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How the Kootenay Career Development Society is working to confront institutionalized racism within its own walls

Malorie Moore

In her 2017 book, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race, Reni Eddo-Lodge states: “The perverse thing about our current racial structure is that it has always fallen on the shoulders of those at the bottom to change it. Yet racism is a white problem. It reveals the anxieties, hypocrisies and double standards of whiteness. It is a problem in the psyche of whiteness that white people must take responsibility to solve. You can only do so much from the outside.”

Reni Eddo-Lodge is correct; the responsibility to challenge white supremacy within organizational structures lies with folks who have the power to make these changes. This refers to people in management and executive-level positions, particularly if they are white. It is with this statement in mind that I have written this article, and my hope is that it might inspire other organizations with predominantly white management and board structures to take action. Please note that I am not an expert, and as an organization we are at the very beginning of our anti-racism journey. This article is not a how-to guide by any means, but rather a transparent account of how our organization has started to challenge institutionalized racism in the workplace.

A note on white supremacy

Please note that for the purposes of this article, any references to the term white supremacy refers to a complex set of societal structures, systems and attitudes. In her 2020 book Me and White Supremacy, Layla F. Saad describes white supremacy in the following way: “White supremacy is a racist ideology that is based upon the belief that white people are superior in many ways to people of other races and that therefore, white people should be dominant over other races. White supremacy is not just an attitude or a way of thinking. It also extends to how systems and institutions are structured to uphold this white dominance … White supremacy is far from fringe. In white-centred societies and communities, it is the dominant paradigm that forms the foundation from which norms, rules and laws are created.”

Who are we?

The Kootenay Career Development Society is a non-profit organization that operates across multiple rural communities in the East Kootenays in BC. We have approximately 60 staff, and our staff, board and management teams are predominantly white. While we have been engaged in a number of practices that emphasize a commitment to diversity and inclusion for a number of years, both in our service delivery and recruitment, it was not until the spring of 2020 that we took a step back to critically evaluate our organizational stance on the topic of anti-racism.

How did our process begin?

This process began at the initiative of a manager who is a person of colour. While I applaud my team for their openness to listen and subsequently act, if we conceptualize racism as a white problem, this work could, and should, have been undertaken sooner by a white manager. I mention this to highlight the fact that the labour of anti-racism work is often shouldered by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of colour) folks, as well as to encourage other white people reading this to take action sooner. One of the biggest challenges in dismantling racism in the workplace may be taking that first step, and as well-intending white people, we can’t allow ourselves to hesitate to take action for fear of not having all the answers.

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Our first steps

Our first step was to create an Anti-Racism Working Group. The purpose of this group was to identify and take action on a number of anti-racism strategies in a timely manner. In order to meet this goal, we needed to meet often (2-4 times per month) and include managerial staff with decision-making capacity. From the beginning, we had members of our executive management team, including our Executive Director, involved as active participants in this working group. These meetings led us to undertake several projects.

“… we can’t allow ourselves to hesitate to take action for fear of not having all the answers.”

With input from our entire staff team, we created a statement of solidarity to voice support for the Black Lives Matter movement. We also crafted an Indigenous land acknowledgement to include in our email communications and share at the beginning of staff meetings and other gatherings. Both the statement of solidarity and the Indigenous land acknowledgement can be found on our webpage and were shared on social media. Anticipating some pushback from staff or community members, we brainstormed ways to respond to defensive or racist comments. However, we received far less pushback that we had originally anticipated, and most of the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Regarding service delivery, we recognized the need to involve front-line staff in ongoing education around topics of racism and white supremacy. We shared resources with staff and encouraged professional development through courses such as Indigenous Canada and in-house training on cultural competency and safety. We allotted work time for an employee book club, where staff read or listened to the Thomas King Massey lecture series, “The Truth about Stories: A Native Narrative,” and met on a bi-weekly basis to discuss their learnings.

Most notably, we organized anti-racism training through the Alberta-based group Future Ancestors. While KCDS provides annual diversity and inclusion training to staff, the anti-racism training was different. It used language that encouraged white people to take active responsibility for their complicity in a society that is built on a foundation of anti-Black racism and colonialism. We are taking time each month as a team to review this training and explore how we can incorporate our learning in our roles as service providers. Some recent conversations have focused on the importance of reflecting on our own biases throughout the service delivery process and making an effort to be aware of oppressive language and choose our words with care.

As a management team, we attended our own anti-racist training, where we had the opportunity to have our statement of solidarity dissected and examined. We were encouraged to be specific as to how we were going to live up to the ideas expressed in this statement. We responded to this by ensuring that our strategic plan included a goal for more diverse hiring, as well as better serving clients that are under-represented in our area. We are still in the process of refining our strategic plan and I acknowledge that we have more work to do in defining these goals further and ensuring that we are avoiding vague or coded language.

Finally, we acknowledged that as a predominantly white management team, we do not have the tools or resources to make all the “right” changes. We acknowledged that to be effective, we needed help. To this end, we made the decision to hire an external consultant to support us in identifying the areas we need to change in order to evolve into a more anti-racist organization.

And there you have it; the early stages that we as an organization are taking to challenge white supremacy in our workplace. We have made mistakes (and will continue to do so), but I am grateful to say that the fear of making mistakes has not stopped us from trying to change for the better.

Malorie Moore is a Registered Social Worker employed with the Kootenay Career Development Society. Here, she draws upon her background in mental health and working with marginalized populations to support the clinical development of the organization and front-line staff. Moore loves living in the Kootenays, where she spends her free time canoeing, climbing and playing in the mountains.

Self-awareness can positively affect students’ employment outcomes

Antonio Fadda

Career development tailored to international students is a necessary component of a broader institutional educational strategy that involves many stakeholders. However, barriers hamper co-operation between organizations that offer career and personal development services to international students (e.g. higher-education institutions, non-profit and grassroots organizations). Drawing from my experience as a career development facilitator in a grassroots organization called Empower International Students, I discuss the importance of identity exploration and I present an innovative tool that can be used by career practitioners to help international students and newcomers “find their voice” in their career development.

Barriers to employability

It is essential for career professionals to understand the experiences of international students in their host country to leverage identity exploration as a career development tool. In Canada, the academic environment is generally welcoming to international students. Approximately 93% of students are satisfied (55%) or greatly satisfied (38%) with their Canadian educational experience (Canadian Bureau, 2018). However, outside of school, students might encounter various forms of discrimination, including career-related discrimination. International students have to quickly adapt to a relatively unknown and unpredictable job market in a position of disadvantage (compared to domestic students).

Two of the most apparent barriers are a lack of experience in the host market and the absence of a social and professional network in the host country. A third barrier is employers’ misperceptions or lack of awareness of work policies and legislation relating to international students (Berquist et al., 2019). For example, our students often report that employers have serious concerns about the legal framework to hire a student with a post-graduation temporary work permit. These challenges have contributed to creating a student population that is highly concerned about their employability prospects.

“It is essential for career professionals to understand the experiences of international students in their host country to leverage identity exploration as a career development tool.”

International students also directly experience career-related discrimination. Employers are about 40% more likely to select a candidate with an English-sounding name versus someone with an “ethnic” name (Banerjee et al., 2018). Further, international students who identify as visible minorities or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of colour) might face additional challenges (Statistics Canada, 2020).

Finally, annual tuition fee increases are far higher for international students than domestic students. While there is a 2% yearly increase cap in tuition fees for domestic students in BC, there is no regulation for international students’ fees. This issue has ethical implications for our profession because post-secondary institutions’ rationale for increased tuition fees is expanding support services (including career support) dedicated to international students. However, students have also reported that they have not seen significant changes in the quality and quantity of support dedicated to them (Hyslop, 2019).

Furthermore, sudden and unexpected increases in tuition fees might push students to work more than the 20 hours/week permitted by their visa. This tense financial situation has predictable consequences for their well-being and future employability prospects.

Given this scenario, institutions should not set unrealistic expectations of idyllic integration, but rather strive to equip international students with crucial skills in cultural competence, self-awareness/advocacy and self-determination. The extension of career services should be key to these educational objectives, in line with the International Student Barometer’s indication that “future career impact” has become students’ primary motivator for studying abroad (Ripmeester, 2019, as cited in Reichert, 2020).

The key to career success and empowerment

One of the main goals of higher education is developing self-aware and socially conscious individuals who can confidently transfer their skills from the classroom to the workplace. Ideally, students are ready to enter the workforce with a sense of empowerment from knowing who they are and what they have gained from their academic journey. However, the current situation is far from ideal.

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In this respect, educational and career objectives intersect. Career professionals need to recognize that international students’ personal and socio-cultural development is substantially different from that of local students. International students need to have opportunities to explore their cultural identities (and even the biases that affect them).

The students’ language is rarely that of identity. They would rather talk about changes in their confidence, motivation, perceptions and worldviews. However, as career practitioners and advisors, we should be aware that these developments are ultimately connected to identity development. As such, the formation of realistic identity positively influences students’ employment outcomes and career success, promoting experimentation in critical decisions concerning relationships, purpose and integrity (Widick et al.,1978).

Helping students explore identity

Identity development is well-grounded in developmental psychology and advising theory. As Chickering noted, identity is the most central and yet the most elusive component of student development (Chickering as cited in Widick et al., 1978, p. 24). This can present a greater challenge to international students. They are not only negotiating their development into adulthood, but they also have to deal with a transforming cultural identity within a new and unfamiliar cultural environment. Career advisors must understand that international students are developing (often with internal and external conflicts) a realistic self-representation of a new identity.

At Empower International Students, a grassroots, community-based organization, we are committed to increasing international students’ employability skills in their transition to the Canadian job market. Empower International Students is devoted to empowering international students with career education that helps them “find their authentic voice.”

Empower has recently partnered with an innovative program designed and run by Options Community Services and sponsored by Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada, called HuH – Humans Understanding Humans. HuH’s team of social scientists, designers and newcomers have developed digital conversation cards based on multiple theories of cultural dimensionality (Humans Understanding Humans, n.d.). Participants can start a conversation and examine their cultural background and experiences using the prompts outlined on the cards. The topics connect the exploration of personal and cultural identities with career goals and career development attitudes.

The card content is discussed in video meetings with pairs of participants. This way each participant has the opportunity to share his/her story, increasing their confidence and self-acceptance of their cultural identity while reflecting on their career goals. HuH digital conversation cards can be a valuable tool to allow students to find their authentic voice and not get sidetracked during that complex identity transition from post-secondary to the workplace. They are easy to use and they allow for the creation of interactive chats and meaningful connections.

This project is a first attempt that only scratches the surface of an important issue in career development: that of creating new advising practices that connect career education with the exploration of cultural identity. What is certain is that career development can (and should) become an important tool to promote the greater educational goal to create culturally conscious and socially aware individuals. To reach this goal, international students and newcomers need the right tools to explore their developing identities as settlers who bring an invaluable and unique cultural background to their host country. The recognition of this background is the precondition for self-efficacy and success in their career exploration.

Antonio Fadda is an Employment Consultant at Work BC Burnaby Edmonds and a Career Services Facilitator at Empower International Students. He has been an advocate and active participant in several non-profit and institutional programs dedicated to empowering newcomers and international students.

References

Banerjee, R., Reitz, J. G., & Oreopoulos, P. (2018). Do Large Employers Treat Racial Minorities More Fairly? An Analysis of Canadian Field Experiment Data. Canadian Public Policy, 44(1), 1-12. doi:10.3138/cpp.2017-033

Berquist, B., Hall, R., Morris-Lange, S., Shields, H., Stern, V., & Tran, L. T. (2019). Global perspectives on international student employability. Retrieved from https://www.ieaa.org.au/research/global-employability

Canadian Bureau for International Education. (2018). The Student’s Voice: National Results of the 2018 CBIE International Student Survey. Retrieved from https://cbie.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Student_Voice_Report-ENG.pdf

Hyslop, K. (March 1, 2019). How much is too much tuition for BC’s International Students? Retrieved from https://thetyee.ca/News/2019/03/01/BC-International-Student-Tuition-Too-Much/

Humans Understanding Humans. (n.d.) Digital conversation cards. Retrieved from https://wearehuh.com/cards/

Reichert, P. (2020). Internationalization and Career-focused programming for international students: a qualitative study of universities in Canada (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary.

Statistics Canada. (2020). Labour force survey, July 2020. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200807/dq200807a-eng.htm

Widick, C., Parker, C, and Knefelkamp, L. (1978). Arthur Chickering’s vectors of development. New Direction for Student Services, 4, 19-34.

Career professionals need to consider the diverse cultural identities and needs of Muslim jobseekers

Walaa Taha

Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the world, and within Canada, the Muslim population is rapidly expanding. According to the Pew Research Center (2011), Muslims account for 3.2% of the Canadian population, and their global population is expected to increase by 35% by the year 2030. As the Muslim population increases in Canada, there is a growing need for culturally responsive counselling services that consider its values and challenges (Qasqas & Jerry, 2014). Such challenges include the experience of trauma that some Muslim immigrants carry from war-affected countries, as well as the effects of Islamophobia that many immigrant and Canadian-born Muslims experience as a marginalized minority group in a Western country (Qasqas & Jerry, 2014; Rothman & Coyle, 2018, 2020). This is especially important in the post-9/11 world and due to repercussions from the “Trump era” in the United States, during which negative and inaccurate media representations of Islam have led to the further marginalization of Muslims globally (Qasqas & Jerry, 2014).

Muslims belong to various different cultural, ethnic and geographic regions, which influences the ways in which Islam is practiced (Qasqas & Jerry, 2014; Williams, 2005). The diversity within Islam renders inaccurate any sweeping generalizations about adherents to this faith and may play a role in how Muslims experience discrimination and prejudice (Qasqas & Jerry, 2014). For instance, an individual from Sudan who identifies as Black, Muslim and Arab (i.e. Arabic-speaking) may experience more challenges due to the intersectionality of their identities, as compared to a white-passing Muslim from Albania or Russia. This is not meant to negate any individual or group experience, but rather to highlight that within minoritized groups, there are nuanced differences that influence the degree to which one may experience discrimination and prejudice. Therefore, it is imperative that professionals providing counselling services are aware of and understand the diverse cultural identities of Muslims, as well as the sociopolitical contexts of Muslim clients (Collins & Arthur, 2010; Qasqas & Jerry, 2014).

Read more from Walaa Taha

Religion, spirituality & counselling: A Muslim graduate student’s view

Navigating my professional identity as a social justice-oriented counsellor: ‘The professional is political’

In a survey conducted by Environics Institute (Neuman, 2016), Canadian Muslims – especially women and youth – identified discrimination and stereotyping as challenges they continuously face. More specifically, one in three Canadian Muslims reported experiencing discrimination in the past five years in various settings (e.g. workplace and schools) due primarily to their religion or ethnicity. However, the report also found a trend in increased religious observance among Muslims over the past decade, especially among those who are 18-34 years old (Neuman, 2016, p. 3). Furthermore, most Canadian Muslims strongly identify with both their Canadian and Muslim identities, and about half report that being Muslim is more important. Such statistics reflect the importance of addressing religious and spiritual matters in counselling practices, as Muslims tend to view their religion as an important part of their identity and everyday life. For many Muslims, their religious identity is inseparable from the challenges they face in Canadian society, especially in relation to stigmatization and/or discrimination.

“It is imperative that professionals providing counselling services are aware of and understand the diverse cultural identities of Muslims …”

It is important for career development professionals to address such cultural issues that play a significant role in working with Muslim clients. Generally, this process occurs from the onset of working with a client. Practitioners are encouraged to (re)assess what questions they ask, which is tied to the information they are (or are not) eliciting from clients. Are we including questions about religion/spirituality in our initial interviews with clients? Are we asking about the role family plays in one’s decision-making, which includes career and other life choices? When we ask such questions purposefully and with an open mind, we engage in the process of challenging the dominant worldview (i.e. asking questions that consider various systems and influences rather than just those coming from a Eurocentric and individualistic worldview). This also provides clients with the space to self-identify their values, without practitioners assuming a direction due to the clients’ cultural/religious identity (i.e. label).

Below are some considerations to keep in mind when working with Muslim clients, while adopting aspects of the Multicultural and Social Justice Counselling Competencies (Ratts et al., 2016):

Increase awareness of attitudes and beliefs:

1. It is critical that counsellors are aware of their own perceptions, stereotypes and beliefs of Islam and Muslims.

• Where do your perceptions stem from? Are you engaging in a critically conscious process when adopting certain perspectives about a significantly large group of people?

2. Counsellors must also be aware of the statuses they themselves hold as members of marginalized and privileged groups.

• If you hold statuses aligned with the dominant culture (i.e. white, Christian, male, able-bodied), how does this affect your work with a Muslim female, for example, who is also a person of colour and disabled?
• How do aspects of your identity in general reflect your position in working with Muslim clients of varying backgrounds?

3. Recognize the negative influence of oppression and discrimination on the mental health and well-being of Muslim clients (individual level) and the wider Muslim community (systems-wide level).

• This reflects the importance of acknowledging the connections between the intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, community, public policy and international/global levels.

Increase knowledge, skills and action:

4. Recognize your responsibility as a counsellor to increase your knowledge of a culture and/or religion, while maintaining a stance of cultural humility. Adopting this approach removes the burdensome task clients may experience when having to continuously explain and defend their beliefs.

• You can learn about the general principles of Islam (Ali et al., 2004) from Muslim researchers, and seek out credible sources from Muslim scholars and authors, to avoid misinformation.
• Recognizing your limitations despite seeking such knowledge will show you are curious and open-minded, and allow room for clients to share their knowledge as they are comfortable and willing.

5. Actively seek to learn about the rich Islamic traditions and conceptualizations of the soul (Rothman & Coyle, 2018) as there is a growing field of Islamic psychology and work related to Muslim mental health.

• Such approaches may helpful, as many Muslims face barriers when utilizing Westernized models, which they may not be suitable or congruent with Islamic beliefs or foundational principles (e.g. models not integrating the importance of the soul and connection to God when addressing clients’ well-being and life goals).

6. Guide Muslim clients to reflect on the effects of internalized oppression and Islamophobia (Suleiman, 2017) and how to challenge the Euro-settler and colonial views of oneself and one’s community.

7. Advocate for change by working in community settings to address systemic barriers.

• • This includes collaborating and partnering with Muslim organizations to learn more about counselling strategies and models from an Islamic conceptualization, addressing racism/Islamophobia within workplaces, and so on.

Conclusion

Given the increasing Muslim population in Canada, professionals providing counselling services are encouraged to consider the application of multicultural and social justice counselling competencies when working with Muslim clients. Overall, this includes increasing our awareness of our own and others’ attitudes and beliefs toward Muslims, as well as the effects of discrimination on this population. Furthermore, it is critical to increase our knowledge, skills and action, and to constantly reassess the role we play as professionals, to best support Muslim clients while considering their diverse cultural identities and needs.

Note: Links include resources such as research completed with Muslim clients and/or by Muslim researchers. Please feel free to reach out to author, Walaa Taha, by email at wtaha@ucalgary.ca, for questions or assistance regarding finding more information to support Muslim clients.

Walaa Taha is a graduate student at the University of Calgary, pursuing a MSc in Counselling Psychology. Her interests include counsellor education and training, with a focus on multicultural counselling competencies, and the intersection of Islamic psychology and Muslim mental health. 

References

Ali, S. R., Liu, W. M., & Humedian, M. (2004). Islam 101: Understanding the religion and therapy implications. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35(6), 635.

Collins, S., & Arthur, N. (2010). Culture-infused counselling: A fresh look at a classic framework of multicultural counselling competencies. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 23(2), 203-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515071003798204

Neuman, K. (2016). Survey of Muslims in Canada. Toronto: Environics Institute. https://www.environicsinstitute.org/projects/project-details/survey-of-muslims-in-canada-2016

Pew Research Center. (2011). The future of the global Muslim population projections for 2010–2030. https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2011/01/FutureGlobalMuslimPopulation-WebPDF-Feb10.pdf

Qasqas, M. J., & Jerry, P. (2014). Counselling Muslims: A culture-infused antidiscriminatory approach. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 48(1).

Ratts, M. J., Singh, A. A., Nassar‐McMillan, S., Butler, S. K., & McCullough, J. R. (2016). Multicultural and social justice counseling competencies: Guidelines for the counseling profession. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 44(1), 28-48.  doi: 10.1002/jmcd.12035

Rothman, A., & Coyle, A. (2018). Toward a framework for Islamic psychology and psychotherapy: An Islamic model of the soul. Journal of religion and health, 57(5), 1731-1744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0651-x

Rothman, A., & Coyle, A. (2020). Conceptualizing an Islamic psychotherapy: A grounded theory study. Spirituality in Clinical Practice. Advance online publication.  https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000219

Suleiman, O. (2017). Internalized Islamophobia: Exploring the faith and identity crisis of American Muslim youth. Islamophobia Studies Journal, 4(1), 1-12.

Williams, V. (2005). Working with Muslims in counselling: Identifying sensitive issues and conflicting philosophy. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 27(1), 125–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-005-2258-7

Applying a social justice lens to career development work enables practitioners to assist clients while challenging the status quo as allies and advocates

Natasha Caverley and Kathy Offet-Gartner 

Being referred to as an ally is a gift. It is a privilege and an honour, but also humbling and daunting. Once allyship is recognized, the ally carries the responsibility to walk the talk and to never assume allyship is like clothing that one can remove at will – just as those who are and have been oppressed cannot remove the object of their oppression. Allyship is a journey, not a destination. It comprises critical reflexivity, cultural awareness, cultural safety, cultural agility and cultural competencies in understanding health, wellness and resilience of Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) individuals and groups who face oppression and discrimination.

Notable terms for your career development toolkit

• Cultural awareness. Knowing our own preferences and biases, and acknowledging the commonalities and distinctions between cultures, involves a level of knowledge of the principles, values and cultural considerations that are important to BIPOC clients.
• Cultural agility. Behaving in ways that put our skills in cultural awareness and safety into action; acting in ways that are curious, open-minded, flexible and appreciative of all cultures.
• Cultural competencies. Attitudes, behaviours and skills that enable us (as helpers) to work ethically and effectively in cross-cultural settings.
• Cultural humility. The recognition and value of BIPOC ways of knowing, and the role of BIPOC healers and elders – we are all learners, we are all teachers.
• Cultural safety. Cultural safety is a mindset or a way of being that is created by trusting, respectful people and communities. It involves a transformation of relationships where the needs and voices of BIPOC individuals across the lifespan take a predominant role through the analysis of power imbalances, institutional discrimination and colonial relationships as they apply to social policy and practice. Cultural safety involves actively exploring and challenging complex power relationships including the ways that implicit bias, stereotyping, discrimination and racism show up in our shared context.
• Critical reflexivity. Constantly evaluating ways in which we contribute to empowerment and oppression.

Allyship and career development

Canada’s vast diversity requires a career development framework that is grounded in social justice, where practitioners are working with and alongside diverse client populations. Career development is life development and involves deconstructing and reconstructing career/life choices within individual life contexts. Employing a social justice career/life development lens includes using strengths-based, community-focused, socially cognizant and purposeful interventions.

Read Part I of this article: Allyship in career development: An honour, privilege and responsibility

Using a social justice career/life development lens assists clients while also challenging the status quo, which requires practitioners to be allies, advocates and change-makers. Practitioners need to know themselves, the population they are working with, and the requirements and challenges related to the career choices the client has before them. This approach is strengths-based, intentional and considers ability, agency, capacity and community. A strengths-based approach does not mean: fabricating strengths; being insincere; and/or avoiding discussions about needs, gaps and concerns (e.g. work-life conflicts, practicality, challenges).

As career development practitioners, we have the opportunity to engage in social justice and social change in our roles as helpers. We can promote equity and human rights for marginalized individuals and groups through action, education, consciousness-raising and advocacy. This requires educating oneself and expanding one’s knowledge base to ensure the needs of BIPOC individuals can best be served. To do this, we need to be cognizant of the following:

• Recognize the effects of historical trauma on BIPOC populations and those who face oppression and discrimination: Listen, their experiences are real.
• Recognize and deconstruct the role that discrimination and oppression have in the career trajectories of BIPOC individuals; work to ameliorate these. Ask yourself: what can be done now? What and/or who do I need to assist in this? and then: Do it! 
• Understand processes and protocols for working with participating BIPOC individuals and communities.
• Engage communities – building the relationship as co-collaborators allows trust to grow. Honour and value cultural knowledge, resilience and ways of being. Cultural awareness can only come through relationships and trust.
• Create networks of BIPOC role models and mentors – as BIPOC individuals often do not see themselves represented in the occupations they wish to pursue, facilitating these learning opportunities is vital for effective career-life development.
• Communities “set the pace” and define (or redefine) views on career development, work, work-life balance, mental wellness, identity/identities and resiliency. Note: This includes recognition that the “state of readiness” to work on said issues will differ within and between individuals and communities.

Notable allyship resources

Continuous learning and action sustain allyship across the lifespan. The following resources offer a starting point for your toolkit. Note: Although some of these resources were developed for a specific population, the learning opportunities regarding allyship are valuable and often transferrable:

• Ally bill of responsibilities (Lynn Gehl)
• Multiracial oath of social responsibility (APA)
• Podcast: Three Calgary women on how to be a great ally to Indigenous community (Calgary Journal)
• Racism, the public health crisis we can no longer ignore (The Lancet)
• Resources for marginalized communities and allies (Crisis Services Canada)
• Speaking of psychology: The invisibility of white privilege
• Toward anti-racism in Canadian psychology: A call to action from the future of the field (PsyArXiv)
• Truth and Reconciliation calls to action for career development (Career Professionals of Canada)
• Two things genuine allies know (Lynn Gehl)
• Unsettling the settler within Indian residential schools, truth telling, and reconciliation in Canada (UBC Press)
• What it really means to be an ally (LifeSpeak)
• Want to be an ally to Black, Indigenous and people of colour? Here’s what you need to know (CBC)
• Ways to be an ally, from two lifetimes of learning (The Tyee)
• White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack (Peggy Macintosh)

Concluding remarks

“Take a long, hard look down the road you will have to travel once you have made a commitment to work for change … Know that this transformation will not happen right away.” – John Lewis (2017)

Doing what is right is not easy. It requires transformative change, and for many people, there is resistance to change unless there is no other option or there is something to gain. However, without transformative change, things will remain the same and we simply cannot ignore that “ism’s” and oppression are deeply entrenched in everyday life. Change cannot occur without change-makers, and we cannot leave that all up to individuals and/or groups who are subjected by the systems that oppress them and seek to silence their voices and actions. Allyship is needed now more than ever; it is no longer an option, it is a responsibility.

Dr. Natasha Caverley is the President of Turtle Island Consulting Services Inc. She holds an MEd in Counselling Psychology and a PhD in Organizational Studies from the University of Victoria.

Dr. Kathy Offet-Gartner is a Registered Psychologist whose counselling research, teaching and practice focuses on strengths-based, culturally informed career-life development.

In this Careering feature, jobseekers reflect on successes and struggles in their career development.

Chanèle McFarlane

I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. In fact, I was quite jealous of those who did –my high school classmates who were so certain of their future career, it seemed like nothing would get in the way of their plans. I never had that.

When it was time for me to figure out my post-secondary plans, I chose law at the last minute. It wasn’t a childhood dream, but it seemed practical. I went to McMaster University with law in mind but ended up completing my undergraduate degree in Communication Studies. I took an Introduction to Communications course in my first year and it completely changed my world. I knew I liked reading and writing (I’ll have you know, I was the first person in my Grade 2 class to read 100 books!), but I had no idea that it could lead to a potential career path. I completed six internships during my undergrad and then went on to Humber College for their post-graduate Public Relations program with the dream of becoming a publicist.

Well, I’m definitely not a publicist.

Since that initial pivot in university, I’ve pivoted so many times I’ve lost count. I’ve had a variety of careers. I even tried my hand at being a full-time entrepreneur, but it didn’t work out.

I realize now why I never had that one dream career as a child. I’m a multi-hyphenate. In other words, I’ve since evolved into having a portfolio career. I hold a series of roles all tied together with a common theme: creating content and experiences to help people launch, pivot and accelerate their careers.

If only I had learned in school that your career doesn’t have to be defined by one role or job. Looking back, I wasn’t taught about career development and was forced to figure things out myself.

A need for practical and current careers content

When I was in university, the career services office was a foreign place to me. The office always felt outdated to me. When I graduated seven years ago, it didn’t feel like a place where I could access practical and current information.

Instead, I turned to industry professionals. I was always the person who followed up with guest speakers in my class to set up informational interviews. It was during these conversations that I’d get the inside story on what it’s like to work in the “real world” and receive tangible advice I could apply right away to my career.

More Careering Client Side articles

• How I found career joy in an unexpected place
• I had my career mapped out – until a new experience opened my eyes
• Wading through grief and rediscovering my career passions

In fact, the best experiences for me were networking breakfasts that the communications department held every few months. They would bring in a few alumni and students would be able to rotate between tables to ask questions. At one of these breakfasts, I learned about LinkedIn for the first time. I remember writing it down and underlining it a few times. I created my profile a few hours later and I’ve been active on the platform ever since. It has played a critical role in my career success, from speaking opportunities to job offers to establishing a supportive professional network.

Discovering the benefits of a portfolio career

In addition to LinkedIn, it was also at a networking breakfast that I learned about personal branding. Blogs were particularly popular at that time and after a few conversations, I was convinced I should start my own one day.

Three years after graduation, while working full-time as a digital marketing specialist, I decided to launch my blog, Do Well Dress Well, as a creative outlet to write about my career. I thought it would be cool to create the online space I wished I had when I was in school.

This blog was the catalyst that accelerated my career. Most notably, I went from being an extreme introvert to a passionate public speaker, including delivering a TEDx talk in 2018. Not to mention, the marketable skills I’ve cultivated including writing, social media management, web design and analytics and so much more.

As I, like so many others, navigate the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, my blog and personal brand has allowed me to continue receiving speaking and consulting opportunities. I wonder, would a visit to a career advisor have taught me this? The future of my corporate career may be uncertain but my portfolio career has provided me with the network, expertise and visibility I can leverage, if needed.

Opportunity gap > skills gap

However, for every opportunity I have gained, I have unfortunately faced more than my fair share of challenges. With every microaggression and outright rejection, I have often been left to question whether there’s a place for me in the workplace … and why I wasn’t better prepared.

One of the many reasons I launched my own career advice website was because it was clear that the existing advice wasn’t designed with someone like me in mind. For example, many people will say to “be yourself.” How come when I’m my most authentic self and wear my hair in braids, my colleagues begin to gossip about me? How come I had to endure my co-workers assuming I don’t know the name of a rock song or hearing that my last name isn’t “Black enough”? That’s just a few of the many things I’ve encountered as a Black woman in the workplace. I went into the “real world” bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and after just a year, I already began to feel quite defeated. This was not at all the fairytale I thought work was supposed to be.

We talk a lot about a skills gap, especially now as we look to curb unemployment due to the pandemic. However, I believe it’s wrong to see this as a magic bullet because it does not account for the opportunity gap, especially for Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC).

I can be fully qualified for a job, but if I’m interviewed by someone with unconscious biases toward Black women, it’s more than likely that I won’t be the person they’ll be calling back with the job offer. After all, a 2019 study found that Canada ranks as one of the top countries for racial discrimination during the hiring process.

My career has had a lot of ups and downs. By no means has it been linear or easy, especially when I consider my double bind of being a woman and a visible minority. Still, I don’t regret any of it. My pathway has enabled me with the unwavering passion to be the best career strategist I can be and support the generation of people of colour coming up behind me.

Chanèle McFarlane is a multiple award-winning Certified Career Strategist, brand marketer, TEDx speaker and writer. She passionately runs her career advice website, Do Well Dress Well, while also serving as a Career Strategist-in-Residence for Accelerate Her Future, a career accelerator for women of colour in college/university. She is also an inaugural member of the Youth Council within the Canadian Council for Youth Prosperity and the Professional Advisory Committee for Humber College’s Content Strategy program.

Flexibility, advocacy key to providing career support for incarcerated clients

Ron Elsdon

“Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul” – Emily Dickinson

Canada geese walked freely in this women’s prison grounds; inmates and volunteers did not. It looked foreboding at first. Large circles of barbed wire ringed the facility. An escort took us through security, guards carried lots of keys. The women were dressed in identical, khaki prison clothes. There was a 10-minute window each hour to move locations – from work or a housing unit to our classroom in the chapel complex. Hard to keep hope alive in this setting, you might think. And yet, that is what the prison staff tried to do, and that is what the career class series I taught in a California prison was all about. What keeps hope alive if you are involved in the criminal justice system? In this article, we explore how those of us in the career field can address this question.

The big picture

First, for context, let us look at how many people are incarcerated in North America and their demographics. From an advocacy perspective, it is helpful to understand how the scope of incarceration differs in Canada and the United States.

• There are nearly 40,000 people in prison in Canada, and more than two million in the United States. Female prisoners comprise about 5.6% of the Canadian prison population and about 10% in the United States. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, whereas Canada is 141st (World Prison Brief).
• More than 30% of those in Canadian prisons are Indigenous people, but they make up only 5% of the general population (Office of the Correctional Investigator, 2020). This proportion has been rising steadily (The John Howard Society of Canada, 2020).
• In Canada, 79% of people entering prison do not have their high school diploma. More than 86% of women in prison report having been physically abused at some point in their lives, and many prisoners have mental health issues and/or substance use disorders (Prison Free Press).

Developing career programming for incarcerated women

I delivered career support classes in a U.S. federal women’s prison for about five years starting in 2014 (Elsdon, 2016), with the support of other volunteers. The program included five classes on conventional employment, building on a resource from Minnesota Career and Technical Education (2019); material from the ex-offenders section of the Careeronestop website; and my own content. There were four classes on non-traditional career paths/self-employment, expanded in scope at the request of participants, which built on the book How to Build a Nontraditional Career Path: Embracing Economic Disruption (Elsdon, 2014).

It might seem naive to think that career development approaches, often created with well-educated, resource-rich clients, would work for those in the criminal justice system, who often lack both education and resources. Indeed, I learned from the first test class delivered in prison that I could not just take workshops about conventional job search from other settings into the prison, as participants’ needs were different. For example, most prison participants are worried about how to respond to the interview question, “I see you have been incarcerated, tell me about that,” and welcome coaching about their response. That is not a question I had dealt with previously. Conversely, there are some approaches that work equally well within or outside of a prison. For example, a mock interview exercise others developed for students also worked well in the prison setting and was often a highlight for participants.

More from Careering and CareerWise

Working with employers to support non-traditional hiring 

Resources for career professionals working with ex-offenders

Bridges program helps ex-offender clients build pathways to work

Emotional considerations are particularly significant when working with incarcerated people. Conviction, incarceration and the prospect of formidable barriers to financial self-sufficiency are daunting. Offering hope that it is possible to re-engage with work by weaving affirmation of personal potential throughout is crucial. This includes emphasizing learning occurring inside the prison, including work experience, educational activities and interpersonal skills.

Career support can help build a sense of belief and hope, sometimes in unexpected ways. I recall one class participant realizing that illegal activities leading to her incarceration gave her a range of skills, such as selling and communication, that could work well for her in a legal, entrepreneurial setting. There was a murmur of class support for this as others saw the same for themselves.

Flexibility is also important when navigating the challenges of working in the prison system. These challenges include: working with participants who bring a wide range of backgrounds and experiences; competing commitments that can cause participants to miss sessions; and lack of access to electronics and the internet on prison premises. Support from prison staff is instrumental in classes meeting participants’ needs.

I found class evaluations valuable both to help in continually refining session content and in communicating to prison staff how the classes were received. Evaluations by participants in 18 class series showed a 96% satisfaction rating. One participant commented, “Your concern and care for this class gives us the confidence we need to try.” Positive word of mouth led to sign-ups exceeding class availability.

The importance of advocacy

The earlier statistics point to the need for community advocacy through a social and political lens. What can we in the career field do on a community level to make our society better? This includes contributing to reducing poverty or supporting mental health and eliminating the links of both to incarceration. Here is where our social advocacy comes in (Elsdon, 2007, 2013). This means staying informed about social issues, particularly those affecting people who are marginalized. It means influencing public policy for the benefit of those who need it most and are under-represented (e.g. Indigenous populations, those in poverty, those needing mental health support). It means influencing media, joining legislative campaigns and engaging in creative direct action.

Another lens, close to the heart of those of us in the career field, is the lived experience of those in prison or re-entering society. Not surprisingly, the lives of many people involved in the criminal justice system are precarious. Picture coming out of those forbidding prison gates with almost no money, little or no family support, hardly any education, no job and mental health challenges. We can help change this picture for the better. Getting employment or self-employment stability with adequate income can turn despair into hope and reduce the likelihood of returning to prison (Kelly, 2020; Yu, 2018).

In summary, providing career support for those involved in the criminal justice system is rewarding, fulfilling and appreciated. By building on our core career development skills and tailoring our approach appropriately, we can bring hope where it is needed.

Ron Elsdon founded organizations in the career and workforce development fields. His books include: How to Build a Nontraditional Career Path (Praeger); editor of Business Behaving Well (Potomac Books); editor of Building Workforce Strength (Praeger); and author of Affiliation in the Workplace (Praeger). His doctorate (Cambridge University) and bachelor’s (Leeds University) are in chemical engineering; his master’s is in career development (John F. Kennedy University).

References

Careeronestop web site for a worker with a criminal conviction. Retrieved from careeronestop.org/ResourcesFor/WorkerCriminalConviction/worker-with-a-criminal-conviction.aspx

Elsdon, R. (2007). The Growing Divide Calls for Advocacy. NCDA: Career Convergence. March 2007. Retrieved from ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/5296/_self/layout_details/false

Elsdon, R. (Ed.). (2013). Business Behaving Well: Social Responsibility, from Learning to Doing. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books. Information is available at elsdon.com/business-behaving-well.html

Elsdon, R. (2014). How to Build a Nontraditional Career Path: Embracing Economic Disruption. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. Information is available at elsdon.com/how-to-build-a-nontraditional-career-path.html

Elsdon, R. (2016). Volunteer Career Services in a Prison. NCDA: Career Convergence. February 2016. Retrieved from ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/117365/_self/layout_details/false

Goodwill/Easter Seals and Minnesota Career and Technical Education. (2019). Career Planning for People with a Criminal Conviction. Retrieved from careerwise.minnstate.edu/iseek/static/STEP-AHEAD-Workbook2.pdf

Kelly, M. (2020). The Predictive Ability of Self-Efficacy on Recidivism Among Adult Male Offenders. (Doctoral Dissertation, Walden University, 2020). Retrieved from scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=9574&context=dissertations

Office of the Correctional Investigator, Indigenous People in Federal Custody Surpasses 30%, Correctional Investigator Issues Statement and Challenge (January 21, 2020), Retrieved from oci-bec.gc.ca/cnt/comm/press/press20200121-eng.aspx?texthighlight=indigenous+people+in+federal+custody+surpasses+30%

Prison Free Press, Prison Facts in Canada, Retrieved from prisonfreepress.org/Facts.htm#:~:text=In%202017%2F18%2C%20on%20a,4%25%20from%20the%20previous%20year.

The John Howard Society of Canada, Data on Canada’s Prison System, January 25, 2020, Retrieved from johnhoward.ca/blog/data-on-canadas-prison-system/

World Prison Brief, Retrieved from prisonstudies.org/world-prison-brief-data

Yu, T. (2018). Employment and Recidivism. EBP Society. Retrieved from ebpsociety.org/blog/education/297-employment-recidivism

Integrating new technologies in career development programs increases participants’ confidence and workforce relevant skills

Megan Stannard and Alison Reaves

Imagine that you have been let go from the job that has been your career for the past 20 years. Your resume has not been updated in years, and you have never applied for a job online. Your computer skills are limited and your confidence has taken a huge hit. This is the reality facing many Albertans as the province deals with a declining oil and gas industry as well as the ongoing pandemic.

With the rapidly changing workplace, it’s more important than ever to be confident in using technology. Technology aids us in almost every aspect of life, as we have seen during COVID-19 with the shift to online work. However, mature workers struggling with technological literacy continue to feel left behind. As technology innovates at an exponential pace, many older adults view learning new technologies as an insurmountable challenge. Career development programs can build competencies and confidence by providing practice in low-stress learning environments and ensuring that mature students are better prepared to use technology during the hiring process and within the workplace. Integrating new and up-to-date technologies within and throughout a career development program provides older adults the opportunity to gain confidence in using technology while increasing their employability and developing new skills.

In this recurring Careering feature, career professionals share their real-life solutions to common problems in the field. Read more Case Studies from Careering:

• Helping a client with autism improve her interview skills
• Employment fit and friction in a rural creative enterprise
• Job-shadowing program helps LGBTQ2+ students navigate workplace concerns

Our program

The NorQuest College Career Moves Program, funded by Future Skills Centre, provides adult learners in Alberta the opportunity to develop and practice employability (soft) skills in a self-paced, virtual learning environment. This program – initially designed to be a hybrid of virtual and face-to-face learning – has been delivered virtually since March of 2020. Participants range from 30 to 65 years of age, with varying levels of English proficiency and a wide range of personal, educational and professional backgrounds. Each participant is assigned a career coach, who is available for one-on-one coaching and tech support.

Over a third of Career Moves participants have expressed frustration or anxiety surrounding the use and understanding of technologies. We have incorporated technology throughout the program so students can develop their skills and confidence and we make sure to provide numerous opportunities for practice, support and guidance.

Building confidence and curiosity 

Mature students in this open and supportive learning environment gain confidence and comfort with asking questions, using unfamiliar tools and engaging with technology. In Career Moves, we have incorporated technology throughout the entire program, from the application process through to program completion. Participants schedule appointments online (Microsoft Bookings), attending virtual meetings (Microsoft Teams, Blackboard Ultra), complete course content (e-learning via Storyline 360) and activities (Moodle LMS, Voicethread, Padlet), and build community with other participants using an online communication platform (Slack).

Practice makes perfect, so we give students many opportunities to hone their skills; with each success, their confidence grows. They practice curiosity and problem-solving as they explore new ideas and ask questions, preparing them to shine in future career roles. This method of incorporating and teaching new technologies in a supportive, strengths-based environment encourages continuous learning and increases self-efficacy, confidence and curiosity.

Putting skills to the test

When Jane* entered our program, she was worried that her uncertainty and fear of technology would prevent her from finding administrative work. After her first meeting was conducted over-the-phone, Jane worked closely with her career coach to practice joining online video meetings. Her confidence continues to grow, and she is now comfortable trying new features in Microsoft Teams and joining virtual events. The safe learning environment was the biggest factor in her success; Jane felt comfortable asking questions and making mistakes. She continues to pursue her new career in administration, taking additional online courses to build her technical skillset.  Jane has even successfully arranged for an informational interview with an employer in her field of interest, conducting the entire process online using her new technology skills.

After being laid off earlier this year, Sam* wanted to move away from the trades and into the business world. Sam had been out of school for decades and was nervous to complete a virtual program. One of Sam’s goals when joining the program was to gain tangible computer skills and learn how to become an entrepreneur. After one-on-one mentoring with their career coach and lots of practice, Sam is now able to confidently complete course content online, submit assignments via a learning management system, and use a microphone and web camera for meetings or interviews. Sam is currently applying for a part-time virtual business program, ready to use their newly developed skills to succeed.

These mature students felt they were being left behind due to the technological advance of the modern workplace, but in a career development program they have been able to grow and advance their skills, boost their confidence and are now better prepared to re-join the workforce.

Best practices for success

Based on our experiences, we recommend three best practices for success:

1. Incorporate the use of technology throughout the program, integrating continuous practice and learning. Students should be able to access multiple technologies to increase the breadth of their knowledge. All additions should be relevant to the learning objectives of the program.
2. Encourage comfort with exploration, creating a safe space for questions and answers while empowering students to find their own solutions to problems. We leave space for questions during every virtual classroom session and encourage students to use the chat feature to ask questions about both content and technology. Students are also provided with virtual links to external websites (including LinkedIn Learning) where they can take the initiative to learn more about a subject.
3. Ensure students are able to find answers to their questions quickly, so that they can continue their learning. Tutorial videos are a great example of how to provide technical support 24/7; these resources can be quickly created and provided to students via a learning management system. One-on-one technology support is another key to success – in our program, all staff are trained on program technology and can provide quick support or training to students.

Career development programs have the potential to be low-stress learning environments where mature

students can practice their digital literacy and develop employability skills. With the increase in e-learning and telecommuting, it’s more important than ever for jobseekers to be competent and curious with technology. Using best practices for success, mature students gain opportunities to work with new technology. This learning environment allows students to develop workforce-relevant skills and gain confidence with asking questions, utilizing unfamiliar tools and engaging with technology.

*names have been changed

Megan Stannard is the senior Career Coach with the Career Moves Project at NorQuest College. Stannard developed the successful online career development program that engages mature workers and coaches participants to meet their goals.

Alison Reaves manages the WIL and Career Education team at NorQuest College in Edmonton and previously worked as the Associate Director in the Business Career Services office at Appalachian State University in North Carolina.

HR needs mechanisms in place to prevent bias in performance management practices

Janelle Benjamin

With the movement for social justice in full swing, many workplaces feel compelled to do something, anything, to demonstrate that they are diverse and inclusive and support the notion that #BlackLivesMatter. With each new Chief Diversity Officer job posting, companies in all sectors are sending messages to their stakeholders and staff that their organizations need fixing – and that they did not truly care about diversity and inclusion or anti-Black racism until now.

Over the years, I have worked in many settings. I have investigated complaints at the Ontario Human Rights Commission. I have implemented legislation and developed policies to improve organizational practices and access for historically marginalized people at the Office of the Fairness Commissioner and at the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario. I have sat on hospital boards and workplace committees and advised senior leaders on how to create more diverse and inclusive organizations. My work has been rewarding and fulfilling, and on paper I seem to be a successful Black woman. But the truth of the matter is that in many places I have worked, I have experienced acts of violence that did not rise to the level of discrimination or harassment under the Ontario Human Rights Code, but still affected my psychological safety.

Too many workplaces have been tainted with the toxicity of bullying, marginalization and disrespect. Too many people have experienced the insidious nature of day-to-day microaggressions and other behavioural indignities from co-workers and senior leaders alike, even with so-called “inclusive employers.”

I have learned that employers have a hard time seeing how the bad behaviours of the people they employ, and often promote to leadership positions, are deeply rooted in phobias and isms (e.g. homophobia, xenophobia, racism, sexism, ablism, Islamophobia), as well as the systems their organizational policies and practices support (such as patriarchy, white supremacy and misogyny). This leads to homogeneity, exclusion, workplace violence, oppression and injustice, time and time again.

Unless companies begin to innovate to solve workplace issues for racialized people, the current civil rights movement will be longstanding.

Below are two innovative solutions that companies can take to show their commitment to diversity and inclusion and make workplaces safer for racialized employees – even without a Chief Diversity Officer hire.

Question your Karens

We all know a “Karen” at work. Like Amy Cooper, the white female dog walker who tried to call the police on a Black male bird watcher in New York’s Central Park last May, workplace Karen is overly meddlesome, questioning and complaining (Vera & Ly, 2020). She is often promoted to positions of power without merit and is threatened by smart, talented and capable racialized workers. Karen evaluates performance and makes excuses why a person of colour needs a performance improvement plan. Even worse, Karen is able to call human resources and weaponize her white privilege against racialized employees when she feels she has had enough – she believes the person of colour is not conforming in some way and should be removed from the workplace.

“Too many people have experienced the insidious nature of day-to-day microaggressions and other behavioural indignities from co-workers and senior leaders alike, even with so-called ‘inclusive employers.'”

Too many companies do not question the practices of these workplace Karens when names of racialized people are brought forward and the Karen says they are not a good “fit” for the organization. Racialized employees end up “performance managed” or worse – removed from places where they should belong.

If organizations truly feel an imperative to break systemic and attitudinal barriers to inclusion,  human resources departments need to do a better job of questioning senior leaders when individual names are brought forward for performance management and/or termination. HR leaders should question whether bias is playing a role and, if so, have mechanisms to address those biases.

End the practice of terminating racialized employees at will and without cause

Racialized workers who make it through workplace doors are the best and the brightest. They have grown accustomed to being “the only” in many spaces, which often leads to their oppression, subjugation and, later, termination. Over the course of my career, Black, Asian and other racialized employees have shared their stories of marginalization, discrimination, oppression and ousting with me. Many have learned to thrive at office events and have expertly handled microaggressions in workplace interactions. Many of them had equal or greater qualifications than their white colleagues and were overworked and tokenized as the model minority. Later, they were passed over for promotions and other high-profile opportunities. Some were performance managed straight out the proverbial workplace door. Some did not even have the chance to remedy so-called deficiencies via a performance improvement plan, because there were none. At the management level, reasons were not given for their termination. Personally, even I was walked out of a workplace with strong performance appraisals simply because my uneducated workplace Karen felt I no longer met her requirements.

The phenomenon of Black women moving from office “pet to threat” was first coined by Keisha M. Thomas in a 2013 study (Stallings, 2020). This icy transition happens when the Karen feels threatened in some way by the racialized employee and begins to put a plan in place to have them fired. I have seen people from marginalized groups experience hostility from their superiors, punishment for taking time they were entitled to and that was previously approved, exclusion from meetings and a lack of access to information they need to do their jobs. Thomas felt that it was important for Black women to have mentors and a strong network of peers, as well as connections with people in more senior positions to help navigate the “invisible currents” we are all swimming in. I agree.

More from Careering

Allyship in career development: An honour, privilege and responsibility

Career development as a social justice imperative

Working with Muslim clients: Adopting multicultural and social justice counselling competencies

The practice of terminating racialized and other historically marginalized workers without cause should be totally abolished. The provision that permits termination at the whim of the employer should not make it into employment contracts for people of colour. Instead, mechanisms should be created to identify biases that may be at play among employees and management. Organizations also need to develop succession plans to mentor talented employees of colour.

These are the cries for equitable treatment coming from racialized and other marginalized employees at work. They want workplaces that are not just paying lip service to progress and rushing to make their organizations appear to care about changing things for Black and brown people, but that are legitimately diverse, inclusive, safe and support the mental health and well-being of all their employees.

I am hopeful that this movement for change will incite workplaces to make meaningful improvements beyond their performative hiring of Chief Diversity Officers by implementing innovative, thoughtful solutions that truly make a difference.

Janelle Benjamin is the Founder & Chief Equity Officer of All Things Equitable Inc., a new GTA-based Management Consulting Firm, created to address the cries for systemic change coming from all marginalized groups in the workplace. It helps organizations in all sectors come up with innovative solutions to make workplaces more diverse, inclusive and safe, and support the mental health and well-being of all their employees.

References

Stallings, E. (2020). When Black women go from office pet to office threat. Medium. zora.medium.com/when-black-women-go-from-office-pet-to-office-threat-83bde710332e

Vera, A., and Ly, L. (2020). White woman who called police on a black man bird-watching in Central Park has been fired. CNN. cnn.com/2020/05/26/us/central-park-video-dog-video-african-american-trnd/index.html