Posted: Sunday, 1 January 2006

Introduction and summary

This report looks at data from the 2001 Census and the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) to provide evidence that there remains large and consistent gaps in economic security for workers of colour compared to other workers. These differences are not based on real differences of skills and education, but rather on perceived differences based on race.

Racial discrimination is a large contributing factor to the poor labour market outcomes of Canada’s racialized workers. Lower incomes, higher unemployment, and precarious work status are prevalent for workers of colour as a whole, and not just recent immigrants. In fact, it is the non-immigrant, racialized population, who are more highly educated than average, which has the most difficulty finding steady employment at decent wages. The fact that Canadian-born workers of colour are doing badly cannot be explained away by reference to lack of Canadian credentials and experience.

The types of jobs in which workers of colour are employed make a world of difference in their labour market outcomes. Racialized workers of colour tend to be concentrated in low level sales and clerical jobs, all the while working under a “glass ceiling” that prevents them from attaining high level, more senior positions that are coupled with higher wages, better benefits, and greater security. While union coverage does produce wage increases for workers of colour, it does not benefit them to the same degree as white workers. This result is exacerbated by the fact that workers of colour are less likely to have union coverage.

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