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What does Representation mean?

  • the actions of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented.
  • the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way or as being of a certain nature.

Did you know?

40%
Employers are about 40% more likely to interview a job applicant with an English-sounding name despite identical education, skills and experience.

Representation in the Financial Industry Statistics

The Importance of Representation

Representation in financially regulated sectors is important in Black communities due to the disportionate rates of Black individuals holding managerial positions within this field.

According to Statistic Canada Black men were about 40% less likely to work in management occupations than non-visible minority men (SatsCan, 2021). Where is the data on Black women or members of the Black LGTBQ2Sl community within Canada?

What Does Representation Look Like?

Representation in financially regulated sectors is important in Black communities due to the disportionate rates of Black individuals holding managerial positions within this field.

Many individuals are under the impression that representation solely means hiring more diverse candidates. However, representation in corporate institutions can be executed in different ways! Below are some examples of ways you can promote diversity, equity and inclusion within your organization.

Setting the tone for the type of organization you would like to run is vital in the overall success of EDI within your spaces. During employee onboarding, individuals should undergo anti-racist and anti-oppression workshops. These workshops can go over concepts such as implicit bias, imposter syndrome, team building and much more.

Managers should actively ensure all employees are receiving the best pay for their roles. This can be done through analysis of roles and responsibilities and comparing them to their pay and the pay of others annually.

Practicing this not only ensures pay equity, but it promotes transparency and allows employees to know that they are valued.

Team building within an organization allows for more open communication and cross-cultural communication. This allows individuals to learn more about each other and embrace differences. Through team building initiatives individuals will learn to collaborate with people from different social contexts and backgrounds.

Terms to Consider

  • Tokenism
  • Implicit Bias
  • Imposter Syndrome
  • Code Switching

Tokenism

  • According to the Oxford Dictionary the practice of making only a perfunctory or symbolic effort to do a particular thing, especially by recruiting a small number of people from underrepresented groups in order to give the appearance of sexual or racial equality within a workforce

Example of Tokenism in the workplace: Expecting the Black employees to plan Black History Month activities every year, rather than educating yourself and making an effort to create initiatives as a group.

Implicit Bias

  • In social identity theory, introduced by Henri Tajfel, an implicit bias or implicit stereotype, is the pre-reflective attribution of particular qualities by an individual to a member of some social out group (Macleod, 2019).

Example of Implicit Bias in the workplace: not hiring individuals with different academic credentials than the ones in your hometown. International candidates come from all around the world, it is important to disable implicit bias while on a hiring board.

Imposter Syndrome

  • Imposter syndrome is loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud. It disproportionately affects high-achieving people, who find it difficult to accept their accomplishments (Tulshyan and Burey, 2021).

Example: Feeling not good enough compared to your counterparts at work.

Code switching

  • Code-switching involves adjusting one’s style of speech, appearance, behavior, and expression in ways that will optimize the comfort of others in exchange for fair treatment, quality service, and employment opportunities (McCluney et al, 2019).

Example: Hiding your accent at work and putting on a “customer service” voice.

Resources

Workplace Acts

Employment equity act
Racial discrimination act
Working for Workers act

Workshops and Training

Canadian Equality Consulting
The Federation of Black Canadians

Educational Resources

We Can’t Talk about That at Work! How to Talk about Race, Religion, Politics, and Other Polarizing Topics
Diversity in the Workplace: Eye-Opening Interviews to Jumpstart Conversations about Identity, Privilege, and Bias
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Strategies for Facilitating Conversations on Race

Upcoming EDI webinars and consultations

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