Roughly half of Black, Indigenous and people of colour employees in Canada report feeling uncomfortable or unwelcome in the workplace, especially those aged 30 to 44, according to a new survey by the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism.
The survey, which polled 500 employees, found many instances of discrimination were disproportionately reported by respondents aged 30 and older and were most prevalent among those living in urban environments.
More than a quarter (26 per cent) of BIPOC employees felt they were being more harshly judged than their white managers (nine per cent). This percentage increased among those living in urban communities, members of public sector unions and those aged 45 to 59.
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BIPOC respondents were also twice as likely to feel their racial identity has held back their career growth compared to white managers (20 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively). While just four in 10 BIPOC Canadians disagreed with this sentiment, nearly a quarter (23 per cent) said they felt excluded from professional development opportunities and/or special assignments due to their racial identity, compared to 10 per cent of white managers.
A fifth (17 per cent) of BIPOC respondents found it significantly more challenging to find mentorship and/or sponsors than their non-marginalized peers (seven per cent) and were more than 10 per cent more likely to have been prompted to leave their company due to racial discrimination.
Notably, BIPOC employees were just slightly more likely to be called a racial slur at work compared to white managers (16 per cent compared to 12 per cent, respectively). This, too, was significantly more likely to occur to employees living in urban communities.
Read: Companies must listen to racialized employees in tackling racism at work: experts