Recognizing and understanding the impact of systemic racism is crucial to building better workplaces. For career professionals, this recognition and understanding goes a long way to helping clients succeed. Here are resources on breaking barriers.
Advancing the Conversation on Systemic Racism: Self-Assessment (Government of Canada) [Course]
An online course that serves as a self-assessment of participants’ familiarity with and understanding of racism and systemic racism. Participants can use their results to better understand their role in creating meaningful change.
BIASED: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do – Jennifer Eberhardt [Book]
Jennifer Eberhardt is a social psychologist at Stanford University who investigates the consequences of the psychological association between race and crime. Her book is a personal examination of one of the central controversies and culturally powerful issues of our time, and its influence on contemporary race relations and criminal justice.
Black in science: The legacy of racism in science and how Black scientists are moving the dial (Quirks and Quarks with Bob McDonald) [Radio episode]
This episode delves into the history of biased and false “race science” that for hundreds of years was used to justify slavery, exploitation and exclusion. It also explores the contributions of Black scientists who overcame the obstacles to make significant but often unrecognized impacts on science.
Discrimination at Work: How Black Canadian Health Is Impacted at the Workplace (Canadian Association for Research on Work and Health) [Blog]
This blog post discusses how systemic barriers keep racialized groups like Black Canadians unemployed, perceived as less intelligent, underrepresented in high-paying jobs and denied opportunities for advancement into leadership roles.
Embedding Anti-Racism in Workforce Development (Catalysts’ Circle) [Toolkit]
This toolkit aims to be a starting point for people engaged in workforce development to create and implement anti-racist pathways with, in and for communities that have too long been on the margins. It builds on the early work of the East
Scarborough Storefront, which used the Connected Communities Approach as a way of designing and implementing place-based workforce development strategies with multiple players across sectors and scales.
Everything you need to know about anti-racism in the workplace (Canadian Equality Consulting) [Article]
This piece explores trends that impact racialized communities. It offers ideas to reverse such trends to ensure racialized employees are heard, supported and represented.
How career practitioners can continue to challenge oppressive systems (CareerWise) [Article]
Career professionals have a key role to play helping racialized clients work through barriers they experience in navigating their education and careers. This article suggests steps career professionals can take to advocate for change in the education and career space.
How to Be an Antiracist – Ibram X. Kendi [Book]
Ibram x. Kendi is one of America’s most renowned historians and leading antiracist scholars. His memoir helps readers rethink their most deeply held, if implicit, beliefs and most intimate personal relationships (including beliefs about race and IQ and interracial social relations) and re-examines the policies and larger social arrangements we support.
Reflecting on Cultural Bias: Indigenous Perspectives (Government of Canada) [Course]
Awareness of cultural bias is an important step toward building a respectful workplace. With a focus on understanding Indigenous Peoples, this online course demystifies the idea of unconscious cultural bias and explores issues of prejudice and discrimination.
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You – Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi [Book]
This book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.
Unpacking Unconscious Bias (Government of Canada) [Course]
A critical step in building strong, diverse teams is to recognize, understand and overcome hidden prejudices. This course provides an overview of unconscious bias, examining where biases come from and how to mitigate them in the workplace.
