Workplace discrimination remains a persistent issue that impacts employees across Canada. Despite progress in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, many individuals still face unfair or prejudicial treatment in their workplaces.
Understanding what constitutes discrimination, the protections that exist, and how both employers and employees can address this critical issue is essential to fostering truly inclusive work environments where all can thrive.
What is Workplace Discrimination?
Workplace discrimination refers to unfair treatment or denial of opportunities to an employee or job candidate based on personal characteristics rather than skills, ability, or qualifications. It involves making decisions about hiring, compensation, advancement, training, termination, or other employment terms based on factors unrelated to ability, performance, or merit.
Discrimination stems from prejudicial attitudes, biases, and negative stereotyping of individuals based on protected grounds such as race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or age. It results in the unfavourable, unjust, or prejudicial treatment of certain groups who face barriers to employment as a result.
Employment discrimination violates fundamental human rights in workplace. It denies equal access and blocks individuals from reaching their full potential. It also negatively impacts businesses by introducing bias, limiting talent pools, causing harmful conflicts, decreasing morale, and losing productivity.
Types of Workplace Discrimination
There are five common forms workplace discrimination can take:
Direct discrimination
Treating an employee or applicant differently based openly on a prohibited ground of discrimination, such as refusing to hire someone based on race, gender identity, or disability.
Adverse effect discrimination
When practices or policies appear neutral but end up excluding or disadvantaging certain groups, often unintentionally. For example, requiring all employees to work on a religious holiday.
Systemic discrimination
Organizational policies, practices and patterns of behaviour that are part of institutional cultures which create or perpetuate disadvantage and discrimination. It often involves unexamined but deeply embedded biases in organizational systems and processes.
Harassment
Workplace harassment means engaging in a course of inappropriate and unwelcome verbal, visual or physical conduct based on a protected ground under human rights law that a reasonable person would find objectionable or offensive. It creates hostile, intimidating or humiliating work conditions.
Retaliation
Taking punitive actions against an employee for filing a complaint, participating in discrimination investigation, or asserting their rights under human rights codes. This could include termination, demotion, unjust discipline or threats.
Recognizing and understanding the various forms discrimination can take is an essential first step to addressing this critical workplace issue.
What Groups Experience Workplace Discrimination in Canada?
Many groups continue to face workplace discrimination in Canada. Some of the most affected include:
Women
Gender discrimination remains prevalent, with issues like pay inequity, lack of accommodation for parental needs, and sexual harassment. As an example, Statistics Canada data shows that in 2020, women earned 89 cents for every dollar earned by men.
Visible minorities
Hiring discrimination, pay gaps, lack of upward mobility, and harassment disproportionately affect Black, Indigenous, and people of colour. Visible minorities earn 81.4 cents for every dollar earned by non-visible minorities.
Indigenous peoples
Systemic discrimination towards Indigenous peoples persists. The employment rate for First Nations people was 61.2% in 2016 compared to 74.1% among non-Indigenous Canadians. (Source, 2016)
LGBTQ+
Homophobia, transphobia, and lack of understanding of gender diversity result in hostile work situations, especially for transgender employees.
People with disabilities
Lack of workplace accommodations and negative assumptions about capabilities limit opportunities. In 2022, 62% of working-age adults with disabilities were employed versus 78% of Canadians without a disability. (Source, 2022)
Read more: Disability Inclusion in the Canadian Workplace
Older workers
Ageism leads to barriers to recruitment, training, promotions, and retention for older employees. These practices ignore the tremendous value that experienced employees can contribute. Discrimination based on age stereotypes and assumptions should have no place in a modern, inclusive workplace.
Religious minorities
Employees may be denied religious accommodations or face hostility towards displays of religious affiliation, like wearing a headscarf. Muslim women face twice the discrimination in getting jobs compared to other women in Canada.
New immigrants
Foreign credentials may not be recognized, language barriers exist, and cultural differences can lead to exclusion. New Canadians can struggle to integrate into local workplace cultures and overcome biases.
What Laws Protect Against Workplace Discrimination in Canada?
Several key laws enshrine workplace protections and prohibit employment discrimination at the federal and provincial levels:
- The Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) applies to federally regulated employers and provides protection from discrimination based on race, gender, disability, and other grounds.
- Provincial human rights codes such as the Ontario Human Rights Code also protect against discrimination in the workplace. These vary slightly by province or territory.
- The Employment Equity Act promotes the representation of groups like women, Indigenous peoples, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities. It applies to federal employers and federally regulated industries.
- The Labour Code outlines employer responsibilities and employee rights for industries under federal jurisdiction. It has provisions to prevent discrimination.
In addition, Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides constitutional protections against discrimination. Collective agreements may also contain anti-discrimination language. Employers have a duty to accommodate protected employees to the point of undue hardship.
Examples of Workplace Discrimination in Canada
Some frequent examples of workplace discrimination faced by employees include:
- Not getting hired, promoted, or selected for training based on race, gender identity, or other characteristics rather than skills or merit.
- Being paid less than colleagues who do similar work due to gender or racial pay gaps.
- Being harassed, bullied, or made to feel unwelcome because of sexual orientation, religion, or ethnicity.
- Being denied opportunities or terminated for becoming pregnant, having a child, or taking parental leave.
- Failing to provide reasonable accommodations for an employee with a physical disability or mental health condition.
- Assuming someone from a minority group can’t do higher level work because of stereotypes.
- Making offensive jokes or slurs about someone’s age, background, or disability.
- Imposing dress codes, uniforms, or behavioural standards that disadvantage particular beliefs or cultural systems.
What Can Employers Do to Prevent Discrimination?
Employers play a crucial role in addressing workplace discrimination through proactive efforts:
Implement inclusive hiring practices
This involves training managers to avoid unconscious bias, use skills-based assessment, and intentionally promote diversity at all levels. Blind recruitment can help reduce hiring discrimination.
Provide anti-discrimination training
Hold regular employee education sessions on diversity, inclusion, harassment, and human rights obligations. Make training mandatory for leaders.
Establish and enforce anti-discrimination policies
Create clear workplace policies that prohibit harassment and discrimination and include reporting procedures. Follow and apply policies consistently.
Make reasonable accommodations
Modify policies, physical workspaces, schedules, and other aspects of work to reasonably accommodate employees’ needs related to disabilities, family status, religion and other protected grounds.
Support employee resource groups
Sponsor employee-led networks, mentoring programs, and events that promote diversity and inclusion for minority or marginalized groups.
Audit and analyze data
Collect and audit employment data to reveal inequalities related to compensation, recruitment, advancement, or retention by gender, race, or other factors. Address any disparities.
Implement grievance procedures
Have transparent, confidential processes in place for employees to report discrimination concerns without fear of reprisal, and investigate every complaint promptly, seriously, and impartially.
Lead by example
Senior leaders need to consistently demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through words, actions, and policies.
Explore more: How to Prevent Discrimination in Your Workplace
What Recourse Exists for Employees Facing Discrimination?
If faced with discrimination in the workplace, employees have options to seek recourse:
- Report internally – Follow the workplace discrimination laws or harassment policy to report the issue to a supervisor, HR, or union representative for internal resolution.
- File a human rights complaint – Each province has a human rights commission that can be contacted to begin a complaint process against the employer, which may result in mediation, a tribunal hearing, and remedies.
- Consult an employment lawyer – An employment lawyer can assess your situation and provide legal advice on possible courses of action, such as negotiating a settlement or initiating a civil lawsuit against the employer.
- Initiate grievance procedures – For unionized workplaces, the collective agreement will outline a grievance process that can be used to address complaints of discrimination through arbitration.
- Report to the labour ministry – Provincial and federal labour ministries have oversight over workplace standards and may be able to investigate certain cases of discriminatory practices.
- Contact the police – In cases of sexual assault or threats of violence related to harassment or discrimination at work, the police should be contacted.
- Leave the job – In some cases, leaving a toxic workplace that refuses to address persistent discrimination may be necessary, especially if the experience threatens health and safety. Legal counsel should be sought regarding any rights to compensation.
The Bottom Line
Workplace discrimination causes tangible harm – both to individuals who suffer it firsthand and to the culture and bottom line of organizations.
Canada still has progress to make towards ensuring all employees enjoy fair, safe and inclusive work environments where they can achieve their full potential regardless of background or personal characteristics.
Employers must make combating workplace discrimination a top priority, while employees should know their rights and sources of recourse if faced with this troubling issue.
Only through ongoing vigilance, education, and openness to implement creative solutions can Canadian workplaces realize the benefits of diversity for all.
FAQs on workplace discrimination in Canada
What groups are most affected by workplace discrimination in Canada?
Women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, older workers, religious minorities, and new immigrants face high levels of workplace discrimination in Canada.
How can Canadian employers prevent and address workplace discrimination?
Strategies include implementing inclusive hiring, anti-discrimination training, reporting procedures, accommodations, employee resource groups, data audits, grievance processes, and demonstrating commitment to equality.
What recourse do employees have if they experience workplace discrimination in Canada?
Employees can report internally, file human rights complaints, consult lawyers, initiate union grievances, contact labour ministries, report to police, or resign and claim constructive dismissal.
What is the duty to accommodate in Canadian workplaces?
Employers have a legal duty to take steps to reasonably accommodate protected employees up to the point of undue hardship. Accommodations enable equal access.
Why is addressing workplace discrimination important for Canadian employers?
Discrimination negatively impacts employee well-being, limits talent pools, increases turnover, exposes employers to legal liability, and undermines diversity and inclusion efforts.