Catalyst, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting equality in the workplace, has released a survey report on racism in the workplace. The bad news for Canadians is that more than half (54 percent) of employees from minority and racial groups in the country say they have experienced racist treatment in their careers; the good news is that among the six countries surveyed, Canada is the least likely to report experiencing racism in their current job (37 percent).

The percentages in the other five countries are: South Africa 67%, the United Kingdom 59%, New Zealand 53%, the United States 51%, and Australia 49%.

According to Julie Cahill, Executive Director of Catalyst Canada, in an interview with the Globe and Mail, racism in Canada is relatively deep-rooted.

Over 5,000 employees from the six countries mentioned participated in the survey. It encompasses not only racial minorities and Indigenous populations but also minority groups such as LGBTQ+ individuals, transgender people, and non-binary people. The racial discrimination identified in the workplace by the survey includes lack of equal opportunities for promotion and career development, low wages, harassment, bias, ridicule regarding appearance, accent, clothing, food, and so forth.

Racial treatment from supervisors is most common...

Interviewees reported experiencing racial discrimination not only from employers and coworkers but also from clients. For instance, a Chinese woman in Canada said, "One client kept asking me where I was from and decided that Canada was not my home country." This is also seen as a sign of racism or at least a lack of politeness.

Respondents often face racial discrimination in the workplace from their supervisors (41%), followed by coworkers (36%) and clients (23%).

If the six countries are combined, 66% of participants said they experienced racial discrimination in their careers, and 48% reported being harassed (racial jokes, ridicule, belittling, etc.), while 32% believe they have been treated unfairly in their career development (inequality in promotion, salary, resources and workload, exclusion from team work and meetings, etc.).

If you are from a racial minority and are female or transgender...

Investigators found that when factors like race, gender, and sexual orientation are combined, racism becomes more severe. Researchers call this intersectional racism. For example, a survey of employees in Canada showed that 56% of women of Middle Eastern and North African descent experienced racial discrimination, followed by Latina women and Indigenous women (50%), Black women (44%), and Asian women (44%).

Asian female employees face the least racial discrimination among all minority women. However, if an Asian employee is also transgender or non-binary, the rate of racial discrimination rises to 50%, the highest rate of any minority.