Despite an increasingly diverse population, a new report co-produced by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Wellesley Institute on Canada’s racialized income gap shows a colour code is still at work in Canada’s labour market.
“We found that during the heyday of Canada’s pre-recession economic boom, racialized Canadians were more willing to work, but experienced higher levels of unemployment and earned less income than non-racialized Canadians,” says co-author Grace-Edward Galabuzi, CCPA board member and Ryerson University professor. “The distribution of work tells a disturbing story: Equal access to opportunity eludes many racialized Canadians.”
On average, non-racialized Canadian earnings grew marginally (2.7%) between 2000-2005 – tepid income gains considering the economy grew by 13.1%. But the average income of racialized Canadians declined by 0.2%. Co-author Sheila Block, Director of Economic Analysis at the Wellesley Institute and long-time CCPA Research Associate, says racialized Canadian workers earned only 81.4 cents for every dollar paid to non-racialized Canadian workers in 2005 – reflecting barriers in Canada’s workplaces.
Click here to read the report. Watch a video from the researchers below.