Real Stories of Workplace Discrimination & Advice on How to Handle It
This blog features real life stories of professionals who have experienced and witnessed workplace discrimination within the graphic communications industry. The interviews will cover topics on how to speak out against workplace discrimination, how to help others who have experienced it, and why employers should promote a culture of equity, diversity, inclusion for all. We were fortunate enough to speak with Camille Dundas, a leading expert on EDI initiatives in media and graphic communications. Keep reading to hear their stories and personal advice on how to manage workplace discrimination.
We’ve created a guide to help simplify and explain different terms that pertain to equity, diversity, and inclusion. To access it click here.
Interview #1: The Perspective of a Female Marketer
Note: Our first interviewee has decided not to include their name for confidentiality.
General Information about the Interviewee:
Gender: Female
Race: Mixed
Company Role: Sales & Marketing
Experiences of Discrimination:
Have you experienced any type of discrimination in the workplace? If so, what kind? When did it happen?
Yes many times, but the worst instances were in 2012 when I was at a company and was trying to move forward in my career, so I was exploring other roles within the company.
Gender and racial discrimination happened pretty regularly. I can say that in hindsight, at the time I wasn’t thinking about it in that context, until it became very overt.
Can you please tell the story and what happened. If you have experienced workplace discrimination more than once, you may explain that story as well.
There were many issues at this workplace, but having to do directly with me, first there was gender discrimination. When discussing an open role with a manager, he commented “didn’t you just get married? Don’t you want to go and have babies?” After thinking to myself “did he really just say that?” I decided I didn’t want to be part of this team if the manager thought of me in this way, so I tried another department.
I had some informational interviews with managers and it was suggested that I speak with the director. So, I formally booked an appointment, which was confirmed. The day of the appointment, I was pretty much ghosted. Door kept shut, and the director was “on a call” the whole afternoon. After a few days, I was able to corner the director in an elevator and ask why he wasn’t able to meet, and if we could reschedule. He then informed me that the director of my department had informed him that he was not interested in talking to me, or really even giving me the time of day. I was essentially blacklisted at the organization. I caused a problem by “asking too many questions” and after some other instances of discrimination, I left the company. I was pretty much pushed out, my manager certainly made things hard for me.
What was your initial thought towards the situation? How did it make you feel?
My initial thought was, “did he really just say that?” I felt extremely frustrated, not wanted, small, held-down and pigeon-holed.
How did you handle the situation? What actions did you take?
I went to HR, but they did not seem to grasp the situation at all, so I left the company.
How did this situation affect you as an individual?
In hindsight I should have filed a human rights complaint. At the time, I just wanted out of the toxic environment. I hadn’t been at the company long enough to warrant a larger compensation package. What happened to me served as a catalyst for other employees at the company (in the same department), who felt the same about how they were facing barriers to career progression, primarily based on race and gender. I know they were offered similar agreements to leave the company. None of these cases were related to performance. If anything, all were top performers/significant contributors and were frustrated that they were not able to move up at the company while other white, and mostly male employees were seemingly given highly desirable roles, opportunities and promotions with very little effort, if any at all. I was a very angry person for a while afterwards.
Did the situation change your view of your coworkers, place of employment, manager etc.? In what way?
Absolutely, I felt helpless, powerless, like all of my work meant nothing. I had never had a bad performance review and was taking on so much responsibility outside of my role, and it was all negated by doubt – was it because I was a woman? Because I was black? Because I was a black woman? With three different managers having blocked me from all attempts to improve my job/situation, I felt pretty beat down. My co-workers saw what happened to me and it became a sort of “cautionary tale” of how far you could get if you weren’t a white male. Or at all female. Or brought attention to these barriers.
The Workplace:
Did your workplace have a structure where you felt comfortable discussing this inequity?
At the time, absolutely not. HR had zero idea of what was going on, and managers did not provide any support. When lawyers became involved, HR closed off access to them as well.
Does your current workplace/job have rules and regulations in place for those who have experienced workplace discrimination?
Yes, although in light of recent social injustice being in the news, and employees coming forward, these rules and regulations are being re-examined and changed.
Does your current workplace provide training programs that promote diversity and inclusion?
Yes. Re-evaluation of current policies will likely bring about new training and diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Advice for Employers, Employees and Soon-to-be Graduates:
What advice would you give to employers or managers about workplace discrimination?
Ensure your employees feel supported. Show them where to go for support, and have great systems in place. Have clear language policies on discrimination and consequences of not adhering to policy and evaluate performance on merit. Use blind resumes (hide names and regional indicators that might influence/bias opinion).
What advice would you give to someone who has also experienced workplace discrimination?
Speak up, call it out, inform HR and file complaints. If you flag it and nothing is done, it’s better for legal purposes, as well as gives an opportunity for corrective actions. Also, keep emails, notes, etc. that support your case.
Is there any advice for recent or soon-to-be graduates entering the workforce in your industry that may face similar challenges?
Ask questions. Ask about workplace culture in your interviews, questions about mentoring, employee networks, professional development programs, etc. when you are presented offers of employment. Ask about performance evaluations – how they are measured and conducted. Ask if jobs are posted internally and where/how. Sometimes opportunities are “not communicated” to everyone. Don’t let “I didn’t know you were interested” be an excuse. You never know until you ask!
"One in five Canadians say they've been discriminated against at work because of their gender, according to a new survey conducted by international human resources consulting firm Randstad. The survey also found that a significant percentage of Canadians believe they've been discriminated against in the workplace because of their sexual orientation, religious beliefs or age.”
- The Globe & Mail
Interview #2: The Perspective of Camille Dundas
An Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Consultant
Tell us about yourself and what you do.
I’m the co-founder and editor in chief of the country’s #1 Black Canadian online magazine, ByBlacks.com. I’ve led my team to win three national ethnic media press awards and a commendation from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. I’ve also been named among the Top 100 Black Canadian Accomplished Women. I spent 10 years as a TV news reporter and producer, working on national shows for both CTV and CBC. My passion lies in public speaking and corporate training on equity, inclusion and belonging. Over the last three years I’ve become a thought leader in this area, helping global companies implement anti-racism education programs.
How did you end up being a Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Strategist? What led you to this?
My entire life experience has been navigating the hurdles of the Black experience, even before I realized what that actually meant. During my first job out of university at a national broadcaster, I realized about 4 months in, that I was a diversity hire. Somehow, someone forgot to tell me. It was a really devastating experience, because I started to question my self worth, question if I really deserved the job or if I was just hired to tick a box. It really affected my performance, my self esteem and the way I showed up at work. But at the time, in my early 20s, I didn’t know there was anything I could do about it. It was only years later after co-founding ByBlacks with my husband that I started to get more vocal about the need for equity in the workplace, and beyond. Having my own platform to showcase stories and news from the Black Canadian community really empowered me to start speaking publicly about my own stories and the many other stories of people I was carrying with me. But professionally, I only started doing actual consulting on EDI about 3 years ago, and it wasn’t intentional. I was actually on assignment at my day job, which is at software company Hootsuite. I was speaking at a government conference about social media. And during the Q&A, a question came out about diversity hiring. The person asking the question was complaining about how they can’t use social media to reach ethnic communities because of the ethical implications. And my response turned into an entire conversation about how employers engage with ethnic communities. I basically said, “Hey, you have to get out from behind your keyboard. You’ve got to go to events where Black people network, you’ve got to advertise your job listings in ethnic media, you’ve got to have outreach and recruitment programs that partner with ethnic student associations on university campuses etc.” And I guess people in the audience started talking to their own networks about what I said, because after that I started getting lots of calls and invitations to come and speak about this topic. From there, I started getting hired by different companies to implement anti-racism education programs to their executives and to their HR teams. I’ve worked with global companies like KPMG and Canadian companies like IGM Financial to smaller organizations like Barrie Public Library. It’s been interesting to see how despite the size of the company, many of the challenges with equity are the same.
On your LinkedIn and website, you talk about how your corporate EDI consulting is anchored with intersectionality. What does this entail? How is it different from other approaches?
I can explain it like this. For example, I stopped attending women’s events at work a long time ago. Because conversations around D&I that centre on “women-only” really wear me down. Because 9 out of 10 times, the other parts of my identity are being ignored in those conversations. I have some disadvantages because I am a woman, I have some disadvantages because I am Black. But I have even more disadvantages because I am a BLACK WOMAN. Every time I am part of a diversity discussion that promises to “put women first” I feel erased. Because more often than not, the conversation centres on white women. And ignores the fact there are additional challenges I face because I am both Black and a woman. So what I get from these sessions is… yeah we’re interested in helping you.. But only the part of you that we are comfortable with... only the part of you that’s easy for us to address. And some of you may be thinking… well we can’t fix everything all at once so just be patient. But what that’s saying to me is… wait your turn, we’re helping the white women first. And isn’t that the exact power structure we’re trying to dismantle? The one where one group gets priority over everyone else? And I get it… the gender pay gap seems like low hanging fruit.
We all know the statistic… that women in Canada earn 87 cents for every dollar men make. But in Canada, Racialized women are earning 67 cents to the dollar. That’s an average of 33% less than non-racialized men. That number gets lower and lower for Indigenous women and women with a disability.
So the danger in focusing on a single identity or “what matters to you” is that we lose sight of the fact that we actually need each other if we’re going to make any change at all. If you’re a white woman saying... of course I’m a feminist... I'm a woman... but it’s not my place to advocate on behalf of Black women… then you’re missing the point.
Based on some of your speaker topics, can you elaborate on how we can recognize and confront racism in the workplace?
The first step to recognizing is understanding how racism shows up in the workplace. We don’t have men in white hoods running around our offices. What we do have is constant microaggressions and microinvalidations that Black, Indigenous and People of Colour are facing on a constant basis. And when you examine them, they actually don’t seem so micro after all. Then once you’ve understood how racism shows up at work, then you can start educating yourself on how to confront it. Do you call out racist jokes as they happen? Do you pull that person aside afterwards to explain why that wasn’t funny? Or do you maybe create space for co-workers to talk these things out BEFORE they happen in a non threatening environment where everyone can establish what the values are of these workplace cultures, what is acceptable and what is not, so that when something happens, everyone will know that it wasn’t ok.
What advice would you give to someone who has personally experienced workplace inequality and/or discrimination?
I get approached for advice on this a lot. And the first thing I ask the person is, what is your risk tolerance? Meaning, what are you ok with giving up. Because it actually can be a very risky thing to report an act of racism in the workplace. You can face reprisal or even loss of income. Then, based on the severity of the situation, I advise them to speak with an employment lawyer about their options. Apart from that, I always advise to document everything. Even if you don’t end up filing a formal complaint, document all the ways you feel you’ve been treated unfairly, or passed over. And then use this data if you choose to have a conversation with your boss about it. Having the information written down will help you to approach the conversation without your emotions getting in the way (which is a very hard thing to do in these situations).
Is there anything that new graduates can do to promote EDI as they enter the workforce?
Read, read and read. And then listen. And then speak up. When you see something happening that you know, or you feel isn’t right, make the choice to be a true ally and call it out.
Key Takeaways:
If you or someone you know has experienced workplace discrimination, speak out and inform HR. As an employee, you have the right to file complaints and let your voice be heard.
As an employer, ensure your employees feel supported. Show them how to obtain this support and have systems in place for their benefit.
Have clear language policies on discrimination and the consequences of not adhering to policy and evaluate performance on merit.
Promote a culture of equity, diversity, inclusion, and opportunity for all.
If you observe someone else being discriminated against, encourage that person and stand with them to motivate them to not give up their goals.
For a soon-to-be-graduate, always ask questions, especially about the workplace culture, mentoring, employee networks, professional development programs, etc.
Thank you again to our amazing interviewees for sharing their stories and advice with us. We hope their insight will be beneficial for other employees and employers within the industry, and especially soon-to-be graduates entering the workforce.
Comment below and let us know what surprised you or what you learned from our interviewees. Do you have any other advice for employees, employers or soon-to-be graduates on dealing with workplace discrimination?