Discrimination of Colored Women in the Canadian Workforce - Research Paper Example

Racism and workplace discrimination faced by colored women in Canada Racism, which is based on racial supremacy of a particular race and discrimination towards other races, affects the development of human race in general. Besides, racism is more common in societies with multicultural and multiracial characteristics. Racism leads to job discrimination, color discrimination, and gender discrimination. When the term racism is superimposed to the context of Canadian society, it leads to economic inequalities and related problems. One can see that the Canadian society consists of multicultural and multiracial characteristics. However, there exist a number of problems related to racism which leads to racial discrimination against colored women in general. In this work, the researcher attempts to reveal certain racial problems faced by the Colored women in the Canadian workforce. Thesis statement: The racial problems (job discrimination, color discrimination, and gender discrimination) faced by colored women in Canadian work force leads to economic disadvantage and related problems. The history of racism against colored women in Canadian society and its aftereffects like job discrimination, color discrimination and gender discrimination can be connected to the exile life of Sub- Saharan Africans and people from the Caribbean region. The colonial history of Canada as British and French colony can be connected to the origin and development of the ‘colored population’ in North America. The term ‘African American’, used to denote the people from Africa is acceptable in US. On the other side, the term ‘Black Canadian’ is still to be accepted because of the difference between African Canadian and Caribbean Canadian. In general, Canada is ready to accept the minorities as the part of the society, but there exists some tension based on racial discrimination. Within this context, racial discrimination against colored women based on job discrimination, color discrimination, and gender discrimination is unresolved. Besides, this issue can be connected to the ‘First wave of Feminism’ in Canada. The First wave of Feminism can be broadly classified as the development of feminism in Canada between 1900 and 1930. The primary goals of the feminist protest (First wave of Feminism) in Canada include right to vote, amendment of law, property rights, divorce and equal citizenship. Anne-Marie Kinahan in the journal article ‘Transcendent Citizenship: Suffrage, the National Council of Women of Canada, and the Politics of Organized Womanhood’ points out that the suffrage movement undertaken by the white Canadian women was helpful to gain political rights in Canadian society (Kinahan, 2008, pp. 5-27). The leadership of the First wave of Feminism was undertaken by the white women in Canada. One can see that the First wave of Feminism ignited the spirit of freedom among women in Canada and it eventually helped the Canadian feminists to regain their rights. The advantages of First wave of Feminism were strictly limited to the white women population in Canada. Gradually, First wave of Feminism attracted the colored women who were facing racial discrimination and related problems. The history of America and Canada is closely related to renaissance, geographical discoveries and colonization from European countries. So, major nations in the American continent, especially Canada, show multicultural and multiracial characteristics. Within this context, the problem faced by colored women is more serious because they face job discrimination, color discrimination, and gender discrimination in Canadian workforce. Now, the colored women are aware of their rights and duties in the Canadian society and are ready to fight against racism based on job discrimination, gender discrimination and color discrimination. When the term racism is applied to the context of colored women population in the Canadian workforce, one can easily identify that it leads to job discrimination. Kerri A. Froc in the Journal article (review) ‘Exalted Subjects: Studies in the Making of Race and Nation in Canada’ criticizes that the status as an immigrant in Canadian society leads to discrimination based on racial identity (Froc, 2008, pp. 198-200).To be specific, colored women Canada are easy victims to job discrimination related to racial feeling, and there exists less possibility for a colored woman to be invited for an interview. When one compare a colored woman to that of white woman, colored woman is likely to be a victim of stereotyping. They face the problem of negative rating during interviews. If colored women get selected, they are forced to do low paid and difficult jobs. So, better education, experience and qualification are not helpful for the colored women to be selected as employees. The only available jobs for the colored women are low paid and comparatively difficult. Generally, educational qualification with specialization in certain areas in a specific subject leads to high profile job opportunity, and this does not prove effective for colored women to be selected as employees. In addition, the problem of non-acceptance in the workforce of Canadian society is another problem faced by colored women. All these problems related to racism and job discrimination leads colored women population to feel difficulty in raising their professional status in Canadian workforce. The colored women in Canada are aware of the fact that they are facing discrimination on their skin tone. On the other side, the white women in Canada are less aware of the fact that their attitude is delaying the growth and development of colored women. For instance, white women prefer colored women as household workers because it limits faithlessness from the side of their husbands. So, the colored women are forced to accept household jobs because they face racial discrimination in the mainstream workforce of Canada. The household services undertaken by colored women in the society allows white women to be free from household responsibilities. This limits colored women accessing highly paid and high status jobs. The racial status of white women is an added advantage to be acceptable in the Canadian workforce. The skin tone of the colored women limits their scope and is forced to do menial jobs in the lower steps of the social ladder. In general, white women enjoy benefits from the labor of colored women population in Canada. In addition, the dependent status of colored women limits their access to high profile jobs. When compared to white women, skin tone is one of the barriers which restrict the accessibility to colored women to the higher strata of Canadian workforce. Racism in Canadian workforce leads the colored women (especially, the African- Canadian and Caribbean- Canadian) towards socio-economic differences. Moreover, the colored woman who face racism in private and public sectors feel socially marginalized. Historically, racism in workplace forces the colored women population to face poverty and related problems. One can see that poverty leads to a number of issues and is the primary cause of underdevelopment. The systemic barriers that can be seen in the Canadian workforce forces colored women to be the victims of discrimination. For instance, the colored people from the mainland of African continent and the Caribbean region live in metropolitan areas in Canada. When colored women face racism at their workplace, the scope of job opportunities in other sectors is limited to an extent. The racial attitude and related discrimination shown towards colored women limits the possibility of Article 11, which foresees equal right to employment in the Canadian society. The economic growth and development that can be seen in the Canadian society does not show increase in employment opportunities for the African- Canadian and Caribbean- Canadian women. In short, racism limits the freedom of colored women, who are exposed to emotional problems related to low self-esteem. The discrimination based on racism against the colored women in Canada leads to economic disadvantages. For instance, the colored women in Canada face economic problems because their income is the lowest within the women population in Canada, and their income is lower than colored men. The average income of a colored women employee is lower than other employees who live in Canada. The average wage of colored women in Canada proves to be insufficient to meet their personal needs. Cecil Foster makes clear that the earlier immigration of colored female workers from the Caribbean region to the Canadian society was strictly limited to the service sector, like caregivers (Foster, 2007, p.445). Generally, education leads to well paid jobs and economic freedom. In the case of colored women population in Canada, this proves false. The educational qualification or experience is not helpful for colored women population to gain proper income because their racial identity as minorities delays their economic development. The high rate of unemployment that can be seen among the colored women is another disadvantage which leads to economic inequality. Their status as immigrants forces them to face the problem of low self-esteem. In short, all these factors lead to economic disadvantages and eventually to poverty and ill health. The never ending protest against racism in Canadian workforce, undertaken by colored women population is based on job discrimination, color discrimination, and economic disadvantages. The colored women activists raised their voice for new employment opportunities without discrimination based on gender, racial identity or color. Some of the important organizations/ clubs which initiated and continued the protest against racism in Canada are: Colored Women’s Club (1902), Eureka Friendly Club (1910) and Canadian Negro women’s Association (1951). For example, the Harambee Centres in Canada undertakes the responsibility of providing guidance and economic support to black families. Carla Marano in the journal article ‘Rising Strongly and Rapidly: The Universal Negro Improvement Association in Canada, 1919–1940’ makes clear that the organization of colored people in Canada, namely the Universal Negro Improvement Association helped to improve the living standard of colored population in Canada ( Marano, 2010, pp. 233-259). The struggle against racism is not a temporary event but the protest with continuity against discrimination based on racial identity. While finding jobs, colored women face a number of obstacles related to racism. The colored women population faces a number of difficulties in public and private sectors in Canadian society. For instance, racial identity and skin tone are the most important obstacles for a colored woman not to be selected at a daycare. Sunera Thobani opines that there exists high possibility for a Canadian white female to be posted in public sector but the scope of immigrant female (say, colored female job aspirant) is limited due to her racial identity (Thobani, 2007, p. 138). There exists less possibility for a colored woman to be invited for an interview. If she is invited for an interview, her educational qualifications and prior experience in the field is not considered as important. So, the factors like racial identity, skin tone and gender forces the colored women to face problems while finding jobs. The main findings of the research work are helpful for deeper understanding of racism in Canadian context. First of all, the grass root level cause of racism in Canada is colonization and slavery. Within this scenario, the colored women in Canada face a number of issues related to their racial identity and social status as migrants. At the same time, white women in Canada enjoy superior status in the Canadian workforce. On the other side, educational qualification and work experience is not helpful for colored women for further development. In addition, the racial discrimination faced by colored women leads to discrimination in private and public sectors in Canada. So, discrimination based on skin tone creates wide gap between colored and white women population in Canada. For instance, workplace discrimination based on racial identity affects socio-economic progress of colored women and it leads to a number of economic disadvantages. At the same time, their racial identity blocks them from finding jobs in private and public sectors in Canada. In short, racism and related issues/ problems in Canadian workforce lead to tension between colored and white women population. Summing, the history of racism in Canada proves that it is related to colonization and slavery. Generally speaking, racism is a global issue, not limited to any specific nation. But racism faced by women leads to further problems in their domestic and public domains. To be specific, racism leads to job discrimination, color discrimination and economic problems among colored women in Canada. The racial identity and citizenship of white women is helpful to be acceptable in Canadian workforce. The colored women in Canada face a number of problems but are ready to protest against the same. References Foster, C. (2007). Blackness and modernity: the colour of humanity and the quest for freedom. Canada: McGill-Queens Press – MQUP. Froc, Kerri A. “Exalted Subjects: Studies in the Making of Race and Nation in Canada.” Canadian Journal of Law and Society 23.1 (2008): 198-200. Kinahan, Anne Marie. “Transcendent Citizenship: Suffrage, the National Council of Women of Canada, and the Politics of Organized Womanhood”. Journal of Canadian Studies 42.1 (2008): 5-27. Marano, Carla. “Rising Strongly and Rapidly: The Universal Negro Improvement Association in Canada, 1919–1940.” The Canadian Historical Review 91.2 (2010): 233-259. Thobani, S. (2007). Exalted subjects: studies in the making of race and nation in Canada. Canada: University of Toronto Press. Read More