Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

via PSAC BC Human Rights Committee

Cracking the visible minority ceiling: Corporations face talent shortage, major study to target barriers

They helped women crack the glass ceiling in corporate Canada. Now, they want to do the same for visible minorities.

Catalyst Canada, a group that exposed the barriers to advancement for women at the highest corporate levels, announced yesterday the launch of a groundbreaking study into the problems facing talented minority employees who want to get ahead.

While not the first organization to examine this problem, the non-profit research group said it would take a deeper, broader look at an issue of emerging significance to employers, executive director Deborah Gillis said yesterday.

“What we know is Canada is facing a significant talent shortage. Many of our best-educated employees are getting ready to retire. We also know the face of Canada is changing,” Gillis said.

“If you combine the retirement of boomers with the fact that in less than 10 years visible minorities are going to represent one in five members of our workforce, we know this is a fundamental issue for Canadian business.”

The challenge will be even more acute in cities such as Toronto where visible minorities will make up nearly half the future workforce within a decade, according to Statistics Canada.

The Catalyst survey has the support of some of the biggest names in corporate Canada, including RBC Financial Group, IBM Canada and Deloitte & Touche, both as financial sponsors and study participants. “Businesses have been dropping the ball when it comes to tapping the potential of visible minorities in our workplace,” said Gordon Nixon, president and chief executive of lead sponsor RBC Financial Group. “Diversity can be Canada’s competitive advantage. So the challenge for corporate Canada, for each of us, is finding out exactly what barriers are preventing visible minorities from advancing in their chosen careers and then addressing them,” Nixon said.

So far, companies representing nearly half a million Canadians, including more than 20,000 professionals, managers and executives, have signed on to participate, Catalyst said, and more are welcome. Initial results are expected next year.

The study is a major departure for Catalyst, which has previously focused on barriers to women’s advancement in the workplace. This is Catalyst’s first look at both men and women, specifically in visible minority groups.

As in the past, Catalyst is focusing on people working at the highest echelons, not rank-and-file workers. “We’re looking at how to move up the ladder. How to retain, develop and advance visible minorities,” Gillis said.

Because minority groups are not homogeneous, the study will be divided into 10 subgroups based on Census Canada classifications. They are Chinese, South Asian, Black, Arab/West Asian, Filipino, South East Asian, Latin America, Japanese, Korean and other.

The study will compare experiences of ethnic and non-ethnic Canadians in getting ahead. Employers and employees will be asked in confidential online surveys to identify such things as barriers to career development and policies that promote advancement, Catalyst said.

Because of the size and scope of the study, Catalyst is partnering with Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute in Management and Technology in the research.

“Talent transcends ethnicity. As business leaders, our job is to ensure every talented person is able to succeed and reach their full potential,” said Alan MacGibbon, chief executive of Deloitte & Touche.

Despite their rising numbers, visible minorities held just 3 per cent of executive jobs and 1.7 per cent of director seats in Canada, according to similar 2004 research by the Conference Board of Canada.

“This under-representation reduces Canada’s overall economic potential and risks its social cohesion,” the Conference Board said.

source: The Toronto Star.