Survey says over half of Indigenous Canadians have “Played Down” their backgrounds to get a job

TORONTO – Indigenous Canadians are feeling the effects of discrimination in the workplace.

According to results coming from a survey from the charity “ComIT.org” that surveyed 500 Canadians who identify as Indigenous Canadians.

ComIT.org created the survey to check current workplace conditions for Canadian Indigenous communities and Indigenous Canadians working in the IT sector.

Key findings of the survey were very concerning.

Over half of Indigenous Canadians surveyed (58.6%) say they have experienced discrimination in their current workplaces and 56.2% of Indigenous Canadians say they have played down their Indigenous backgrounds to ‘fit in better at the workplace.’

61.60% of Indigenous Canadians surveyed think they are less likely to be promoted simply based on being Indigenous. 62.40% of Indigenous Canadians surveyed say they have experienced bias when applying for a job because they are Indigenous.

“In many ways, the stats around bias and discrimination are the most concerning,” said Pablo Listingart, Founder and Executive Director of ComIT.org.

“If Indigenous Canadians are being cast aside or locked out of even applying for jobs, we clearly have a long way to go to ensure an even playing field.”

When it comes to a career in digital skills Indigenous Canadians surveyed touched on a number of barriers that have prevented them from furthering or starting their careers.

Lack of access to education for economic reasons was an issue. Lack of connectivity or the issue of being in a remote area also was one of the topics that came up often.

Bigger internet companies are going to have to step up and do what they can do bridge this gap and connect a world that is going more and more digital.

“In recent years, significant attention has been devoted to addressing the connectivity infrastructure challenges faced by Indigenous communities in remote areas,” added Listingart.