Minorities not comfortable being themselves at work: Study

Businesses missing out on advantages of diversity when minorities feel like they have to blend in

Many visible minority managers, professionals and executives believe that they need to “Canadianize” themselves in order to get ahead, according to a new study.

Career Advancement in Corporate Canada: A Focus on Visible Minorities - Workplace Fit and Stereotyping found for some that means downplaying ethnicity and speaking English or French without an identifiable accent in order to succeed in the Canadian workplace.

“As Canadians, we celebrate all that diversity brings to our country and communities,” said Deborah Gillis, North America vice-president of Catalyst. “But when the message delivered to visible minorities working in our largest businesses is that they must blend in to get ahead, the potential to fully leverage diversity as a source of competitive advantage is being compromised.”

Key findings from the study, conducted by Catalyst, a New York-based research and advisory organization that promotes women in business, include:

• Advancement for visible minorities may necessitate their downplaying aspects of their cultural background, such as having an identifiable accent that does not “fit” the prevailing image of leaders in their organizations.

• Some East Asians and South Asians who felt they understood Canadian idioms and were familiar with Canadian culture, particularly those whose families had been in Canada for generations, expressed comfort with how they fit within Canadian business organizations. However, other visible minorities stated that their chances of acceptance and promotion at work are tied to how “Canadianized” they are.

• East Asians reported being stereotyped as “hard working but not sociable” while South Asians reported being considered “outsiders” and “foreigners” in spite of the length of time they had spent in Canada.

• Blacks faced a dramatic difference in workplace challenges as compared to their South and East Asian colleagues. More negative stereotyping and an extremely limited number of similar role models combined to create a sense of isolation and limited opportunities for black managers, professional and executives.

• While many organizations are committed to building inclusive work environments, imperfect execution of diversity programs can hinder career advancement for visible minority managers, professionals and executives. An added barrier is that Caucasians are more likely to believe that diversity efforts are successful than are blacks or Asians.

To help Canadian organizations fully leverage the diversity and talent of visible minority employees, Catalyst recommends:

• Organizations create inclusive environments where visible minorities can spend less time focused on overcoming stereotypes and more time on contributing to organizational performance. Senior leaders can develop inclusive workplaces by building a strong business case, addressing the concerns of majority groups, and ensuring that leadership competencies are clear and allow for a variety of styles.

• Recognize that negative stereotyping exists in the workplace and address it. Avoid political correctness or politeness as a barrier to dealing with this problem.

• Visible minorities should aim to familiarize themselves with their organizations and be prepared to navigate less-than-perfect workplace environments. Changing an organization is a long-term activity, and realistically many visible minority managers, professionals and executives will find themselves employed in business organizations that are less than fully inclusive.

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