According to a census by Statistics Canada, Black people account for 4.3% of Canada’s population, meaning its 38.25 million Canadians consist of 1,547,870 African Canadians.
Unfortunately, discrimination is still a glaring problem faced by 58% of Canada’s Black Population, accounting to Statistics Canada. Nevertheless, this minority has made noteworthy triumphs over the years, coexisting with the 69.8% white Canadian population.
For example, education has experienced an impressive improvement in Canada’s Black population. Data from Statistics Canada reveals that black people in Canada, ages 25 – 64, have achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher in Canada or abroad.
This information is more noteworthy because the national education average sits at 32.9%, while the black community is at 32.4%. This increase is partly due to the rising number of highly educated black immigrants, with 46% having a bachelor’s degree or higher.
However, despite this improvement in education and social relevance, Canada’s black population still experiences a low employment rate of 10.1%. This unavailability of jobs for African Canadians is due to the people being overqualified for these roles.
For perspective, Canada’s national overqualification rate is at 11.1%, but the black population sits at 16%. This means that people with a bachelor’s degree or higher work in Canadian jobs requiring a high school diploma or less.
The statistics reveal the overqualification rate for black people across generations, with immigrants at 15.8%, children of immigrants at 16.6%, and Canadian-born parents at 15.7%.
Even the few African Canadians who gain employment experience some form of racism and discrimination at work. According to a new KPMG Canada report, 72% of black Canadians still experience racism at work.
Amongst 1001 black Canadians, 20% claimed to experience the same amount of racism, while 19% encountered more racism. Additionally, 33% faced less racism, and 28% saw little to no racism at work.
An excellent example of this discrimination is that Black women’s hair is more likely to be perceived as unprofessional than their Hispanic or White counterparts. According to the McGill Journal of Law and Health, this negative perception has led many black women to change their looks to feel part of the workplace.
This workplace discrimination is problematic to the black community; fortunately, several Canadian employers have begun addressing and rectifying anti-black racism. According to the KPMG Canada reports, 59% of surveyed black Canadians admit that their employer’s efforts to hire more black people have improved.
The same report reveals that 54% of respondents commend their employers’ steps in including African Canadians in positions of power. However, 75% of respondents worry that these anti-black racism efforts are fleeting, and Blacks may be among the first to lose their jobs during a recession or any serious economic instability.
Nevertheless, Black Canadians remain optimistic about Canada’s ability to limit systemic workplace barriers in the next five years drastically. A racism-free environment can significantly reduce inequality and make employment easier for Canada’s Black population.
