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Diversity At Work
Every day millions of us leave our homes and head to work. But what happens once we get there can depend on who we are.
Studies show that if you are different, your work experience will be different.
Canada is home to more than four million visible minorities and another 1.3 million who claim aboriginal ancestry.
These two groups are key players in Canada's changing workforce.
Canadian Business magazine and OMNI took a close look at firms that file reports with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada under the Employment Equity Act.
Rogers Media researchers took the list of nearly 450 companies and ranked them according to recruitment practices, retention of workers and the advancement of visible minorities and aboriginal people. Using a panel of diversity experts we then reviewed the government's data and weighed additional factors.
We found diversity is key to business success.
Some of the top companies in the ranking included:
- All the major banks (CIBC, TD Financial Group, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal etc.);
- Call-Net Enterprises (Sprint Canada) (number one overall in our ranking) and Telus Mobility in the phone sector;v
- All the large courier companies (Federal Express, UPS, DHL, Emery, etc.);
- Rogers Communications Inc, Shaw Communications and CTV in the field of telecommunications;
- And Cathay Pacific, American Airlines and Air France in the airline sector.
For aboriginal peoples, Serco Facilities Management of Ottawa ranked first in the Canadian Business-OMNI list.
Call-Net (Sprint Canada) was number one overall in our ranking. A full third of its employees are visible minorities, with good representation at all levels of the company.
Experts found that the major banks are leading the way in hiring practices and have embraced diversity as part of their daily business strategies.
Many companies are now training their workers to understand and harness the power of cultural differences in project teams, in research and development and in consumer relations.
Scott Steele, the Executive Editor of Canadian Business magazine, says, "There's a lot of evidence that shows that there can be a very strong business case made for having a diverse workplace"
"It isn't just about quotas, it isn't just about hiring somebody because of who he or she is... it's about getting the best people... It will hopefully waken people up to the fact that the best people come from all of the communities in Canada."
Experts say companies need to think beyond handing out token, entry level positions to visible minorities and calling it "diversity".
They point out that having a multiracial workforce helps firms provide better customer service, find solutions and adopt better strategies for their clients. All this is good for the bottom line.
"I think it's distinctive; it's a very positive kind of initiative," says Professor Jeffrey Reitz, a U of T professor and a leading scholar of the Canadian labour market. He says twenty years from now the face of the country will change and labour market practices have to change with it. The sooner, the better: "We look down the road, most of the cities in the industrialized world will be what we today sort of quaintly call 'minority majority cities,' that is where the minority groups are becoming the majority.
In the days ahead we'll bring you more about diversity in the workforce and talk about how visible minorities are integrating into Canada's workforce.
For more information, pick up the March 29th issue of Canadian Business or visit the Minority Report section on OMNITV.ca.
