A new report finds 含羞草研究社渁 pattern of under-representation含羞草研究社� of Indigenous and racialized British Columbians, who 含羞草研究社渇ace systemic barriers in their pursuit含羞草研究社� of public service careers.
The report titled Racial Diversity in the B.C. Public Service is among three first-of-their-kind reports released Thursday (May 30) describing barriers Indigenous Peoples and racialized people experience in the public service, schools and health care.
The report looking at the provincial public service reviewed the representation rates of 16 self-identifying Indigenous and racialized groups among 30,600-plus public service employees as of January 2022.
While its findings represent preliminary results, they point toward barriers preventing employees from racialized groups 含羞草研究社渇rom entering and moving into positions with greater accountabilities and responsibilities, including executive positions.含羞草研究社�
The report compared representation rates of those groups within B.C.含羞草研究社檚 general labour force and the population to the provincial public sector.
Based on the available methodology, the report started with an expectation that representation of the 16 groups 含羞草研究社渟hould at least match, if not be higher than, the B.C. labour force and population rates.含羞草研究社�
But that was not the case. Only four groups had rates similar to or greater than the labour force and population at large. Eleven of 16 groups were over-represented in jobs that paid less and under-represented in supervisory positions.
含羞草研究社淧articularly notable was the lack of executive-level representation for 10 Indigenous identity and racial groups含羞草研究社攏ot just under-representation, but no representation,含羞草研究社� it reads.
Individuals who identify as First Nations represent 3.7 per cent of the population and three per cent of the workforce, but two per cent of the public service workforce. Individuals who identify as Chinese represent 11.2 per cent of the population, 10.2 per cent of the labour force and 4.8 per cent of the public sector workforce.
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The report suggests one potential explanation for the under-representation is that many racialized employees may not disclose this information and end up being classified as belonging to an 含羞草研究社渦nknown含羞草研究社� group.
含羞草研究社淭his can occur because of a lack of cultural safety on the part of the employer,含羞草研究社� it reads. 含羞草研究社淎s a result, many of the differences seen between actual and expected representation rates may be addressed with a more complete data set.含羞草研究社�
The report stresses it did not include a number of other relevant pieces of employee information.
含羞草研究社淔or example, looking at factors related to age, years of service含羞草研究社ducation and career area can help identify barriers,含羞草研究社� it reads.
The report is also unclear how racial background intersects with factors such as gender, sexual orientation or disability. The report notes that executive positions are 含羞草研究社渞elatively rare含羞草研究社� in the public service, comprising only 0.6 per cent 含羞草研究社� or 1 out of every 167 含羞草研究社� positions.
含羞草研究社淪o smaller Indigenous identity and racialized groups may require a different approach to better understand representation in the executive classification,含羞草研究社� it reads.
According to the report, the public service 含羞草研究社渋s committed to removing systemic racism from its hiring and career development practices.含羞草研究社�
The reports are released under B.C.含羞草研究社檚 Anti-Racism Data Act. Effective since 2022 it requires the provincial government to publish information about systemic racism and racial equity by June 1 each year.
The three reports are the first under the act and their researchers used data from the B.C. Demographic Survey and other sources.
The reports also appear after the provincial government passed legislation including targets for the recruitment, retention and advancement of Indigenous and other racialized people throughout government.
