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Sept 23, 2024
Published on TheFutureEconomy.ca September 23, 2024
As of 2024, publicly traded companies in Canada with more than 30% women in executive roles have, on average, 45% female executives. From corner offices to conference panels, women have fought for their place in corporate Canada, supported by gender equity efforts designed to increase their fair representation in business. Thanks to equitable hiring initiatives and corporate mentorship and advancement programs, we continue to see growing numbers of women in Canada’s C-suite and on Boards of Directors.
“Women of colour hold just 9.4% of leadership positions, and Indigenous and Black women fill fewer than 1% of those roles.”
There’s just one problem: the diversity stops at gender. Data shows that women of colour hold just 9.4% of leadership positions, and Indigenous and Black women fill fewer than 1% of those roles. Many organizations have zero Indigenous and racialized women in their C-suites or on their boards. A Toronto Metropolitan University report also revealed that, in most provinces, white women are advancing into leadership positions more quickly than their racialized peers (12:1 in the Greater Toronto Area and 11:1 in Calgary, for example).
Where are the women of colour? Stuck beneath a lower glass ceiling and unable to climb the broken rung of the corporate ladder. Racialized women have continued to express that they value their careers and desire promotions. However, while gender equity programs promise a pathway to success, these initiatives rarely confront the structural and systemic barriers that impact racialized women in the workplace. They don’t account for how Indigenous and racialized women must navigate a labyrinth of barriers, including microaggressions, overt discrimination, feelings of invisibility and isolation, and a reluctance to speak out for fear of becoming a target.
“Gender equity programs promise a pathway to success, these initiatives rarely confront the structural and systemic barriers that impact racialized women in the workplace.”
Gender equity has largely been only about gender, and Indigenous and racialized women have been left behind while their white colleagues have disproportionately benefited.
The solution is intersectionality. Coined by Black feminist scholar Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, intersectionality asks us to recognize that race, gender, and other social categories intersect to create varying experiences of privilege and discrimination. In gender equity, acknowledging this reality means trading gender-only strategies for more intersectional approaches.
This is an admittedly complex problem, one that I have devoted my career to addressing. I founded Accelerate Her Future, a career accelerator dedicated to the career success of Indigenous, Black, and racialized women. One of the ways we advance our mission is by working with organizations to implement intersectional approaches.
We’ve seen how one-size-fits-all gender equity and diversity programs have continuously failed Indigenous, Black, and racialized women. We must do better. Here are four practical ways you can lead the shift.
Dedicate time and resources to learning about the experiences, ambitions, goals, and challenges of the Indigenous, Black and racialized women you employ. As you do this, be certain to recognize that, amongst Indigenous, Black and racialized women, there is also a diversity of cultures, values, and realities to consider. By centring their voices and experiences at the outset of this work, you can create programs and initiatives that truly cater to their needs.
Studies have shown that mentorship and sponsorship are critical to professional success, imparting invaluable knowledge and opening doors that would otherwise be inaccessible. Creating tailored mentorship and sponsorship programs that cater to Indigenous, Black, and racialized women can provide the customized professional development and advocacy they need to advance into leadership roles.
Data is an essential tool for understanding how Indigenous, Black, and racialized women are faring in your organization compared to their peers. Data, disaggregated by race, gender, and other identity dimensions, allows you to measure key metrics throughout the employee lifecycle, like the levels Indigenous, Black, and racialized women are hired and advanced into, their compensation, and how they feel about their career experience. Data will also be crucial for tracking the effectiveness of your gender equity efforts over time.
None of the steps described above can be effective without an organizational culture that prioritizes and meaningfully integrates intersectional equity. When your company incorporates diversity and equity into its values, policies, and practice, you create a workplace where all women not only thrive professionally but feel psychologically and emotionally safe to show up fully.
It is beyond time that we make gender equity efforts expansive enough to deliberately champion the success of Indigenous, Black, and racialized women, too. Let’s redefine gender equity by putting intersectionality at the forefront and shattering the glass ceiling for all women.
