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Views from the Experts
Interview excerpt: Scott Steel
Managing Editor of Canadian Business Magazine
Q Why is it so important to take the pulse of how visible minorities and aboriginal people are doing in Canada's workforce?
A It's the first ever look at visible minorities and aboriginals in workforce. We looked at things like salaries, promotions, the total numbers in workforce to get a report card of where companies stand. A lot of evidence remains for a strong business case for diversity. People are naturally drawn to businesses were they feel comfortable and are represented as a whole. I think that companies that are not tuned into diversity are going to be left behind. They are not keeping up with the available labour market with economic realities reflected in the Canadian population.
Q Who came up with the concept of this study?
A There have been a number of studies like this in the US before. They are much more conscious of workplace diversity than Canadians have been. The federal government (in Ottawa) keeps statistics on visible minorities, aboriginals, women and disabled people in federally-regulated companies. When we initially set out to look at the universe of Canadian companies, we found that there was a certain naiveté about this issue and some companies didn't want to talk about it. They weren't entirely comfortable. So we decided to rely on the data collected under the Equity Act by the federal government and we put together a panel of experts who devised a methodology that has allowed us to analyze the data much more thoroughly and bring it to life.
Q How was the ranking decided upon?
A We looked at a number of metrics, including the total number of visible minorities in each company's workforce and whether that was representative of the workforce availability rate for visible minorities. We looked at visible minorities in a number of job categories and at different salaries levels, obviously giving higher points for a broad-based representation throughout the company. We looked at the numbers of middle or upper-level managers and senior managers. We took points away if we felt that there were too many visible minorities being kept in lower job classes and weren't being promoted. Promotion was a huge factor. But we looked at all the factors and devised a ranking system based on that.
Q Why was ranking these firms so important?
A We decided not to do a ranking of the best and worst companies. We didn't think that that would be useful. Instead we combined our effort to companies that are doing extremely well in this front. All of our companies in our ranking got an "A". They are all extremely progressive; some more than others. If you look at the magazine, you will see that some are better in some areas than others are. For example, in terms of representation in senior management or promotion, it is really interesting data.
Q Why is it necessary that Canadian companies realize diversity is essential for good business?
A It is important because the face of Canada is changing. I think that companies that are not tapping the full resources available - which is diversity - in the available labour market are not realizing their full potential. We have a lot of great skills in this country. We have people that come from a number of different places that bring cultural awareness and language skills. That brings all sort of interesting educational backgrounds and ideas that can be a great economic advantage and companies that take full advantage of these skills are poised to do well in this century.
Q What is the business case for workplace diversity?
A Companies that are not mining and tapping the available market are going to be left behind. We are already experiencing a bit of a brain drain where some highly skilled people are leaving. I think that savvy companies will realize that we have a lot of great resources. It's very unfortunate that number of new immigrant report that there are barriers to getting employment in their fields. We have all heard the story about the Ph D cab driver. Unfortunately these are all too real. There are companies that insist that you need Canadian experience. They don't realize that many of these people have medical degrees or are scientists were they come from and smart companies are starting to realize that this is untapped potential
Q Are Canadian workplaces adequately reflecting Canada's population?
A A lot of companies that did very well say that they don't intentionally go out and do this, that it just happens as a matter of course. That is almost the purest form of diversity. They are really reflecting the population and these are companies that just want to hire the best people but they realize that the best people come from all sorts of backgrounds. That is one of the biggest lessons that can be taken away from this. It isn't about quotas, It isn't about affirmative action. It's about reflecting the Canadian population in the workplace.
For more information, pick up the March 29th issue of Canadian Business or visit the Minority Report section on OMNITV.ca.
