Racism Unveiled: The Hidden Realities of Discrimination in Canadian Workplaces
In Canada, over one in three racialized people (36%) reported experiencing some form of discrimination or unfair treatment in the last five years. While 36% reported experiencing discrimination, I am left wondering why the remaining 64% may not have reported it. What makes their experience in Canada so different? Maybe they’re “white passing,” maybe they have been protected or shielded, maybe they only surround themselves with people similar to them, or maybe they did not have the vocabulary to identify when discrimination was occurring. If more people could understand and identify the systematic, pervasive, and rooted nature of racism would those survey responses look different?
Racial discrimination (i.e. racism) is as veiled as it is in plain sight – yet most of us do not have the lens to identify its omnipresence. This is both a reality for those who experience racism, and those who do not.
For those of us who are white, a lack of experience on the receiving end of racism can shield you from witnessing, observing, and identifying racism. The very tool of privilege is to insulate individuals from recognizing or witnessing the harm of racism. As a result, bias and ignorance can allow us to see our worlds through one lens – hiding our own racism and the racism around us.
For those of us who live in racialized bodies (i.e. Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour – BIPOC), the tension of veiled or covert racism also challenges our psyche. There have been times when I did not have the vocabulary to describe my experience, or the language to say that the discrimination or microaggressions I was experiencing was rooted in racism. It can feel like internal gaslighting, where you think, “I know in my gut this felt wrong, but maybe I’m being dramatic or overthinking it?” Therefore, if asked, I may not have identified my experience as racism or discrimination. Don’t get me wrong, it would be nice to not feel discrimination or be on the receiving end of racism – that is the goal after all – but lifting the veil or exposing racism can also empower us to advocate for ourselves (and those around us), challenge barriers, have tools to respond, and to unpack, uncover and unravel systems that justify ongoing oppression. This does not mean to vilify people or name every form of harm or inconveniences as “racism,” but to be able to look critically at our systems, processes, and interactions and not being afraid to identify things that are rooted in racial prejudice, discrimination, or hierarchy as just that – racism.
Confronting Racism in the Workplace
Racism is omnipresent. When I think of systemic racism, I feel the connection to the concept of omnipresence or “the state of being widespread or constantly encountered.” Systemic racism refers to the complex interactions of societal systems, practices, ideologies, and programs that produce and perpetuate inequities for racialized bodies. The key aspect of systematic racism is that these macro-level mechanisms operate independent of the intentions and actions of individuals, so that even if individual or interpersonal racism is not present, the adverse conditions and inequalities for racialized people will continue to exist. Examples of these experiences of racism can include housing discrimination, social segregation, racial profiling, predatory banking, access to healthcare, biased hiring/promotion practices, etc. Confronting racism in the workplace requires an in-depth understanding of systemic racism that is often the root of many forms of racism, including overt and covert racism.
Overt racism or explicit racism is the intentional and/or obvious harmful attitudes or behaviors towards racialized individuals or groups due to the colour of their skin. While most overt racism is determined to be taboo or socially unacceptable, examples such as anti-immigrant violence, racial slurs, and the use of the Swastika continue to present. Overt racist actions are those that are the easiest to see and describe as racism, unlike the more insidious, or covert forms of racism.
Covert racism is racial discrimination that is concealed or subtle rather than obvious or public. These are acts to subvert, distort, restrict, and deny racialized groups access to societal privileges and benefits. A key feature of covert racism is that its disguised nature allows perpetrators to claim, “plausible deniability” and to deny that the act was racist and undermine any claim of harm. Despite progress made within organizations to create cultures of zero tolerance, covert racism continues to be the most common form of workplace racism. This is the racism we must work to be in tune with – to ignore it is to continue it.
Understanding the Experiences of Racialized Employees
When I think about the workplace discrimination experienced by racialized employees I have heard from across industries, covert racism is the most pervasive, and yet the least reported. Understanding the experiences of racialized employees, requires an analysis of covert racism – racism that is subtle, pervasive, and insidious—so much so that it’s easy for people to dismiss or deny it, which only deepens the harm. This could be having your name changed or condensed to fit Eurocentric vernacular, or having your ideas consistently ignored in meetings until a white colleague repeats them. It could also be the casual exclusion from key projects, or in the unspoken but unmistakable preference for white employees when it comes to leadership opportunities. Microaggressions, like being told you’re “So articulate” as though it’s a surprise or having someone make assumptions about your capabilities based on your background, these are all constant reminders that the organizational structure and culture is not designed for you. These workplace experiences can push racialized folks out of our workplaces – especially when compounded by workplace harassment.
Covert racism doesn’t exist in isolation. It’s often compounded by other identity factors such as gender, sexual orientation, or ability. For instance, transgender racialized employees may face both racial discrimination and transphobia, resulting in a unique set of challenges that their cisgender colleagues do not experience. Intersectionality highlights how these overlapping identities create unique forms of discrimination. Even if you’re someone with wealth and power – like Masai Ujiri, president of the Toronto Raptors, who was racially profiled and aggressively confronted by a police officer during the 2019 NBA Finals – you can still experience racism. Class or status doesn’t help as much as we would assume; racism is a deep-seated structural issue that impacts all racialized employees, regardless of their position in life.
Another common example of covert racism is when racialized employees are forced to code-switch just to survive in predominantly white work environments. Code-switching means adapting how you speak, dress, or behave to fit in and avoid being stereotyped. It’s exhausting. This constant effort to assimilate, to not “rock the boat,” can lead to feelings of alienation and burnout. And yet, it’s often required to advance in the workplace—especially when tone policing is at play. How many times have we been told to “calm down” or “be professional” when we try to express our frustration or anger about racism? It’s as though our emotions invalidate our experiences, making it easier for others to dismiss our concerns.
The truth is, covert racism is rampant in Canadian workplaces, and it can even present in the very spaces designed to combat it. It’s alarming how many Chief Diversity Officers (CDOs) in Canada and the US are still overwhelmingly white. Racialized employees are often not seen as the experts even in roles that serve to combat their own oppression. Instead, our expertise is questioned, our qualifications are scrutinized, and our perspectives are sidelined. It’s a vicious cycle that keeps systemic barriers firmly in place. We got a long way to go y’all.
Why Is Inclusion Important in the Workplace?
While some organizations have begun divesting in DEI due to stigma and fear – committing to anti-racism and DEI initiatives continues to be necessary for inclusive organizational cultures. So why is racial inclusion important in the workplace?
Organizations that intentionally take meaningful actions towards creating inclusion in the workplace outperform their peers in everything from product delivery to employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention. Why? Because when you bring together people from different backgrounds, you get a wider range of perspectives. Teams with racial diversity can approach challenges from multiple angles, resulting in more creative problem-solving and better decision-making. It’s like having a toolkit with more than one tool: you’re simply better equipped to handle whatever comes your way. Racialized people are also just incredibly skilled, talented, and have apparent succession potential. In today’s competitive landscape, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism are essential for maintaining long-term success. It’s also just beautiful, but hey.
Proactive Steps to Tackle Racial Discrimination
Tackling racial discrimination in the workplace requires more than just good intentions—it demands action. To create real change, companies must take proactive steps to tackle racial discrimination and address these deeply ingrained structures.
1.Implement Comprehensive DEI and Anti-Racism Training Programs:
Organizations must invest in ongoing diversity training, DEI training, and anti-racism training that go beyond surface-level discussions. These programs should focus on recognizing both overt and covert racial discrimination in the workplace and provide practical strategies for addressing these issues. Training should also cover true inclusion and intersectionality, helping employees understand how overlapping identity factors (race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) can intensify discrimination. Training should be tailored to your unique employee culture, data-informed, actionable, tactical, and ongoing. Regular training, along with supplemental resources like articles, videos, and podcasts, can create a culture of continuous learning and awareness, to equip employees with the tools to recognize and challenge racism sustainably.
- Build Inclusive Workplace Policies and Reporting Systems:
Let’s be honest: training alone isn’t enough. It needs to be part of a broader strategy that could include an inclusive workplace policy. These policies should be clear on zero tolerance for racial discrimination, harassment, and microaggressions and include specific guidelines on how to report incidents. A transparent, accessible reporting system is essential for ensuring that employees feel safe to come forward – this includes protecting whistle blowers. Policies should also reflect the organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, be communicated clearly to all staff, and leaders must be held accountable for creating a work environment that is anti-racist.
- Foster an Inclusive Company Culture to Enhance the Employee Experience:
A truly inclusive workplace means amplifying the voices of racialized employees and creating safe spaces for them to express their experiences. Consider initiatives like employee resource groups, mentorship programs, and regular listening sessions to improve the overall employee experience.
Intersectional representation through data collection is another method that allows for more targeted interventions, responses, and changes. For example, when organizations lump all BIPOC employees together in data collection, they often miss the nuances of each group’s experience. Black employees, for example, likely face very different challenges than their Asian colleagues. To create meaningful strategic outcomes, organizations with large enough employee headcounts need to collect disaggregated data that considers these the uniqueness of each racialized community. Workplace solutions must be tailored, specific, and centered on those who experience the most harm.
Conclusion
While many have said, education would save us, I believe it is the fortitude of humans equipped with knowledge that will. For racialized groups especially, education and knowledge are not just in textbooks. It is in our art, music, poetry, living beings, the vernacular patters in accents, words that cannot be translated to English, storytelling, our memories, and our very presence in academic institutions. I think of my elders and ancestors, who worked on the sugar cane plantations, coerced from India and brought to South Africa. Having the language to describe indenture may not have guaranteed them a better life, heck it may have made things more sinister, but it would have given them more momentum, collective consciousness, and power to demand a better life. To know their experience was not justifiable and that our futures can be vaster than our wildest dreams.
Hiding our harmful realities and systems doesn’t make things better, it just keeps things more comfortable for some more than others. An inclusive workplace not only embraces diverse perspectives, but becomes comfortable with lifting the veil, fostering awareness, and taking risks to address the covert racism and systemic barriers that prevent racialized employees from contributing fully. We all have a role in identifying racism and having courage to respond in ways that dismantle the justification of these systems and behaviours. Together, we can co-create new futures.
Resources:
Racial Justice at Work: Practical Solutions for Systemic Change by Mary Frances-Winters and The Winters Group Team
Decentering Whiteness in the Workplace: A Guide for Equity and Inclusion by Janice Gassam Asare
White Supremacy is All Around: Notes from a Black Disabled Woman in a White World by Dr. Akilah Cadet