Survey reveals significant differences in the way discrimination is experienced in the workplace

BY MICHAEL THOMAS

Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) recently put out its findings from their research on diversity and inclusion in Canada’s marketing sector. This survey revealed significant differences between minorities and non-minorities, and between women and men, when it comes to observing and experiencing discrimination in their places of employment.

Here is part of what this survey found.

• Only 49% of non-minorities indicate that they have noticed others being less engaged due to forms of discrimination compared to 77% of minorities.
• 11% of non-minority men have seen staff from diverse backgrounds being talked down to in meetings compared to 50% of minority men.
• Only 33% of non-minorities (and just 17% of non-minority men) report feeling less engaged due to discrimination compared to 53% of minorities.
• 91% of total respondents feel welcome at work, but this figure drops to 80% when asked of minority women, and rises to 96% when asked of non-minority men.
• While only 23% of respondents describe their companies’ leadership as fully diversified, 85% believe that their companies are making at least some effort to diversify their leadership.
• Most marketers believe that organizations face obstacles to diversifying leadership. The most cited obstacles are the perception that there is a lack of skilled diverse talent and being unsure where to start.
• The majority of marketers (59%) agree that people don’t push for change because they don’t want to be seen as disruptive. This is especially true of minorities (66%) compared to non-minorities (53%).

Wherever possible, the CMA is encouraging organizations to implement new ways to try and diversify their leadership ranks to inspire employee confidence, safety and well-being, and embrace the benefits of diversity for business performance.

Toronto Caribbean Newspaper spoke with CMA’s Vice President of Corporate Services and Chief Diversity Officer Sartaj Sarkaria about the findings of the survey and more.

Sarkaria was asked about how these findings made her feel, she replied, “I think for us at the CMA, it made us feel like we have more work to do, and we are really excited to do that work. We know that this is a continuing issue and this research has helped us to bring awareness to these issues that have been happening at workplaces.”

It is mind-blowing some may think, to realize that 20% of minority women in Canada’s workforce still do not feel welcome in this day and age.

Sarkaria said, “We know that women have their place at the table, but they are not feeling as included as their colleagues, and some of the work we are hoping to do is to increase their feel of inclusion at the table.”

Sarkaria said that CMA is optimistic so much so that five years down the road, if her organization has to do a follow-up survey, she would like to see that, “Things increasingly improve in the workforce between senior staff and those in the entry level and that inclusion is there as well. Being in an organization does not necessarily mean you feel included.”

Sarkaria has some advice for those in the minority bracket, whom the survey found are afraid to rock the boat to success, “I think a great place to start is having a conversation with your leaders, managers and working with them to help create a more inclusive environment.”

Sarkaria said, “About the survey; I think it is really important to understand why we did it. We did it for research purposes and also, we felt what the world felt after George Floyd’s murder. It made us more aware of anything pertaining to the black community and minorities. Like other organizations, we have pledged to learn more, raise awareness and help create the change that is needed.”