Does Being BIPOC Make it Easier to Get Hired?

When I was in Grade 12, I was sitting at lunch with two of my friends. They were cis, white women who had grown up in a Christian household. We were talking about the worries of employment and the potentials of the programs we were considering. That was when the two said, “well, it’s easier for you. Employers automatically want to hire you. They look for that diversity.”

I didn’t say anything in response. I didn’t know what to say. How could someone look at a brown, hijabi girl and think, now she has it easy in the employment process? But to many people, this is a common belief. It’s a belief that allows people to live their life ignoring and blatantly disregarding the real reason why diversity programs are implemented in the first place. 

Merriam-webster defines meritocracy as a system of power that chooses to employ people based on their “demonstrated abilities and merit.” No mention of race.

So why, for decades has there been little to no diversity in many industries and careers?

Black, South Asian and Arab people are experiencing disproportionately high rates of unemployment compared to the rest of the population in Canada, according to Statistics Canada, CBC previously reported. The McKinsey Institute points out that in Canada gender gaps are most significant in STEM education and jobs. 

One detrimental issue amongst diversity in workplaces is the lack of data collected and provided by companies. 

At the University of Manitoba, the admissions committee found a clear pattern: Wealthy white students were more likely to be interviewed and more likely to get in, partly because of built-in advantages, the Globe and Mail previously reported.

This lack of diversity is not due to meritocracy, rather it is the result of BIPOC individuals being continued passed over for jobs, promotions and positions of power. 

When you see the employment data that shows again and again that BIPOC individuals are less likely to be employed, it is important to make the connection of why this is. 

Diversity hiring isn’t about simply hiring people based on their race. It’s about accepting and understanding the systemic barriers that are already in place that ensure BIPOC journalists are currently under-hired. 

When you look at diversity programs and only see them as ‘in with the BIPOC individuals and out with the white people,’ that in itself is problematic because you’re ignoring the historical and current barriers that BIPOC individuals continue to face.  But there’s a reason this belief is normalized and accepted for a reason.

A study by Ryerson University professors, Malik and Fatah, found that during 2016-18, almost 90% of columnists for Canada’s three largest publications, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and the National Post have been white. 

Increasing diversity in workplaces ensures a variety of different perspectives, increased creativity and better decision making. 

These conversations are needed in order to understand that we don’t live in a world of meritocracy. When we tell BIPOC children, it reinforces self-doubt and conflicts with their self-worth. They come to realize that in this society, it doesn’t matter how well you do your job, the glass ceiling is just that much closer for you. 

So instead of talking about how disadvantageous diversity programs are for people who are already in power, talk about why they are necessary; talk about how they help BIPOC individuals. Next time you walk into a room that is lacking in diversity, ask why.

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