Despite years of corporate commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion, Black Canadians continue to be under-represented in senior leadership roles.
A 2025 report by Statistics Canada found Black Canadians account for 5.4 per cent of the Canadian labour force. However, research by the BlackNorth Initiative and Boston Consulting Group found Black Canadians hold only one per cent of senior executive roles in corporate Canada and 49 per cent of Black employees reported experiencing racial discrimination in major workplace decisions, including promotions.
Hiring numbers are often used to signal progress, but Tamisha Parris, founder and chief executive officer at Parris Consulting, says that what happens after employees are hired is a more meaningful measure of equity.
“Empowerment isn’t just about presence. It’s about whether Black employees can speak up without being dismissed, interrupted or penalized.”
While representation has improved in some sectors, empowerment remains uneven, Parris notes, with many Black employees navigating daily microaggressions or pressure to self-censor to avoid being labelled “difficult.” Over time, those experiences shape engagement, trust and retention.
She notes empowerment shows up in everyday interactions, such as whether ideas are taken seriously or concerns are addressed without defensiveness. “These daily experiences matter. They determine whether people feel safe enough to contribute or whether they pull back.”
The absence of Black leadership at senior levels often sends an implicit message about whose voices carry weight inside organizations. “Black employees may be hired, but they’re rarely sponsored, championed or positioned for promotion at the same rate as their peers.”
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Formal sponsorship remains limited across Canadian workplaces. Only 11 per cent of employees report having access to a sponsorship program, despite Black employees being more likely to identify sponsorship as critical to career advancement.
Broader labour market data reflects similar structural challenges. Statistics Canada’s report found Black Canadians aged 25 to 54 continued to have lower employment rates and higher unemployment than the overall population through 2025, even as labour markets recovered.
Psychological safety is often framed as an individual responsibility rather than a leadership obligation, a framing that Parris challenges. “Psychological safety is not a feeling employees create for themselves. It’s a culture [that] leaders build through consistent behaviour and accountability.”
Many organizations rely on engagement surveys or listening sessions to assess inclusion, but those tools tend to measure sentiment rather than influence. A more revealing indicator, Parris suggests, is the organizational chart — namely, who controls budgets, who approves promotions and who shapes strategy.
Ultimately, the difference between organizations that struggle and those that make progress comes down to accountability, she says. “Struggling organizations want Black employees to feel included. Transformative organizations want Black employees to have influence.”