that engage their employees, providing
them with opportunities and benefits, in turn see higher productivity.
So with the knowledge that immigration is expected to account for
100 per cent of Canada's net labour force growth by 2011, and three
out of four immigrants are visible minorities, why is corporate
Canada not doing more to engage the very people they will need to
succeed?
Answers to this question aren't easy.
Catalyst's executive director Deborah Gillis says: "While the Canadian
workforce is diverse, our workplaces are far from inclusive … [But]
creating inclusive work environments will be critical to the competitiveness
of Canadian businesses for decades to come."
Ironically, despite the barriers they face, the visible minority
respondents expressed strong loyalty to their organizations and
are willing to put in extra effort for the company's success.
To make the most out of this loyalty, the report offers six recommendations
to corporate Canada, including making diversity a strategic priority,
encouraging top management commitment to diversity, and ensuring
that the system for career development opportunities is clear and
transparent, since visible minorities were less likely to perceive
their organization's handling of that as fair.
On behalf of Diane Wiesenthal, president of the Canadian Council
of Human Resources Associations, CEO Lynn Palmer told the Canadian
Immigrant: "The HR community is active in ensuring that all employees,
no matter whether they are a visible minority, or any other designated
group, reach their potential within the organizations in which they
work." In light of the expected labour shortages in the next five
to 10 years, and shortages today in certain regions and sectors,
she adds: "Companies who view diversity as a competitive advantage
and build workplaces that support diversity, will be the successful
workplaces of the future."
Wendy Cukier, founder of the Diversity Institute at Ryerson University,
calls this survey a call to action for employers. "Failure to improve
the advancement opportunities for our talented and diverse labour
force not only threatens corporate performance, but Canada's global
competitiveness," she says.
On a positive note, there are a handful of Canadian corporations
who have already recognized this, such as RBC, IBM and Deloitte
& Touche LLP. "Fostering an inclusive work environment in which
talent and accomplishments determine success is a business imperative,"
says Alan MacGibbon, managing partner of Deloitte & Touche.
"As business leaders we must find a way to ensure that every person
is able to succeed and reach their full potential."
One way to do that, according to many of the survey respondents,
is to connect immigrants and visible minority employees with mentors
who can serve as role models and support their career development.
In fact, career satisfaction scores were 10–20 per cent higher among
respondents who reported their organizations offered mentoring programs.
As one respondent noted: "Visible minorities come from different
cultural backgrounds and they are not always aware of the Canadian
way of working. This does not mean they are incompetent … They should
be given a buddy or a mentor that will help them initially to get
comfortable with office politics and culture. If people fit in well,
they will be able to perform a lot better."
Reprinted with permission from the Canadian
Immigrant. All copyright attributed to The Canadian Immigrant.
http://www.thecanadianimmigrant.com/index.php
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