Gender:
It is common to find women in the workplace at all or most levels, although
they tend to be concentrated in more vulnerable, lower paid and lower skill
sectors. Treatment also differs enormously between sectors and workplaces, and
highly educated and ambitious women still face an old-boys network at upper
levels of authority. Nevertheless, there are lots of women in positions of
authority and women and men are encouraged to take initiative and make
decisions in many workplaces.
Sexual overtures in the workplace are considered inappropriate and threatening
and may result in legal action being taken; the law protects women. Avoiding
any references to sexuality or appearance, unless on good terms with that
person, is a good way of ensuring that any such comments will not be
misinterpreted.
Religion:
There is tremendous diversity in the beliefs of Canadians, religious or
otherwise. In fact, Canada's constitution protects the right to publicly funded
religious schooling in a limited sense. Many groups are lobbying to have this
right extended to include a range of different religions.
It is advisable to be respectful in any event and to be sensitive to this
diversity. Most Canadians believe it is important to respect people regardless
of their religious beliefs but see religion as a private matter. Canadians tend
to separate work and private life a great deal and may be uncomfortable when
religion is brought into the workplace. Many Canadians, regardless of their
religious background, do not actively participate in religious activities.
Class:
Many Canadians are very uncomfortable talking about social classes and would
prefer to identify themselves as middle-class, whether or not this is true.
Mostly, a person's class is defined by their level of education and income,
although connections are important for upper-middle and upper classes. Work
environments are usually organised on the basis of some hierarchy and those at
the top have more education than those lower down. Nevertheless, fair treatment
of all staff is expected.
Ethnicity:
Ethnicity in Canada is a concept that has evolved throughout its history and
can refer to the English-French divide (which is much more than linguistic),
the difference between Canadians of European origin/settlers and indigenous
peoples and, more recently, 'whites' or Canadians of European origin and those
of non-European origin. Canada`s immigration policies have led to a truly
diverse population, mostly in urban areas.
In bilingual (English-French) workplaces, language is perhaps the biggest
dividing factor. Socialising in such workplaces is frequently among people of
the same language. In non-bilingual workplaces, which represent the majority,
the region, cultural considerations and the expectations of linguistic ability
will often have an important impact on to which Anglophone and Francophone
Canadians will find themselves working together. Mastery of a specific language
is often an important hiring criterion.
My work experience has been in fairly 'white' settings and so I cannot say to
what extent ethnicity is an issue in workplaces, except to say that it is a
complex issue. Racial and ethnic prejudices certainly exist and, like other
prejudices are likely to manifest themselves at work. In many cases, the ethnic
make-up of a workplace depends on the sector and some sectors are considered
less accessible to visible minorities than others. There have been recent
efforts in the Federal Government to increase the representativeness of the
public service. In the past, ethnic minorities have tended not to benefit from
the same networks of connections and contacts as those of European backgrounds.
This is quickly changing with the increasing percentage of highly qualified
members of ethnic minorities in the workforce. The relative vulnerability of
ethnic minorities in the workplace is likely to be a more pernicious feature
and is not really talked about.
The situation of indigenous peoples in Canada is considerably more complex and
problematic.
